Benefits of Crying
The ability to cry is a natural capacity of every human being. Many studies show that crying is a cathartic behaviour that helps to relieve pain and lower arousal. It can be provoked by a variety of emotions. Researchers have discovered that crying can improve both your health and your mind and that these benefits begin at birth with a baby’s first cry. In one of the studies about crying, 94 per cent promoted crying as healthy and warned readers that repressing tears would be harmful to the body and mind (Cornelius, 2001).
Conventional wisdom asserts that crying has health benefits that go beyond what facts supports. For example, the idea that crying confers health benefits has been repeatedly articulated in the psychosomatic tradition, in which crying is seen as a means to release physiological tension; it is claimed that tension that is not reduced through crying may find an outlet in bodily diseases such as headaches, ulcers, hypertension, and insomnia. Our new assessment of the health advantages of weeping finds a substantial number of null results, and where positive findings do exist, they are frequently accompanied by methodological issues, such as case-study designs, retrospective reports of health and/or crying, or a lack of control groups (Vingerhoets & Bylsma, 2007).
Tears wash away debris from your eyes, such as smoke and dust. Continuous tears moisturise and protect your eyes from infection. Emotional tears may be beneficial to one’s health in a variety of ways. Emotional tears contain stress hormones and other poisons, whereas continuous tears are 98 per cent water. Crying, according to researchers, flushes these things out of your system, however, more research is needed in this area.
Crying may be one of your most effective self-soothing methods. According to researchers, crying activates the parasympathetic nervous system (PNS). The PNS assists the body in resting and digesting. However, the benefits are not instantaneous. It may take many minutes of crying before you experience the calming effects of tears.
If you are feeling down, crying communicates to others around you that you are in need of assistance. This is referred to as an interpersonal advantage (Trusted Source). Crying has been an attachment behaviour since you were a baby. Its purpose is to seek comfort and care from others in a variety of ways. In other words, it helps to strengthen your social support network during times of difficulty.
A baby’s first cry out of the womb is a crucial cry. The umbilical cord provides oxygen to babies inside the womb. When a newborn is born, he or she must begin breathing on their own. The first cry is what helps a baby’s lungs adjust to life outside the womb. Crying also aids in the removal of excess fluid from the lungs, nose, and mouth.
Crying does not always occur in response to something sad. When you are really happy, terrified, or stressed, you may weep. Yale University researchers believe that crying in this manner can assist to restore emotional balance. When you cry because you are either thrilled or worried about something, it may be your body’s way of recovering from such a strong emotion.
