Crying is a natural human response to a wide range of emotions, including sadness, pain, joy, and frustration.
But does crying offer any health benefits?
Interestingly, humans are the only animals that cry. This article explores why we cry and how crying might benefit our health.
Undoubtedly, 2020—with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic—gave us more than enough reasons to cry. However, even before last year, it seems we were crying quite frequently.
Crying is not unusual, and both men and women cry more often than people might assume.
In the United States, women cry an average of 3.5 times per month, while men cry an average of 1.9 times per month.
These figures might surprise us, especially because society has often viewed crying—especially among men—as a sign of weakness and lack of emotional strength.
Not all tears are the same
Sometimes, crying can be exactly what the doctor ordered. In fact, some psychologists suggest that we might be doing ourselves a disservice if we don’t cry regularly.
“Crying activates the body in a healthy way,” says Dr. Stephen Sideroff, a clinical psychologist at UCLA and director of the Raoul Wallenberg Institute of Ethics.
“Letting down your guard and defenses and [crying] is something very positive and healthy. The same thing happens when you watch a movie that moves you to tears. That process of opening yourself up… it’s like a lock and a key.”
The Japanese believe so strongly in the health benefits of crying that they have taken this wisdom to the next level.
In some Japanese cities, “crying clubs” called ruikatsu (which literally means “seeking tears”) allow people to gather and cry together in a traditional way.
(Participants watch tear-jerking movies to help the tears flow.)
The idea? Crying relieves stress and is a great practice for maintaining mental health.
Is crying beneficial for your health?
1. It has a calming effect
Crying helps regulate and soothe emotions while reducing distress.
A 2014 study conducted by researchers from the University of Rijeka (Croatia), the University of Pittsburgh (USA), and Tilburg University (Netherlands) explains how crying activates the parasympathetic nervous system, which helps people relax.
2. It helps you get support from others
In addition to helping people self-soothe, crying can help them receive support from those around them.
Crying is primarily an attachment behavior, as it gathers support from people in our surroundings.
This is known as an interpersonal or social benefit.
3. It helps relieve pain
Beyond self-soothing, shedding emotional tears releases oxytocin and endorphins.
These chemicals make people feel good and can also relieve both physical and emotional pain.
In this way, crying reduces pain and promotes a sense of well-being.
4. It improves mood
Crying can help lift a person’s mood and make them feel better.
In addition to relieving pain, oxytocin and endorphins help improve mood, which is why they are often referred to as “feel-good chemicals.”
Pop culture has long recognized the value of a good cry as a way to feel better—even as a physically pleasurable experience.
Millions of people who have watched classic tearjerker movies can likely attest to this.
5. It releases toxins and relieves stress
When humans cry in response to stress, their tears contain a variety of stress hormones and other chemicals.
It is believed that crying may reduce the levels of these chemicals in the body, which in turn could lower stress levels.
However, more research is needed to confirm this theory.
6. It helps with sleep
A 2015 study found that crying helps babies sleep better.
It has yet to be determined whether crying has the same sleep-enhancing effects on adults.
However, given its calming, mood-boosting, and pain-relieving effects, crying may help people fall asleep more easily.
7. It improves vision
There are three types of tears:
- Reflex tears
- Basal tears
- Emotional tears
The first two categories serve the essential function of removing debris (such as smoke and dust) from our eyes and lubricating them to prevent infections.
Their composition is 98% water.
The third category, emotional tears—which remove stress hormones and toxins from our system—offers the greatest potential health benefits.
Do men cry?
In many cultures around the world, it is taboo for men to cry, especially in public.
Many people still believe that men should be stoic and show little or no emotion.
As a result of this stigma, many men believe it is not okay to cry and suppress their emotions—choosing to only cry in private or not at all.
The result?
Men grow up repressing their emotions, which distances them emotionally from loved ones and often leads to unhealthy coping mechanisms that affect their ability to build relationships with others.
Final Thoughts
From an early age, it is important to teach children that expressing emotions is healthy.
Allowing children to express their pain in a safe environment teaches them that their natural reaction—crying—is healthy and acceptable.
As adult men, this can become a more common (and necessary) form of emotional expression.
Crying is not a sign of weakness—it is a natural and beneficial way to process emotions, relieve stress, and improve overall well-being.