We all need a good cry every now and again

How often do you have a ruddy good cry? For me, crying is like Christmas, it happens once a year and the build-up is always better than the aftermath. But, say psychologists, it should be a more regular part of our daily lives.

It turns out our bodies three kinds of tears, each with its own particular therapeutic properties:

• Reflex tears - these tears allow your eyes to clear out smoke, dust or particles.
• Continuous tears - your eyes are constantly crying! Well, not exactly. These are the lubricating tears we produce constantly. These tears contain a chemical called “lysozyme” that functions as an anti-bacterial and protects our eyes from infection. Tears also travel to the nose through the tear duct to keep the nose moist and bacteria-free.
• Emotional tears - the big ones. These tears are produced during times of stress and pain.

What's interesting about emotional tears, says, Dr. William Frey, at the Ramsey Medical Center in Minneapolis, is that they are very different in their composition to other tears.

Where as reflex tears are 98% water, emotional tears contain stress hormones that get excreted from the body through crying. After studying the composition of tears, Dr. Frey found that emotional tears shed these hormones and other toxins that accumulate during stress.

Additional studies also suggest that crying stimulates the production of endorphins, our body’s natural pain killer and “feel-good” hormones.”

So the next time you watch Watership Down, turn on the tears. Your body will thank you for it (even if your friends and family won't).