Why do we feel better after crying?

According to recent studies, crying changes the brain’s chemistry. High manganese levels develop feelings of nervousness, irritability, fatigue, aggression, emotional disturbance. Crying lowers the manganese level and thus elevates the person’s mood.

Researchers have reported emotional tears to be different than those tears caused by physical irritants. Emotional crying releases toxins. Those emotional tears people shed take away prolactin, and adrenocorticotropic hormone, which are produced by our body when under stress.

According to some studies, crying is a natural pain killer. While crying, the emotional tears that are shed contain leucine-enkephalin, an endorphin that reduces pain.

People who cry are able to communicate their feelings of sadness, stress, sorrows in a natural way. According to studies, people who do not store up their tears in certain situations have better chances at fighting depression. Crying allows people to face their feelings instead of avoiding them. (See Why do people hide emotional pain?)

According to a recent study, a good cry may encourage people to feel happier. People would work harder and shed tears in order to get balanced. This would not happen the moment they cry, but within 90 minutes after the crying.

During emotional crying, a person’s system shifts rapidly from a state of high tension to a period of recovery. This change causes the person’s adrenaline level to drop, and the body relaxes.

Most people sympathize with those who cry, even if they are strangers. Tears help people to build a community and to gain support during down times.

Crying in hard times could save people from heart attacks. In addition, emotional crying helps the body to develop potassium that helps control high blood pressure and a hormone called prolactin, which helps ­reduce stressful feelings and boosts the immune system.

In stressful situations, the human body produces short, shallow breaths and pumps out the stress hormone, cortisol, that heightens feelings of anxiety. On the other hand, crying deepens a person’s breath and reduces cortisol production and lowers stress levels. (See The body language signs of stress)

Crying could urge people to check the quality of the life they lead. Shedding tears at a workplace or because of certain people may work like a wake-up call for people to question a certain experience.