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- My tears are not salty
Our tears are salty because they contain electrolytes, which are natural salts that the body requires for nervous system function and the transfer of information between different nerve cells. The most important electrolytes (salts) that we have in the body include potassium, sodium, calcium, bicarbonate, phosphate and magnesium, among others. When you stick out your tongue and taste a bit of salt in your tears, it demonstrates just how sensitive our sense of taste really is.
During particularly sad movies, when you’re going through a personal tragedy, or simply while cooking yourself an onion-heavy meal, you’ve experienced the sensation of tears running down your cheeks. Crying is something that we have been doing since birth; in fact, it’s probably the very first thing you did after you came wailing into the world. Given how universal the act of crying is, a few of those tears have undoubtedly run into every person’s mouth on the planet, revealing their salty truth!
Tears rolling down the eyes (Photo Credit : pbsubhash/Shutterstock)
To be honest, the unusual salty taste of tears remains a source of surprise whenever they strike one of my taste buds, begging the question—why? Why do our tears have such an undeniable salty aftertaste?
Before we can delve into the full explanation of that question, let’s first take a look at the composition of our tears.
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Composition of Tears
Our eyes are one of the most impressive adaptations in our body, not only gifting us with the ability to see, but also the complex mechanisms and systems to keep our precious eyes safe. Ensuring that the eye doesn’t become dried out when open is of critical importance, which is why we blink. Each time we close our lids, a thin layer of lacrimal fluid is spread across the surface of the eye. These “everyday” tears are called basal tears, and are composed of water, lipids, mucin, immunoglobulins, sodium and potassium, among other substances, including a range of antioxidants like ascorbate and urate. Many of the components of basal tears are intended to protect the eye from foreign pathogens or other potential bacterial threats.
The second type of tears that form in our eyes are called reflex tears, and as the name implies, they form in response to an intense external stimuli. If you are caught outside in a sandstorm, or perhaps touch your eye after slicing a jalapeno pepper, these reflex tears form to flush out the offending stimuli. The irritants that can trigger such reflex tears may also do so through the mucus membranes, the nose or mouth, all of which are linked to the same defensive mechanism of tears for rapid cleansing.
The final type of tears are called psychic tears, and are the tears generated through intense emotional experiences—happiness, grief, exhaustion, amusement, etc. Interestingly enough, the pathway by which such “emotional tears” are generated is quite different, controlled by the limbic system of the brain, which affects the parasympathetic nervous system, releasing neurotransmitters that trigger the lacrimal gland to produce tears! Not only is the pathway of emotional tear generation different, but so is the composition of the tears. There is a much higher concentration of protein-based hormones, as well as a mild analgesic substance, leucine-enkephalin, a natural painkiller.
Clearly, not all tears are made equal, and even when they are dried and looked at under a microscope, it is possible to see the difference between tears generated by a bad break-up and those generated by a hint of pepper spray!
But Why Are Tears Salty?
As mentioned, basal tears do contain potassium and sodium, two of the most important electrolytes that we have in the body. For those who don’t know, electrolytes are natural salts that the body requires for nervous system function and the transfer of information between different nerve cells. The most important electrolytes (salts) that we have in the body include potassium, sodium, calcium, bicarbonate, phosphate and magnesium, among others.
When you stick out your tongue and taste a bit of salt in your tears, it demonstrates just how sensitive our sense of taste really is. Roughly 98% of tears are made of pure water, while the remaining 2% contain all the other substances and compounds we explained above. Yet, even with such a low level of salinity, your tears make the environment of your eye unpleasant for bacterial growth. Your tears are used most often as an extension of your immune system, so the salty presence in your tears makes perfect sense.
Furthermore, we are salty creatures, with nearly a half a pound of salt in our bodies at all times, so it makes sense that this very natural fluid would also have some concentration of salt. The water in our bodies is inherently salty—albeit less salty than the ocean—and it would require a lot of cellular energy to ensure that our tears were 100% pure water. Additionally, some of the other salts and ions found in our tears help in lubrication, protection and healing processes within the eye.
The best thing about having three different kinds of tears, however, is that the body can react with an appropriate salinity concentration and type of tear depending on the threat at hand!
