Luxury of tears: the science behind crying!
We the ‘Homo Sapiens’ and our bodies are as complex as they are fascinating and so is the inbuilt ability in us to cry. We take quite some pride in the preconceived belief that it is our intelligence; the knack of reasoning that sets us apart from other species. Naively we have been under that impression perhaps due to our grip over language and technology.
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Well, it’s time to burst that delightful bubble with a supportable fact, that it is the uniqueness of turning on the waterworks from our eyes that separates us from other living beings! In humans, crying is a way of tearful sobbing in reaction to various emotions instead of just mourning in pain that distinguishes us from other animals.
It doesn’t stop just there, impressively we express different types of crying and tears. Undeniably, ignorance is not bliss if it keeps us unaware of such incredible elements about ourselves! It’ll be a tad hard to swallow that the boon of evolution endowed us with a distinct quality of crying that makes us unique and not intelligence.
Even Charles Darwin - the father of evolution, had a tough time harmonising with that detail. About 150 years ago, he said “we must look at weeping as an incidental result, as purposeless as the secretion of tears, from a blow outside the eye, or as a sneeze from the retina being affected by a bright light.”
Darwin on weeping
He was also under the same notion like most of us that the prime job of teardrops is to grease the surface of the eye and, to a certain extent, keep the nostrils moist. Virtuousness of tears is much more than what our father of evolution thought at the time.
The first expression that a child displays instantly after birth is crying. Somehow the first cry of an infant makes everyone around ecstatic, or else the poor newborn is pinched or patted on the back so that it cries! Hopefully none of you ever believed the folks who like to boast otherwise.
Lacrimal glands
This exceptional and uncanny capacity in us of crying comes to play when we are happy, sad, angry, depressed or in pain. There are lacrimal glands located just above both eyes that are responsible for filling up our eyeballs with these waterfalls.
These lacrimal glands make the brand new tears whereas there’s a lacrimal puncta (small holes found at the inner corner of the eyelids) that drains out the old ones. In some cases with excess buildup of tears, they drain out through your nose, that’s when you get a runny nose while crying.
Indeed, our eyes have a well-equipped drainage system. For this drainage system to work like a charm, three kinds of tears are produced: basal, reflex and emotional tears. The basal tears like good soldiers safeguard the eye from any dirt and debris.
They keep the eyes hydrated, ward off any intruding bacteria and keep the surface of our eyes smooth for us to see through. We don’t notice these tears and that’s their whole intent, to do the work without getting noticed.
Other sets of warriors are the reflex tears that get noticed in some uncontrolled occasions such as, when encountered with an onion while uncovering or cutting through its layers with a knife. Reflex tears come to the eyes’ rescue because our eyes are completely incompatible with onion, as onion produces some nasty substances.
Reflex tears come in bulky volumes and wash away those harmful substances before they can cause our eyes any damage and contain the antibodies to stop any microbe from entering. The emotional tears roll down from the eyes when we are at our most vulnerable; either too sad or too happy, essentially when we are out of control!
Emotional tears
To dodge this overwhelming risky situation and our helplessness, come in the emotional tears that calm us down. For this reason tears are believed to be soothing and therapeutic, that alleviate our mood.
It is the neurotransmitters and hormones that play the key role in the mechanism of crying. Our body is a game of hormones and any devious interchanges in that game lead to hormonal imbalance. Women have the tendency to cry more than men! Apologies for a sexist remark but scientifically men have greater amount of testosterone which inhibits tears.
Besides, women have more prolactin that triggers the tears. Additionally, tear glands in men are supposedly smaller to that in women. Clearly, women are hardwired to shed more waterworks and can’t be blamed. Our tears are protein-rich and possess antibacterial properties.
They definitely protect the eyes but unfortunately for the ladies not the eye makeup! Marvelously, crying produces stress hormones as well as stress-buster hormones simultaneously. The pituitary gland (master gland); producer of few chief hormones, releases ACTH (adrenocorticotrophic hormone) which in turn signals the adrenal gland to release cortisol (stress hormone).
Yet, we feel at ease after a good cry because ACTH flushes out through the tears lowering the stress hormone. The emotional tears contain a natural painkiller, called enkephalin. Enkephalin is an endorphin, a brain chemical that helps to block the pain signal.
Crying patterns
Crying patterns change as we hit adolescence due to change in testosterone and progesterone levels in males and females respectively.
Babies on the other hand cry more because that’s the only way they can communicate with their parents regarding any need and have relatively limited ways to express themselves. In spite of that, babies have 3 kinds of cry: basic, angry and the pain cry.
Altogether babies cry 3 hours per day, glory to their vocal chords! Too much crying in adults could be a sign of a developing health problem such as: alzheimer’s, multiple sclerosis or severe depression.
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Continuing debate
Science is not constant, it keeps changing with the advancements in the scientific studies and scientists ardently enlighten us with fresh knowledge as and when new findings emerge. Nonetheless, scientists are still debating over the conundrum of crying.
They are trying to predict stronger viewpoints on how or why tears themselves are beneficial. They believe that tears play a lead role in social connection wherein; they have the power to generate and show sympathy to one another. Thereby, strengthening the social bond.
We can all vouch for the impact of tears confidently! Unquestionably, at some point we all have skillfully used the power of tears to get away from being scolded, to sneakily fulfil a wish or to briskly patch up with an upset loved one. Whatsoever the reason maybe, don’t hesitate to let go of that storm of tears.
It’s a form of cathartic release and suppression would only lead to a bigger problem. Let tears say what words can’t, because tears are the summer showers to the soul.
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