Why You Might Feel Better After a Good Cry

What science says about crying and stress relief

Jun 10, 2025

∙ Paid

A woman in white stands at the edge of the ocean looking out at the sea and sky.

Did you know there are three different types of tears: basal (continuous), reflex (irritant), and emotional?

According to a study conducted by Dr. William H. Frey II, a biochemist and director of the Psychiatry Research Laboratories at the St. Paul-Ramsey Medical Centre, emotional tears contain stress-related hormones: prolactin, adrenocorticotropic hormone, and leucine enkephalin (a natural painkiller).

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