Why cry?

[Randwolf]

Here is a reference.
http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/2429/does-menstrual-synchrony-really-exist

Back at ya...
http://factoidz.com/why-do-womens-menstrual-cycles-get-in-sync/

Occam's razer. The simplest explanation is often the best. For menstrual synchronisation, the simplest explanation is that it does not exist.

Granted. Unless observation and experimentation indicate that it does. (By the way, that's Occam's Razor)

There is a problem here, of course, in that this is something that, contrary to first appearances, is not easy to measure.

Another problem : No two women are likely to have menstrual cycles the same length. How can they synchronise when one is 26 days and the other 30?

Wow. After Googling this mess and coming up with about 40% - 60% opposing opinions (60% your way), I'm more confused than before. This particular point that you raise is valid. It should be fairly easy to correct for statistically, allowing for mins, maxs and means, but it is a concern.

However, urban myths tend to be very persistent. Even after they are shown to be incorrect, lots of people cling to them, and quote outdated references.

You are correct, one of the articles I read mentioned that the pro-Mclintock effect crowd is losing ground. They also mentioned the game is not over yet, either. Hell, even Wiki is ambivalent on the subject, the linked article in turn cites this quote: "In 2008, the New York Times concluded that 'the jury is still out on menstrual synchrony.'"


Here is an interesting interview with McClintock herself, from The health report with Norman Swan.


From what I can gather without spending hours chasing my way back to the raw data is:

Nearly half of the papers published on the topic find no evidence that close co-habitation draws menstrual cycles closer together.

From Scientific American


Thanks for your input Skeptical, the subject may merit a thread of its own, if one does not already exist. From your own reference:

Currently the opposing camps are duking it out in the journals. (See the September 2002 Journal of Comparative Psychology for the latest irruption.) I won't say the prosynchrony crowd is out of the game, but right now it's third and long.

 

[SilentLi89]

Another problem : No two women are likely to have menstrual cycles the same length. How can they synchronise when one is 26 days and the other 30?

This has nothing to do with crying, but not all women run like "clockwork", many women experience some fluctuation in their cycle from time to time. She might menstruate a day or two early one month and a day or two late the next. Its nothing to be medically concerned about obviously but it happens all of the time. And since most women have a cycle that is about 30 days once the cycles sync up (if they do/ always have in my personal experience) then they would all continue to cycle within a few days of each other for as long as they are in close contact. :m:

And just to get back on topic, I read in an article (don't remember where) that tears, supposedly contain high levels of adrenocorticotropic hormone, which are related to cortisol (the stress hormone) and when people cry it supposedly decreases the amount in the body and decreases stress. Of course I was just looking for info to support my hypothesis, but it seems stress release is actually one theory for why people might cry.

 

[Fraggle Rocker]

Really? Do you happen to have a link to this article handy . . . .

Here's the Post article.

However, you are (not surprisingly) able to state it much more eloquently.

I make a living as a writer so I have to stay in practice. Thanks for the compliment.

 

[Cheeky]

There are basic reasons. Obviously we know that tears help expel foreign/harmful objects from the eye.

In human babies and adolescents, it is a means for survival. When a baby is hungry, in pain or even slightly uncomfortable they will cry. This usually results in maternal care.

Even into adulthood, most people cry when experiencing extreme emotion or pain. Women more, due to the higher presence of estrogen.

However, I think that all humans (regardless of age) cry to self-soothe. There have been studies indicating that tears contain significant amounts of stress hormones. Any kind of stress, emotional and physical, would produce a greater amount of these hormones in the body. So I tend to lean toward the idea that our bodies produce tears to physically cope and rid itself of harmful stress hormones.

There are social reasons also, for example a person may cry to purposefully illicit sympathy (aid) from someone. And I think some of the gender differences are due to social factors too.

I am also curious about your question about animals crying though! Does anyone know more about this?

 

[visceral_instinct]

I hate crying. It seems indecent, like shitting your pants in public...

Back on topic: emotional tears contain some stress hormones...is it possible the body is getting rid of some? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tears

 

[Cheeky]

I hate crying. It seems indecent, like shitting your pants in public...

Same here. It's pretty overindulgent I think, especially in public.