What are the "bioligical reasons" behind the creation of tears?

Question

At an intense emotional moment, like sorrow, sadness, or immense joy, why do we cry?
What is the scientific expalnation behind this, and please don't make it too complicated for me to understand. Thanks.

Answer 1

Now don't cry... People have been asking for a long time now why we get teary-eyed and cry, but as of yet, there is no conclusive answer. Evolutionary biologist Charles Darwin himself made one of the earliest serious inquiries into the reason behind crying in The Expression of Emotions in Man and Animal (1872); in his book, he concluded that sobbing served no purpose at all, that it is "an incidental result" of the pressure we put on our eyes when we contort our faces. Shedding tears when upset or angry is, for Darwin, the same as when we weep after we've been hit in the face — it's all about muscle contractions.

Darwin doesn't have the last word on this one, however, and theories — biological, chemical, social, and psychological — about crying abound. Some researchers believe that it actually releases chemicals that our bodies produce when we're stressed or upset. Researchers have analyzed the chemical difference between tears shed by people who were moved emotionally by a Hollywood tearjerker and tears brought about from cutting onions. They found a difference in the proteins between the two types of tears, and concluded that those produced by the weepy film were from hormones released by the body. So "crying it all out" could literally mean crying those hormones out of your body.

Another chemical theory is that crying helps to release endorphins into the bloodstream. Endorphins are chemicals that act as mood-elevators and pain relievers. Both this and the above theory give chemical credence to the assertion that most people feel physically better after having a good sob.

Then there are the socio-psychological theories of crying. The most obvious one stems from what we know of newborns. Infants cry to resolve a negative situation: hunger, pain, a lack of attention. Perhaps we have held on to this tactic as we age, and we weep in order to receive social support, which in turn makes us feel better about whatever is bothering us.

Some researchers argue that crying is a form of emotional communication — it shows that our emotions are honest. It's notoriously difficult to fake sobbing, as many actors can tell you. Tears also help to convey emotions that we may find difficult to verbalize. In addition, tears emphasize that our facial expressions are trying to convey sadness or grief. In one Vassar study, researchers showed participants photographs of people weeping, some with the tears removed by a computer. Participants had difficulty identifying the emotion being expressed by faces that had been computer-dried of tears.

While not everyone agrees on the biological, chemical, social, or psychological factors that make us cry, most agree that crying is healthy for you and your sympathetic nervous system.

Crying is uniquely human. No other animal expresses its emotions by releasing tears, not even our closest relatives (Darwin again!), the apes. They cry vocally, much like screaming newborns, but they remain dry-eyed. Their tear ducts only kick into action when they've been physically injured. So while you may never get the definitive answer on why you cry, you can still enjoy this uniquely human and overall emotionally healthy and cathartic experience.

Answer 2

well ur tears contain components that washes the eyes protecting against any invading bacteria. The major component -water helps to keep the eyes moist and lubricated
THe physiology behind why we cry linking to our emotions I dont fully understand, but the effects of crying during an emotinonal distress sure serve to destress an individual. After a good cry you sure do feel better - a means of venting pent up emotions I woul say

Answer 3

It's not the tears, it's what happens to us after they're shed. We need a way to release this emotion, if we didn't, our brain's would surely explode. Think about it, after you cry, doesn't your body feel more calm? You might look a little ugly (I don't mean that in a bad way) but you feel more relaxed, don't you?

Answer 4

first, you're able to desire to rephrase you question...what variety of a God might enable His followers fail, and then enable them to % punishment so consistent with their previous judgements? A basically and satisfying God. He gave us unfastened will and for this reason won't be able to interfere with our strikes. yet He set until now us, regulations, that we are able to the two % to persist with or push aside. AND He sent Jesus to die for ALL of our sins, and it develop right into a merciless, terrible and tormenting death yet He did it for us, because of the fact He loves us. Jesus might have particularly decrease back off and forgotten approximately us, yet He did no longer, He went with the aid of with the crucifixion, torment and each and all the humiliation set upon Him, to pay for OUR sins. So Is a God that did/does all those suggested issues worth of worship? particular! *<~To Valles Marineris~>* Being created in comparable to God, does no longer mean we are able to be precisely like Him. everybody is familiar with of that the advent of a writer is oviously no longer surprisingly much as good as that is writer. comparable applies to us.

Answer 5

it is supposed to be to make sure that things such as dust ect are washed out of the eye, to get rid of things that irrate the eyes, and to make sure that the eyeball is moist,