Does Crying Make Your Eyelashes Longer?

Everyone wants long, healthy-looking eyelashes, which is exactly why eyelash extensions are so popular. For those looking to remain natural, how do you grow your eyelashes? One rumor that seems to continue to circulate is that the tears from crying make your eyelashes longer. Well, I have bad news for you. That rumor is just that, a rumor. However, crying does have many other benefits that you may not be aware of.

Tears are made up of 98 percent water with sodium, bicarbonate, and chloride.

There are three different types of tears:

Reflex tears
Continuous tears
Emotional tears

Crying has been proven by researchers to provide benefits to both your body and mind. These benefits begin at birth.

So what are the benefits of crying?

1. Relieves Pain

Tears release oxytocin and endorphins and have been proven to be self-soothing. Both can provide benefits to the body. Oxytocin is associated with empathy, trust, sexual activity, and relationship-building. Oxytocin can also calm you down. Endorphins help reduce stress and can result in weight loss. You may feel a sense of numbness when the endorphins are released through your body. Crying also activates the parasympathetic nervous system (PNS), which helps the body rest and digest. After several minutes of shedding tears, you may experience the soothing effects of crying.

2. Detoxifying the Body

Crying helps the immune system fight irritation and infections. The lacrimal fluid fights against bacterial infections. Tears are also a great reflux for when dust or debris gets in your eyes.

3. Releasing Toxins

If you're stressed, tears can release the levels of stress chemicals because they contain stress hormones and mood-regulating manganese. This will result in your muscles releasing instead of tightening.

4. Acne

Since crying can relieve stress, it can result in positive results for your skin such as less acne and other skin illnesses that may be brought on by stress.

5. Emotional Health

Crying may often be seen as a sign of weakness, but it's actually the opposite. Crying is an essential step that you should take towards improving your emotional and mental health. Crying can help you take that step towards letting go of the things that weigh you down and getting support from those around you. Crying also helps restore your equilibrium and is your body's way of recovering from a strong experience.

6. Improves Mood

When you cry, you take in many quick breaths of cool air. Breathing in cool air helps to regulate and lower the temperature of the brain. A cool brain is more pleasurable to the body than a warm brain, which results in an improved mood once you are done crying.

7. Helps With Grief

Grieving has many different stages: periods of sorrow, numbness, guilt, and anger. Arguably one of the most important processes of grieving may be crying. Crying can allow you to process the loss of a loved one in a healthy manner.

8. Helps Babies Breathe

Have you ever wondered why doctors put so much emphasis on a baby crying when they are born? Well, it's because in the womb a baby gets his or her oxygen from the umbilical cord. Once babies are born, they must breathe on their own. A first cry can help a baby's lungs adapt to the outside world. Crying can also assist with clearing out any fluid that may be in a baby's lung, nose or mouth.

9. Helps Babies Sleep

There is a reason some parents tend to let their children cry instead of running to their side every time they cry. Crying helps a baby sleep better at night. In a small study on infant sleep, 43 participants used controlled crying to put their babies to sleep. The parents left their babies to cry for several minutes before tending to them. The crying increased both the sleep length and reduced the number of times the infants woke during the night. A year later, the crying didn't appear to increase stress in the infants and did not have a negative effect on the parent-child bond.

Side Effects

While crying a healthy amount can have many benefits, it's also important to know the side effects of crying:

Your skin might turn red and have broken capillaries due to rubbing.
Tear fluid increases the blood flow to our eyes, which causes bloodshot eyes and pupil dilation.
The dilation of blood vessels can cause swelling.
Excessive crying can make you tired because your heart rate increases as your breathing slows.

You can steer clear of these side effects by avoiding rubbing your eyes, which can cause them to become irritated and puffy.

Focusing on your breathing and relaxing your facial muscles can also help stop the tears if you cry excessively.

Seeking Help

Although crying is completely normal and healthy, excessively crying is not.

If you are excessively crying to the point that it's interfering with your everyday activities, it may be a sign of depression and you should contact your doctor.

Symptoms of depression include: