Is crying good for your health? Reasons why it is a good idea to cry

Crying is a natural response to a range of emotions, varying from deep sadness or grief to extreme happiness.

Most African communities associate crying with weakness consequently causing their men to avoid crying at all cost. This has caused many to pile emotions creating a ticking bomb that is bound to explode sooner or later. Research has discovered that more women than men cry when under pressure.

6 reasons why you should Cry

1. It helps in self soothing. Crying activates the parasympathetic nervous system (PNS). The PNS helps your body rest and digest food.

2. Reduces pain. Long periods of crying releases oxytocin( numbs the pain) and endorphins( gives the calming effect) which are feel good chemicals that ease emotional and physical pain.

3. Helps to build up your social support network when the going gets tough. When you cry you let others know you are not okay and would therefore use their support. It improves interpersonal relationships.

4. Restores emotional balance. We often cry when our emotions go to the extreme inorder to create equilibrium. These emotions can vary from extreme happiness to extreme sadness.

5. Helps in dealing with grieve. The lose of a loved one is one of the hardest thing to come to terms with. The emotions that come with it is overwhelming and it sometimes pushes people to depression. Crying is one way of soothing the pain and expressing how you actually feel.

6. Detoxifies the body. There are 3 types of tears reflex, continuous and emotional tears. Reflex tears clear debris from the eyes( smoke and dust), continuous tears create lubrication and protect the eye from infection and lastly emotional tears is mostly made up of stress hormones to relieve stress and pain.

Even though crying is considered good for your health, in a situation where one cries frequently without an apparent reason it is an indication that there is a problem somewhere and one should seek medical attention.