Why do I cry in my sleep? 6 possible causes

Crying is one of the greatest reliefs when suffering from emotional wounds or one of the greatest gestures of happiness to celebrate special events. It can also accompany yawning, be a reaction as a result of physical pain or the result of a fit of laughter. Now, if you have ever asked yourself “why do I cry while I sleep” and you don’t know the causes, make yourself comfortable, because we will discuss the matter below.

Let’s start with the manifestations that dreams cause. The dream world is loaded with waking experiences and the inherent contingencies of life, products of experience.

Dreams have their own logic, although they are usually absurd and incomprehensible, whose interpretation must adjust to the mind of the person who dreams. Therefore, these manifestations usually have effects on the mood during sleep.

How many times do we talk, make sudden movements, go into a state of sleepwalking, want to scream, etc., when we are in the dream world? When sleeping, the brain does not turn off, so to speak, since it must assimilate the information received, which will be conducted to be stored in cerebral nervous circuits and will become chemical substances.

During sleep, which is an active and periodic biological state, alternating cycles of NREM and REM occur, in which biological clocks also intervene. This process is made up of a complex neuronal network, in which different areas of the central nervous system are activated.

6 reasons why you may cry in your sleep

The dream world that dreams present to us is rich in fantasy and complexity, and can offer different reasons to explain why we cry while we sleep:

1. Flu

When asking yourself “why do I cry while I sleep”, keep colds in mind, as they are usually accompanied by physical ailments and other symptoms; among them, teary eyes, very present in the patient’s sleep. This symptom is temporary and does not leave any psychological or physical mark..

The flu or colds can cause crying.

2. Rest

The eyes also benefit from restful rest. During the day, these can dry out, so it is not strange that, during the night, they tear involuntarily, as a reflex action, to clean themselves and regain moisture.

3. When there are emotional wounds

The predisposition to fall asleep is decisive for the night’s rest, since it begins before the dream world offers its welcome to the dreamer.

If a person is going through unbearable circumstances, his fantastic films, which occur while awake and, especially, during sleep, will be full of sadness and extreme boredom, whose response is crying to relieve the suffering a little.

Sleeping with pain and emotional fragility can provoke tears of comfort, so it is very possible that the person suffering will wake up in the middle of the night, since crying is an escape valve against discomfort and anguish.

4. Nightmares

If you still wonder why you cry in your sleep, Nightmares may be the answer, since they alter the mood regulation of rest, causing us to startle with anguish and anxiety. Of course, when we wake up, we tend to calm down immediately.

There are cases in which nightmares are so intense that they produce crying as a cathartic effect. of unpleasant dream representations. It would not be unusual for someone in a nightmare to dream that they are crying about something that caused them excessive fear or anxiety and wake up with tears.

5. Feelings of rejection, abandonment or helplessness

It is more common than you think, but Dreams bring past absences to the present.

For example, if when we are awake our memory tends to keep alive the memory of a loved one who is no longer here, it is very likely that this will appear in dreams, a situation in which rest cannot offer us any rest, except for crying.

Have you ever cried in your dreams for someone who was or is special to you?

Memories of people who are no longer here or of intense emotional events can cause crying during sleep.

6. Lucid dreams

This dream phenomenon is achieved when the person is aware that they are dreamingbeing at the same time the protagonist of her dream world.

It is possible that the lucid dreamer decides to explore situations that he keeps at a distance and confined in the abysses of his unconscious. Releasing them can trigger a very strong emotional reaction. This waterfall would be precisely what would produce crying.

Is crying bad?

Not at all. Crying is a primary function, we do it for several reasons: the first is the basal tear, whose function is to lubricate and keep the eye free of dirt; The second is the reflex action, in which the eye voluntarily closes in the face of discomfort, such as burning, or when an object is about to enter the eye and the person does not have time to do so at will, as happens when an insect tries to enter the eye. from entering the eye; The third would be due to the cathartic function that crying has, as a response to an emotional release.

Therefore, cry when you need to, whether your eyes do it reflexively or to regulate your emotions.

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