If you’re like me, you love a good cry every once in a while. Every so often, when you’re overwhelmed with emotions and stress, crying can bring you a sense of relief and calmness.
Did you know that crying actually has some health benefits?
There are three different varieties of tears that your body secretes on a regular basis.
First is the reflex tear, which protects your eyes from bad particles and dust, especially when they’ve been irritated by smoke, chemicals, and other types of gas. These tears are comprised of 98 percent water, and act as a sort of shield for the eye.
The next type of tear is continual, which keeps the eyes and nose lubricated and healthy. Continual tears contain lysozyme, an antibacterial chemical that protects the eye from infections.
The third type is emotional tears, which release stress hormones in the body. Whenever you have an emotional cry, your body releases prolactin, a major stress hormone, and other stress hormones. Thus, after your crying session, your heart rate and breathing will slow down and you will grow calmer. Prolactin actually helps create tears as well: women tend to have higher levels of prolactin than men, which could explain why women are more likely to cry than men. However, prolactin is also released through sweat, and men tend to sweat more than women, so this does not mean that women are naturally more stressed out than men.
According to Dr. Judith Orloff, emotional tears encourage productions of endorphins in your body, leaving you feeling much more happy and relieved than before your cry. In fact, Dr. Orloff actually recommends crying to her patients to improve their emotional well being.
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