Crying is often strongly associated with just being sad. And this makes sense because people usually cry only when they are sad. An issue with this that goes beyond this article is that crying is often seen as a weakness within the person. Sadness is also often seen as a weakness. And neither are true. Crying and sadness are just naturally parts of the human condition. On that note, here are seven reasons you should let those tears flow.
1. Crying Improves Your Mood.
It allows people to regulate their own emotions and deal with themselves without causing harm to themselves or others. It brings solace and allows them to safely, and physically, get rid of those negative emotions. It also can improve your mood largely, which is why it’s stated that everyone needs a good cry here and there.
2. Crying Helps You Get Support From Others.
Most of us don’t like crying around others, but there’s a scientific reason it’s hard for you to ignore those who cry. A 2016 study showed that crying “rallies support from the people around us.” Crying forces us to communicate with others. It’s not easy to say “I’m doing pretty well” with tears dripping down your face after all.
3. Crying Fights & Kills Bacteria.
Crying helps you keep your eyes clean. Imagine your eyes as a windshield wiper and tears as the washer fluid. Over time when you blink or cry, your eyes are working to get dust out of your eyes as well as fight dryness. Tears aren’t just water and salt, after all. They also contain a fluid called lysozyme which a 2011 study found had powerful antimicrobial properties. They can kill bacteria specifically by destroying bacteria cell walls.
4. Crying Aids Sleep.
We all know this to some point. That exhaustion post crying is common among people, though science shows it most often in babies. We’re just larger/more developed versions of them so it would make sense that that trait carries forward.
5. Crying Helps Relieve Pain.
That self-soothing effect works in tandem with this one. The shedding of emotional tears has also been shown to release oxytocin and endorphins, which if you don’t know are “feel good” natural chemicals made by your body. They help with both emotional and physical pain.
6. Crying Releases Toxins.
Tears apparently aren’t just full of metaphorical washer fluid. They also apparently have many stress hormones and other chemicals, which when expunged could reduce stress. There is more research that may need to be done on this matter. But this article seems to be quite certain on this one.
7. Crying Improves Your Vision.
This isn’t too surprising. Every time you blink, tears called “basal tears” are released. This helps keep the eyes moist and allow mucous membranes to stay well lubricated. This helps us see clearly. The drier those mucous membranes, the blurrier your vision. (The image below is funny because this character’s name is Vision. You’re welcome.)
Ending Note:
Crying is great, but check yourself: if you’re crying very frequently, for no reasons, it becomes uncontrollable or it starts to affect daily activities, these are signs something else might be going on with you and you should speak with a licensed practitioner as soon as possible. On that note, please take care of yourselves.