SIX benefits of crying

Crying. That thing that you pretend not to be doing because you don’t want pity.

Or…

That thing African women do when they suddenly get to the entrance of a funeral wake.

But did you know that there are actual benefits to be derived from crying?

And while science will throw up a lot more, we have scoured the Internet for six.

But before we hand those out like a kombi conductor handing back change, we wanna talk about why we cry in the first place.

There is the emotional crying. Science says it is a uniquely human behaviour.

Before you start thinking, your pet German Shepherd Bhoki cries, Dr Joe Pierre in writing for Psychology Today said:

Animals shed tears as part of normal ocular functioning, and there have been anecdotal reports of animals shedding the occasional emotional tear, but for the most part, only humans routinely cry out of sadness and other complex emotions.

Our crying is also pretty complex because it might be grief, the birth of a baby, end of a romantic relationship, a wedding, losing a match and winning a match. It is all very twisted at times.

So what is the purpose you will ask? There is crying and its effect on you and crying and its effect on other people.

So what are the benefits:

It is soothing: Crying can calm you down and regulate emotions
Relieves pain: You release cooling oxytocin and endorphins which make people feel good.
Gets you help: When you see someone crying, your instinct is to try and help them. Yeah, it works. Not just when it comes to babies.
Can get you to sleep: You have heard of the expression, crying yourself to sleep right. Babies do that. But the thinking, without too much evidence at this stage that because of the good chemicals that we release, it gets rid of the tension in our bodies and aids sleep.
Helps vision: Ok basal tears are not your standard tears but surely they should count. So the basal tears lubricate your eyes because if they get dry, your membrane gets a bit screwed and your eyesight gets blurry.
Fights bacteria: Beyond the lubrication, tears help to get rid of bacteria. This is thanks to a fluid called lysozyme which has anti-microbial properties.

So gents, next time someone says grown men don’t cry. Just say, I am just doing a health fix.

with additional information from MedicalNewsToday