And it offers several physical and mental health benefits. Crying may help clear toxins and bacteria from eyes and improve vision. It can also help regulate your moods, improve your sleep, and help you communicate needs. Moderate levels of crying are normal for most people.
Tears keep your eyes wet and smooth, and help focus light so you can see clearly. They also protect your eyes from infections and irritating things, like dirt and dust. Every time you blink, a thin layer of tears called a “tear film” spreads across the surface of your cornea (the clear outer layer of the eye).
Improved vision:
Basal tears, which are released every time a person blinks, help to keep the eyes moist and prevent mucous membranes from drying out, and the lubricating effect of basal tears allows people to see more clearly.
When we cry, the water passes through a thin membrane to the tissues around the eyes that cause water retention and the skin around the eyes ends up looking puffier than before. Continuous dilation of the blood vessels around the eyes can also lead to swelling and puffing up of the eyes.
Researchers have established that crying releases oxytocin and endogenous opioids, also known as endorphins. These feel-good chemicals help ease both physical and emotional pain.
Crying might be a sign of emotional stress and pain but if you are wondering how it harms your body, the answer is that it does not. Crying does not harm one's body physically.
This is one of several main reasons the inability to cry may carry into adulthood and cause emotional distress. "We tend to find that holding back one's emotions and restricting the ability to cry can lead to negative outcomes such as chronic depression, anxiety, and difficult relationships," Chen adds.
Psychogenic fever is a stress-related, psychosomatic disease especially seen in young women. Some patients develop extremely high core body temperature (Tc) (up to 41°C) when they are exposed to emotional events, whereas others show persistent low-grade high Tc (37–38°C) during situations of chronic stress.
The salt in tears leads to water retention and swelling around our eyes. More blood is also flowing to the whole facial region, causing a strained, red, puffy face-the same physiological reaction that comes with the "Fight or Flight" instinct.
When you are happy, angry, or sad, your body releases a hormone that makes your pupil size change. When you're happy or angry, your eyes usually become more vibrant, while when you cry, your eyes obtain a reddish color, making your eyes appear brighter.
Stress relief
Dr. Tworek says that after a good cry, your parasympathetic nervous system (the system of nerves in your body that allow you to “rest and digest”) can take over. That allows you to shift out of a “fight or flight” response. That shift can make you feel as if a weight is lifted and things become clearer.
The physical downsides of crying are pretty straightforward: puffy eyes, splotchy skin and a headachy feeling that can be chalked up to the strong contractions of your facial muscles while you weep and pressure in your sinuses from the runny nose that accompanies a tear-fest.
Tears and all of our other body fluids are salty because of electrolytes, also known as salt ions. Our bodies use electrolytes to create electricity that helps power our brains and move our muscles. Electrolytes contain: Sodium (which accounts for the saltiness)
“However, it is notable that reduced levels of cortisol can also reduce premature signs of aging. Therefore, crying often may also have an anti-aging benefit.” On the flip side, crying too much might cause excessive broken capillaries around the eyes or nose.
When a person cries with emotion, they can produce more tears than the lacrimal drainage system can cope with. This causes the tears to run out of the eyes and sometimes the nose. Tissue around the eyes can then reabsorb the tears, making the area appear puffy.
Basal and reflex tears contain higher levels of salt than emotional tears. This helps protect your eyes and keep them healthy. What emotional tears lack in salt, they make up for in hormones. These hormones work as a natural painkiller by restoring balance in the body and reducing stress levels.
Key points. Men are often uncomfortable when women are openly emotional. Men are often less emotionally fluent than their female partners because our culture stereotypically considers the world of emotions as feminine. Men may try to control women's expression of emotions to soothe their own fears.
These chemicals boost your heart rate and blood pressure, so if you hold them in while trying not to cry, it can translate into chest tightness and heavy breathing. "Suppressing an emotion (in this case, frustration or sadness) actually heightens it and makes you feel worse," says psychologist Nikki Martinez, Psy. D.
It's best not to hold in emotions all the time, but sometimes it's important to hold back tears. If you need to control a cry, try to hold back your tears just until you're in a better place for them. This way you won't suppress your emotions altogether.
Background. Triple A syndrome (or Allgrove syndrome) is a rare autosomal recessive disorder characterized by alacrima, achalasia, adrenal insufficiency and autonomic/neurological abnormalities. The majority of cases are caused by mutations in the AAAS gene located on chromosome 12q13.