Crying. When was the last time you cried?

Chances are it’s been a while and if you’re a male chances are even higher that it’s been awhile. Despite society’s association of crying with being feminine or sensitive, crying has been known to have many benefits.

Neuroscientist Dr. William H. Frey II, PhD, the director of the Alzheimer’s Research Center at Regions Hospital in St. Paul, Minnesota, has spent over 15 years studying crying and tears.

According to Frey, “crying is not only a human response to sorrow and frustration, it’s a healthy one.” Crying is the body’s way of attempting to reduce emotional stress and when kept bottled up can have negative effects on the body such as cardiovascular disease and other stress related disorders.

Crying is good for you and here is why:

Crying relieves stress

When stress is left unchecked it can increase our risk for heart attack and, worse, damages certain parts of our brain. Why put yourself through such a journey. Alleviate some of the stress that faces you by crying.

Crying Lowers Blood Pressure

Crying has been found to lower the blood pressure and pulse rate of patients who had a therapeutic session with a therapist /counselor in which the patient raged and cried.

Crying Removes Toxins

Subsequently, Frey stated tears helped remove toxins from the body that build up from emotional stress. Many of the of the chemicals present in emotional crying are the protein prolactin, adrenocorticotropic hormones, and the endorphin leucine-enkephalin, which assist in reducing pain.

Crying Reduces the Body’s Manganese Level

Manganese is a mineral which affects your mood and is found in greater quantities compared to blood serum; 30x greater concentration in tears than in blood.

Some associate crying with weakness or being feminine. Well, no more. Crying does more for us than being dry eyed. Next time someone tries to call you names for crying, tell them about the benefits of crying – both physiologically and psychologically.