If you haven’t cried, your eyes can’t be beautiful. – Sophia Loren
Crying is a behavior claimed to be exclusively human which has remained as an unexplained physical response. Biologically, tears can be classified into three kinds: basal tears, which are continuous and lubricate our eyes; reflex or infant tears, which occur when we chop onions or receive a blow to the eye; and emotional tears, which are psychologically caused.
Laboratory experiments show that emotional tears have 24 percent more complex proteins than irritant tears. The proteins in emotional tears are among those involved in the human stress response, suggesting that crying performs a physical catharsis and expels toxins from your body.
Cellular physiologist Darlene Dartt believes that your nervous system may be responsible for crying. When nerves near your lacrimal gland (the gland which produces tears) release certain neurotransmitters and hormones, tears are released.
According to Dartt, crying began as an involuntary protective response mechanism. Your cornea contains sensory nerves, which send impulses to your brain stem. When dust or debris get in your eye, these sensory nerves signal your brain stem to releases hormones that tell your lacrimal gland to produce tears to wash away the irritants.
The cornea also has nerves which reach further up into an area of your cerebrum that processes emotions and emotional tears. A signal is sent to your endocrine system to release a hormone that generates tears whenever an emotion, like joy or sorrow, is registered in your cerebrum.
Your cerebrum also controls speech, and much like speaking, crying is a powerful form of communication, and was one of our main forms of human communication when we were babies.
The main difference between talking and crying is that the latter is a form of communication that is purely emotional and sort of an uncensored version of how you really feel about something.
For evolutionary biologist Oren Hasson, tears lower defenses and function as signals of submission, serve as a cry for help, and show a mutual display of attachment and a group display of cohesion. As such, crying can help build and strengthen personal relationships, and if you cry when you see someone else crying, it can signal your compassion or empathy, he explains.
Crying may also potentially draw sympathy and awaken the desire to help from others, or elicit mercy from an attacker – responses which could help increase your chances of surviving certain situations.
Shedding tears in public is often frowned upon but it tends to make what the crying person is saying or doing appear genuine or more believable.
Why Men and Women Cry
Another way to look at crying is to note the differences in crying episodes between the sexes.
On average, the ladies cry about 64 times a year, compared to only 17 for the gentlemen.
Studies show that boys and girls cry equally often, but once they enter school, boys begin crying less. This is attributed to the fact that parents and peers tend to come down harder on boys who cry as they grow up.
From an evolutionary standpoint, crying signals vulnerability and necessity. Women tend to share their emotions and tears as a sign of trust, which increases bonding and chances of survival.
Hormonal variances also make women more prone to cry. But mid-life changes even up the playing field. Women begin to cry less, get more assertive and can even display anger more, while men get angry less and cry more.
Whatever the reason for crying, what’s evident is that it’s a powerful form of communication. Crying can help make you feel better, release stress, deepen social bonds, and may even have other undiscovered biological functions that help maintain a healthy equilibrium.
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