A Final Word
The fact that our tears are salty is yet another argument for the remarkable complexity and interconnectedness of our bodies. Natural selection has found the most convenient and effective path forward, ensuring that our eyes are protected from harm by using compounds already present in the body’s fluids. Even the simplest things, such as the (reflex) tears streaming from the corners of your eyes on a convertible ride, tell an impressive story of human evolution and our amazing bodies!
Suggested Reading
References
- UC Santa Barbara
- Wikipedia - Tears
- JSTOR
- scienceDirect
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If you don’t know why you’re crying, taste your tears!
When was your last time you cried? What did it taste like?
According to a Japanese trivia website, I found an amazing fact about tears.
The taste of a tear depends on the situation. This is something to do with tear secretion. When you’re angry or feeling remorseful, you would be in a highly wrought-up state that makes the sympathetic nervous system active. This nervous system makes the tears contain more sodium and makes it more salty than usual. On the other hand, when you’re happy or just sad, the parasympathetic nervous system would be active to calm yourself, so it would contain more potassium that makes the tear watery and less salty. Moreover, when the parasympathetic nervous system is active, the tears would contain stress hormones so it releases your stress.
Such an interesting fact isn’t it!? When I cry, I mostly taste really salty tears! I thought there was only one kind of taste!
If you’ve ever had tears run down your cheeks into your mouth, you’ve probably noticed that they have a distinctly salty flavor.
So why are tears salty? The answer to this question is quite simple. Our tears are mostly made from the water in our body, and this water contains salt ions (electrolytes).
Of course, there’s a lot more to tears that just a salty taste. Keep reading to learn what tears are made of, where they come from, how they protect and lubricate our eyes, and why a good cry may make us feel better.
Tears are formed in three layers that work to lubricate, nourish, and protect our eyes:
- Outer layer. The oily outer layer is produced by the meibomian glands. This layer helps tears stay in the eye and keeps tears from evaporating too quickly.
- Middle layer. The watery middle layer includes water-soluble proteins. It’s produced by the main lacrimal gland and accessory lacrimal glands. This layer protects and nourishes the cornea and conjunctiva, which is the mucous membrane covering the inside of the eyelids and the front of the eye.
- Inner layer. The mucous inner layer is produced by goblet cells. It binds water from the middle layer, allowing it to spread evenly to keep the eye lubricated.
Tears are produced by glands located above the eyes and under your eyelids. Tears spread down from the glands and across the surface of your eye.
Some of the tears drain out through tear ducts, which are small holes near the corners of your eyelids. From there, they travel down to your nose.
In a typical year, a person will produce 15 to 30 gallons of tears, according to the American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO).
There are three primary types of tears:
- Basal tears. Basal tears are in your eyes at all time to lubricate, protect, and nourish your cornea.
- Reflex tears. Reflex tears are produced in response to irritation, such as by smoke, wind, or dust. Reflex tears are what we produce when confronted with syn-propanethial-S-oxide from slicing onions.
- Emotional tears. Emotional tears are produced in response to pain, including physical pain, empathetic pain, sentimental pain, as well as emotional states, such as sadness, happiness, fear, and other emotional states.
Waking up with crust in the corners of your eyes is quite common. According to the University of Utah, these hardened bits are typically a mix of:
- tears
- mucus
- oils
- exfoliated skin cells
While this mix is usually taken care of during the day by blinking, during sleep your eyes are closed and there’s no blinking. Gravity helps it collect and harden in the corners and at the edges of your eyes.
The beneficial effects of crying has been studied in recent literature. Researchers hypothesize that the act of crying and expressing one’s emotions can bring relief, while holding in or bottling up one’s emotions may lead to mental distress.
There’s also research about the composition of emotional tears. Scientists believe that emotional tears may contain proteins and hormones not typically found in basal or reflex tears. And these hormones may be linked to mood enhancement and stress reduction.
However, a 2015 study found that it’s the “dip and subsequent return of emotions to previous levels that might make criers feel as if they are in a much better mood after they have shed some tears.”
More research about the effects of crying and the composition of emotional tears is needed before we can determine whether they can provide emotional therapy.
Every time you blink, your tears clean your eyes. Tears keep your eyes smooth, moist, and protected from:
- the environment
- irritants
- infectious pathogens
Your tears are salty because they contain natural salts called electrolytes.