{"id":80936,"date":"2023-10-02T13:36:55","date_gmt":"2023-10-02T13:36:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/graziamagazine.com\/us\/?post_type=articles&p=80936"},"modified":"2023-10-04T15:17:32","modified_gmt":"2023-10-04T15:17:32","slug":"science-benefits-crying","status":"publish","type":"articles","link":"https:\/\/graziamagazine.com\/us\/articles\/science-benefits-crying\/","title":{"rendered":"Unveiling the Benefits of, and Science Behind, Crying"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"solitude-reflection-sadness-woman-horizon\"<\/p>\n

Have you ever wondered why we cry?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Regardless of the number of tears and how often it happens,\u00a0we cry when we’re happy and, likewise, when we’re angry, sad, excited, or tired.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Some people experience crying frequently, while others don’t even know what it’s like to shed a tear and some people only get emotional only during a movie or when feeling empathetic.<\/p>\n

Is that really possible?<\/p>\n

One thing is certain: we’ve all cried at least once in our lives!<\/p>\n

Why We Cry from a Physical Perspective<\/h2>\n

The reaction of crying is due to a connection between the front portion of the cerebral cortex and the limbic system<\/strong>, the source of emotional regulation.<\/p>\n

In simple terms, strong emotions or external stimuli can activate our nervous system<\/strong>, which in turn controls tear production.<\/p>\n

So, letting go and having a good cry can only do us good.<\/p>\n

There Are Two Types of Tears<\/h2>\n

Tears can be triggered by either a physical<\/strong> response<\/strong> and\/or other emotional factors.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The former are the tears that come when harmful external particles attack us, think of cutting onions or the classic fly that gets into your eye.<\/p>\n

In these cases, tears help us expel the harmful substance.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The latter are tears that come as a reaction to strong emotions, such as sadness or joy.<\/strong><\/p>\n

In this case, not only do we shed tears, but we also experience a series of physiological reactions, such as an accelerated heart rate, increased sweating, and irregular breathing.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Why Do We Cry? It’s a Natural Painkiller<\/h2>\n

Our body is a perfect system.<\/strong><\/p>\n

So perfect that when we experience strong and painful emotions, it provides us with a natural painkiller: tears.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Shedding emotional tears, in fact, contains more hormones, including a neurotransmitter called leu-enkephalin<\/em>, which functions like a painkiller and is released when the body undergoes intense stress.<\/p>\n

It’s no wonder that after a good cry session, we start to feel better.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Crying Has a Social Function<\/h2>\n

When we suffer, we become somewhat childlike.<\/strong><\/p>\n

A baby’s cry, in fact, serves to get the mother’s attention, so she can provide the necessary care for a need.<\/p>\n

Similarly, when it’s an adult, it takes on a relational function because it calls for comfort from others and strengthens social relationships.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Why Women Cry More Than Men<\/h2>\n

A study by clinical psychologist Ad Vingerhoets at Tilburg University has shown that women cry 30 to 64 times a year, while men only cry 6 to 17 times.<\/strong><\/p>\n

This difference can be attributed to different hormones (think of the tears shed during premenstrual syndrome) but also to the false cultural belief that teaches men it is a sign of weakness.<\/p>\n

Nothing could be further from the truth; Tears protect us.<\/strong><\/p>\n

**Chrissy Teigen’s Pregnancy Loss Essay Has Me Ugly Crying At 9am**<\/a><\/p>\n

This article first appeared on\u00a0grazia.it \u2014\u00a0Author: Elisa Castellano<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":42690,"featured_media":80937,"template":"","format":"standard","categories":[6939,38,16,2723],"yoast_head":"\nUnveiling the Benefits of, and Science Behind, Crying - Grazia USA<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Crying is a spontaneous expression that helps us feel better and evolve.\u00a0 Let's explore the science and benefits of crying.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/graziamagazine.com\/us\/articles\/science-benefits-crying\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Unveiling the Benefits of, and Science Behind, Crying\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Crying is a spontaneous expression that helps us feel better and evolve.\u00a0 Let's explore the science and benefits of crying.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/graziamagazine.com\/us\/articles\/science-benefits-crying\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Grazia USA\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2023-10-04T15:17:32+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/graziamagazine.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2023\/09\/Unveiling-the-Science-and-Benefits-of-Crying.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1280\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"720\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/graziamagazine.com\/us\/articles\/science-benefits-crying\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/graziamagazine.com\/us\/articles\/science-benefits-crying\/\",\"name\":\"Unveiling the Benefits of, and Science Behind, Crying - 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