Crying is the Human Body’s Superpower Mya Mendola Crying is an action that is often looked down upon because it is inherently associated with sadness, breaking down, and weakness. While all of this can be true, there is a lot more to crying than most people think. After looking at the facts, data, and science, crying seems to be the human body’s superpower. Shedding a tear or two has so many benefits that it only seems necessary to schedule a time in your Google Calendar to cry. Don’t let your superpower go to waste. To understand the benefits of crying, it is important to note the three types of tears: reflex tears, basal tears, and emotional tears. Reflex tears are the tears triggered when you cut an onion or get dust in your eye. Basal tears are regulatory tears to lubricate your eyes. Emotional tears are what we understand most commonly. These are the tears resulting from sadness or joy. Basal and reflex tears work just fine at their individual jobs, but emotional tears are the human body’s superpower and where the majority of the health benefits come from.
Detoxifying Stress The most impressive benefit of crying is the detoxification that comes with it. According to Insider, reflex tears are 98% water, but emotional tears contain another component: cortisol, a stress hormone. Thus, when crying emotionally, the human body rids itself of those stressors. This is essentially detoxifying your body of stress. 13
