Our eyes cry three types of tears:
💧Basal tears
💧Reflex tears
💧Emotional tears
Each of these have their own unique chemical composition. For example, basal and reflex tears contain high levels of antimicrobial peptides and electrolytes (ie salt) to protect your eyes from infections.
But it’s the emotional tears that are really exciting. These contain various hormones like cortisol (stress) and adrenaline (fight or flight), and scientists believe that they actually act to flush out the waste products from our emotional response. And this might be why you feel better after a good cry 🥲
#science #crying #scicomm #eyes #biology
