The question of whether expressing deep emotion through crying affects testosterone levels touches on the complex interplay between psychological states and the body’s internal chemistry. Hormones are the body’s chemical messengers, regulating everything from metabolism to mood and reproduction. Understanding the potential link requires exploring how the body manages stress and how that process influences the production of sex hormones. This discussion involves examining the hormonal systems that govern stress response and the specific physiological role of emotional tears.
The Relationship Between Stress Hormones and Testosterone
The body’s response to stress is primarily managed by the Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Adrenal (HPA) axis. When a person perceives a stressor, the HPA axis is activated, culminating in the release of glucocorticoids, primarily cortisol. Cortisol is the primary stress hormone because it prepares the body for a “fight or flight” response, mobilizing energy reserves.
The production of testosterone is regulated by the separate but interconnected Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Gonadal (HPG) axis. During periods of sustained stress, elevated cortisol levels from the HPA axis can directly interfere with the HPG axis’s function, a process called glucocorticoid inhibition.
This inhibition occurs along the HPG pathway: high cortisol suppresses the release of gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH), which reduces the secretion of luteinizing hormone (LH) and follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH). Since LH signals the testes to produce testosterone, this cascade ultimately suppresses testosterone levels. Prolonged stress that elevates cortisol tends to reduce testosterone production.
Emotional Crying and the Body’s Stress Response
Emotional crying is a distinct physiological event following emotional arousal, differentiating it from reflex tears caused by irritants. This type of crying often represents a shift in the autonomic nervous system from sympathetic activation (fight-or-flight) to the parasympathetic nervous system. Activating the parasympathetic system initiates the body’s “rest and digest” response, which is a calming and regulatory process.
The physiological function of emotional tears appears tied to restoring the body to homeostasis. Some research suggests that emotional tears contain higher concentrations of stress hormones, including cortisol, compared to other types of tears. This has led to a theory that crying may be a mechanism for the body to physically excrete excess stress-related compounds.
While the immediate onset of emotional distress causes a spike in stress hormones, the subsequent act of crying is generally seen as a self-soothing behavior. This release mechanism activates the calming nervous system, effectively reducing accumulated physiological stress. The body uses this process to regulate and lower stress hormone levels elevated by the initial emotional event.
Scientific Findings on Crying and Testosterone Levels
Direct research measuring a person’s testosterone levels immediately before and after a self-induced episode of emotional crying is limited. However, established hormonal mechanisms provide a strong theoretical basis for the likely outcome. Since emotional crying helps reduce stress hormones like cortisol, it logically facilitates the recovery of testosterone levels suppressed by the preceding emotional stressor. Crying is thus more likely to assist in normalizing a stress-suppressed testosterone level rather than lowering it further.
There is a unique finding related to chemosignals in tears. One study demonstrated that when men were exposed to the scent of women’s emotional tears, their testosterone levels in saliva dropped significantly, averaging around 13%. This effect was involuntary, occurring even though the men could not consciously distinguish the tears from a control saline solution.
This finding suggests emotional tears contain a chemosignal that can act externally to suppress male sexual arousal and testosterone levels. This effect is observed upon sniffing the tears of another person, not as a result of a person’s own crying. Therefore, the restorative function of the act of emotional crying is unlikely to cause a measurable, lasting drop in a person’s own testosterone.