Are we always crying?

Usually, when you think of crying you think of a really sad situation or a scenario that makes us emotional. Emotional Tears are just one type of tear we shed. We are actually always crying, just with different types of tears.  Humans actually cry 3 different types of tears.  In order to understand our tears, we must understand our eye. We have special glands called Lacrimal glands in our eyes to make our tears and special tubes called lacrimal puncta to drain them away. We cry so much that we go through 132 kg of tears a year.

The first type of tears, basal tears are constantly produced. They form a thin coat consisting of 3 layers that keep the iris protected. First is the mucus layer, that fastens the iris. On top of this is the aqueous layer that keeps the iris hydrated. It also repels pathogens and bacteria from damaging the cornea. The top-most layer is the lipid layer that – an oily outer film that prevents the evaporation of the other layers and is clear so that we can see through it. Basal Tears usually do not hamper our vision and we go day to day without even noticing them.

The second type of tears are reflex tears. They are secreted to wash away harmful substances. They are secreted in much larger amounts. Their aqueous layer consists of a lot more antibodies to stop any pathogens trying to enter and infect the eye.  For example, when we peel an onion, the sulfoxides that make the onion smell the way it does gets converted to sulfenic acid. This is then converted to Syn-Propanethial S-oxide. This stings the human eye triggers the release of reflex tears.

The third kind of tears are emotional tears. When someone is either too sad or too happy, we release these tears. It may feel like a loss of control, which can be dangerous. Emotional tears help to stabilize your mood as quickly as possible, along with other physical reactions, such as an increased heart rate and slower breathing. Scientists still aren’t sure exactly how or why the tears themselves are helpful. They may be a social mechanism to elicit sympathy or show submission. However, emotional tears do contain higher levels of stress hormones, which means that they are indirectly calming the iris down.

Humans are always crying, just the type of tear is varied.