This grating effect is especially potent for people who are already sensitive to light. In the most severe cases, it can even lead to epilepsy.

“Our findings imply that in designing buildings, it may be important to avoid the types of visual patterns that can activate this circuit and cause discomfort, migraines, or seizures,” says Dr Dora Hermes, leading the research.

“Even perfectly healthy people may feel modest discomfort from the images that are most likely to trigger seizures in photosensitive epilepsy.”

Around one in five women and one in 15 men suffer from migraines in the United Kingdom, resulting in a loss of 25 million working days a year.

We guess we’ll be viewing our repertoire of stripy tops with a little more caution in the future...

Image: iStock

A stripe too far? Why your obsession with Breton tops could give you migraines