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Crying is a natural response to a slew of emotions, from sadness to happiness and everything in-between. It’s part of what makes you human and crying is more frequent than you probably thought. According to Women’s Health, women cry in between 30 to 64 times a month and men are not that far behind.
People produce three types of tears, reported Medical News Today. Basal tears are secreted constantly – when you blink – to keep your eyes moist. Reflex tears are a response to irritants getting in your eyes like wind or smoke to protect them. That’s why you cry when you chop onions.
The third type of tears are emotional and actually contain stress hormones. That’s what most people call crying. All of these tears have health and wellness benefits to explore.
Improves mood
Crying can help improve your mood, according to Women’s Health. That’s because crying causes your brain to release endorphins – feel good hormones – that help relieve pain, reduce stress, and can help improve your feelings of wellbeing. These hormones can actually dull pain. That’s why people cry when they are injured or sick.
Helps you recover from grief
Grieving is a process that involves many stages including periods of great sadness, guilt, and anger. Crying is an important emotional release during this process. It could even help you sort out and accept the death of a family member or friend, the loss of a relationship, or other life-changing event.
Restores emotional balance
People do not cry just because they are sad, explains Healthline. Many people cry because they are very happy, scared, stressed, or angry. Crying is a way for your body to restore emotional balance and help your body recover from strong emotions.
Helps self-soothe
Crying is also a way for you to self-sooth. That’s because crying activates the parasympathetic nervous system (PNS) which helps your body rest, according to a study published in Frontiers in Psychology. But the benefits are not immediate, it can take a few minutes of crying before you begin to feel better.
Fights bacteria
Crying is good for your eyes. Yes, it makes them red and puffy, but it also helps keep your eyes clean because tears contain a fluid called lysozyme, reported Medical News today. Lysozyme is an enzyme that has strong antimicrobial properties that can kill bacteria in your eyes.
Improves vision
Basal tears help to keep your eyes lubricated and moist; this helps to focus light and keep your vision sharp. The symptoms of dry eyes include blurriness, double vision, itching, burning, and redness, according to a blog from Sponsel Eye Experts. Severe dryness can damage your cornea and impact your vision.
Helps babies sleep
Crying could also help your baby sleep better. A 2016 study from the American Academy of Pediatrics on infant sleep found that by using controlled crying, the babies increased the amount of time they slept and reduced the number of times they woke up during the night. Using this self-soothing method allows parents to destress too.
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