We cry when we are sad and sometimes, we cry when we are happy. Someone passes away, tears come. Your boyfriend cheats on you, tears come. You fail an exam you studied all week for, tears come. Everyone knows when crying occurs for the most part, but do we really know why or how? It is a question I have always wondered so I decided to do some research about it.
Tears are a mixture of water, mucus, and oil that are released from the lacrimal gland. These tears do not only come when we are sad. In fact, there are three different categories of tears. The first is called basal tears. This is the moisture that keeps our eyes from completely drying out. The second type is known as reflex tears which protect the eyes against outside forces, such as a strong wind, smoke, or onions. The last type is referred to as emotional tears, which of course, most of us are most familiar with. These tears come when we get emotional due to life events or important occurrences.
What exactly does it mean then when people say, “You need to have a good cry.” According to ScienceLine, ” Having an emotional cry is a way to rid the built up toxins.” This is why sometimes you may feel emotionally and physically better after crying for a while. Of course, this can not be completely proven because there are also other variables. For example, if you are crying to your best friend, you may feel better after because she was consoling you and cheering you up. While there are undoubtedly third factors, researchers have backed up the theory that crying can make you feel better and release toxins.
Like the picture above, one of the reasons humans are believed to cry is because as babies that was one of the only ways to communicate. Babies cannot speak yet, so crying is their only way to let their parents know about their exhaustion, hunger, sadness, or frustration. Crying is an action that begins right at the start of our lives and continues throughout. Happy or sad, tears show emotion for us as human beings.
Work Cited:
http://science.howstuffworks.com/life/crying1.htm
This topic is so interesting to me! Before leaving for school, I had an awful crying episode with my friends about leaving each other. The tears always came on cue just as we would hug goodbye. It’s an unpreventable reaction when your emotions are so strong. I still don’t understand why it happens. I know that having strong emotions towards a matter can cause the tears to stream but why? Is water coming out of my eyes a cure to sadness? Or my display of happiness? This video gives a good explanation of what purpose tears serve. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vRroj26qVb0
This is so interesting. I had a really long week and I was tired and emotional and when on Monday when my roommate had gotten into the sorority she wanted I started crying tears of joy. I didn’t know why it happened but the tears wouldn’t stop because I was so happy for her. The body works in really strange ways to communicate. I have never considered the baby connection but it is intriguing considering that when you are crying when you are sad its because you need consoling or help and that is the same as when your baby. There are probably other factors that play into whether or not you cry over certain things and it’d be interesting to see what other variables effect the likelihood of you crying