According to the German Society of Ophthalmology, which has collated different scientific studies on the phenomenon, women shed tears on average between 30 and 64 times a year and men six to 17 times. Men tend to cry for between two and four minutes but, for females, sessions last around six minutes. And weeping turns into full-blown sobbing for women in 65 per cent of cases, compared to just six per cent for males.

The reasons for crying differ too, the paper found. Women cry when they feel inadequate, when they are confronted by situations that are difficult to resolve or when they remember past events. Men tend to cry from empathy or when a relationship fails. However, the function of weeping remains something of a mystery, the research found, with doubts over its cathartic or relaxing effects.