Is Crying Good For You?

New research shows dogs cry tears of joy when reunited with their human parents. Crying often is hormonal and good for the soul, when it isn’t all about cutting onions and sniffling into your sleeve.

As humans, we possess a whole lot of emotions. We 'feel' a lot – whether it's happiness, joy, surprise, anger, or sadness. While happiness and joy are often promoted, crying is something that's considered a sign of vulnerability, and viewed from a negative lens by our peers, or other people. But is it really so? Not at all. 
It's not just us – even dogs' eyes get filled with tears, when they are reunited with their human parents. Of course, these are tears of joy, but crying in any circumstance, be it happiness or sadness is good for you. In fact, we humans do cry a lot – the American Academy of Ophthalmology reveals that our eyes produce anywhere between 15 to 30 gallons a year. 

Is there a reason why we cry?
Crying can happen because of several reasons – it could be that you are ecstatic about something positive that happened, or it could be that an event you were anticipating went downhill. Your eyes could even well up, when you are chopping onions or having sniffles. 
Interestingly, there are different types of tears – and these are all made up of different substances. These are basal, emotional, and reflex tears. When we cry, the irritants in our eyes are eliminated through these tears.

These tears may have a different composition, but they also have certain commonalities. They have three layers, which are collectively known as the tear film. What are these layers? There's an inner mucus layer that helps keep the tear stuck to your eye; there's another layer that is quite watery and helps keep the eye wet, and fights bacteria in the cornea. The last one is an oily outer layer that prevents tears from drying out. 

Benefits of crying 
You may think of it as bizarre, but crying is always a good idea and can help your mind and body. For one, it detoxifies your body. Crying flushes out not just smoke and dust from your eyes, but also helps to release the stressors. 
Let's take a look at some of the important benefits crying offers: 
●    Soothes your system 
When you cry, your system gets soothed. Researchers have gone on to say that crying activates the parasympathetic nervous system. You may have noticed that you feel so much better after crying; of course, the impact is not visible immediately. 

●    Reduces pain
Oh yes, we are serious! If you cry for a long period of time, your body releases oxytocin and endorphins. These feel-good chemicals can help you reduce both physical and emotional pain. All in all, you may experience a sense of calm, after you are done crying. 
●    Uplifts your mood
What if we told you that crying is a sure-shot way to pep up your mood? Of course, not when you are shedding those tears, but later. Not many know that when you cry, you take in quick breaths of cool air. When you breathe in cooler air, it can regulate the temperature of your brain and reduce stress levels. 
●    Restores emotional balance 
Most of us believe that we cry when something right doesn't happen. But that's not true – crying could be a response to several emotions. Researchers at Yale University believe that crying is a good way to restore emotional balance. This is also your body's natural way to process certain emotions, which may otherwise be difficult to handle. 

The last word 
While crying is a positive exercise most of the time, it's important to be cognisant if it happens too often. If you find yourself crying at the drop of a hat, there's a problem. Experiencing feelings of sadness and disinterest, over a period of two weeks, could signal depression or some other mental health disorder.
In case that's you, take action at the earliest and you will be good!