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SITE : ” Crying in your sleep”

 

3 TYPES of Tears

Crying is a way to help ensure your eyes stay healthy. According to the American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO), tears help lubricate eyes & protect them from bacteria. The liquid product of crying can be divided into 3 distinct categories = basal, relax, emotional = with the first 2 being made up of 98% water. (MORE…..)

1. BASAL. These tears coat your eyes throughout the day, protecting the eyes by keeping out debris. Blinking helps spread them evenly over the surface of your eyes keeping them hydrated.  Tears transport oxygen & nutrients to the surface of your eyes,  improving your vision by sharpen your focus. To do their job, tears contain:  ☆ Water for moisture
☆ Mucus to spread tears over the surface
☆ Oils for lubrication, toprevent tears from evaporating
☆ Antibodies & special proteins to resist infection.

2. REFLEX (Irritant / continual). These tears gush out of the glands under your eyebrow when you throw up, from peeling onions, perfume,  pepper spray, or getting debris in your eyes. They also flush out irritants to protect your sight.
They can get triggered by bright lights, & from hot or peppery stimuli to the tongue & mouth. They’re also linked with vomiting, coughing & yawning.

3. EMOTIONAL. Humans are the only species known to produce emotional tears.  This category is about empathy, compassion, attachment pain, & moral or sentimental emotions – serving a biological function by excreting stress-inducing hormones built up through times of emotional distress.

Emotional tears have a different chemical makeup than those for lubrication (types 1 & 2) – the protein-based hormones prolactin, adrenocorticotropic hormone, & Leu-enkephalin (a natural painkiller). When these receptors in the ANS are activated, the lacrimal gland is stimulated to produce tears, which can be very therapeutic, known as “a good cry”, a part of the healing process.

Because tears have a symbolic meaning among humans, they communicate our emotions to others. They can make us more open & available, which could improve relationships, because crying often connects people, whether out of grief, love, passion, or another strong emotion.

It seems that crying particularly helps to soothe us when combined with outside support & comfort.  In many cases it may make others be empathetic & compassionate toward the crier, softening their anger or unpleasant reaction that made us cry in the first place.

Get to sleep : When we cry, our heart rate increases & breathing slows, reducing oxygen to the brain, which leads to drowsiness. Crying takes a lot of energy & is hard on the body. But intense sobbing to vent trauma will relieve our body of countless toxins & hormones like cortisol and prolactin (which contribute to elevated stress levels), & so will allow us to sleep better.  (Quora…..)

On the other hand, insincere grief or dishonest remorse is sometimes called crocodile tears, from an Ancient Greek anecdote that crocodiles would pretend to weep while luring or devouring their prey.
Also, “crocodile tears syndrome” is slang for Bogorad’s syndrome, a rare reaction to recovery from Bell’s palsy,  when a faulty facial nerve regeneration causes the person to shed tears while eating.

NOTE for ACoAs : When in early recovery, suffering a deep loss, or when uncovering old trauma at any time, it’s absolutely normal & healthy to do a lot of crying, even on-&-off for months or years. As long as you’re getting the right kind of therapy, Program meetings & spiritual support, you will come out the other end of the pain tunnel much lighter & more grounded in your True Self.  Accept the process!

DRY EYE syndrome ( kerato-conjunctivitis sicca)
Symptoms range from mild, & occasional to severe and continuous. They include dryness, irritation, redness, discharge, blurred vision, & easily fatigued eyes.
It can lead to blurred vision, instability of the tear film, increased risk of damage to the ocular surface such as scarring of the cornea, & changes in the eye, including to the neuro-sensory system

It can be caused by age, and certain medications such as antihistamines, some blood pressure meds, hormone replacement therapy, and antidepressants.…
It affects 5–34% of people to some degree, depending on the population, & seniors are affected up to 70%. (17% in China)

NEXT : Why Cry? Part 3