scishow psych
Why Does Crying Make You Feel Better?
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Comments: | 375 |
Duration: | 06:00 |
Uploaded: | 2021-03-18 |
Last sync: | 2024-09-15 15:15 |
This episode is brought to you by the Music for Scientists album! Stream the album on major music services here: https://streamlink.to/music-for-scientists. Check out “The Idea” music video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tUyT94aGmbc.
Have you ever wondered why you feel better after a good, hearty sob? Well, it turns out the reasons are kind of a mystery, and they range from social support to brain temperature.
Hosted by: Anthony Brown
----------
Support SciShow by becoming a patron on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/scishow
SciShow has a spinoff podcast! It's called SciShow Tangents. Check it out at https://www.scishowtangents.org
----------
Huge thanks go to the following Patreon supporters for helping us keep SciShow free for everyone forever:
Silas Emrys, Charles Copley, Drew Hart, Jeffrey Mckishen, James Knight, Christoph Schwanke, Jacob, Matt Curls, Christopher R Boucher, Eric Jensen, Lehel Kovacs, Adam Brainard, Greg, GrowingViolet, Ash, Laura Sanborn, Sam Lutfi, Piya Shedden, KatieMarie Magnone, Scott Satovsky Jr, charles george, Alex Hackman, Chris Peters, Kevin Bealer
----------
Looking for SciShow elsewhere on the internet?
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Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/scishow
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----------
Sources:
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/1754073915586226
http://gruberpeplab.com/3131/Rottenberg_2008_Iscryingbeneficial.pdf
https://psycnet.apa.org/record/1984-19574-001
https://doi.org/10.1016/0092-6566(91)90017-k
https://scihubtw.tw/10.1007/s12110-018-9312-8
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11031-019-09771-z
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/147470491100900304
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12110-018-9312-8
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/230794248_When_is_Crying_Cathartic_An_International_Study
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4035568/?report=classic
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1053811918300235
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/02699930143000149
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11031-015-9507-9
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/BF02251890
https://www.storyblocks.com/video/stock/sad-woman-crying-watching-tv-at-night-syhw9ks28kb5n136q
https://www.istockphoto.com/photo/baby-crying-gm151557041-10665240
https://www.istockphoto.com/photo/make-yourself-heard-gm953426266-260265197
https://www.istockphoto.com/vector/risk-icon-on-speedometer-high-risk-meter-vector-illustration-gm1178382356-329343636
https://www.istockphoto.com/photo/young-woman-sad-and-depressed-gm628139146-111425849
https://www.istockphoto.com/photo/crying-baby-sitting-on-the-ground-gm915338718-251913574
https://www.istockphoto.com/photo/instant-polaroid-frame-gm1278965743-377719823
https://www.istockphoto.com/vector/businessman-holding-a-clipboard-and-filling-a-checklist-form-flat-survey-checklist-gm878093788-244924643
https://www.storyblocks.com/video/stock/crying-redhead-baby-girl-sitting-on-the-floor-szqm6ml6vjvwewe7y
https://www.storyblocks.com/video/stock/close-up-of-young-girl-crying-on-the-foreground-mature-blond-caucasian-woman-calming-down-her-daughter-at-home-sad-adult-child-sharing-her-problems-with-mother-good-family-relationship-sympathy-s40inbvqrk2djgisj
https://www.istockphoto.com/photo/depressive-man-gm1185422927-334074967
https://www.storyblocks.com/video/stock/gay-man-comforting-sad-boyfriend-at-home-ba0pxrpsvki9t294l
https://www.storyblocks.com/video/stock/sad-girl-crying-for-problems-in-office-toilets-with-friend-brzdlnkyvjpfefnr7
https://www.istockphoto.com/vector/restroom-door-pictograms-gm1188304492-336001866
https://www.istockphoto.com/vector/red-heart-sign-isolated-on-transparent-background-valentines-day-icon-hand-drawn-gm1182472970-332055588
https://www.istockphoto.com/vector/drop-icon-on-white-background-water-icon-vector-gm967219304-263845129
https://www.storyblocks.com/video/stock/mysterious-deep-liquid-very-calm-peaceful-soothing-loopable-motion-background-full-hd-purple-magenta-violet-svkfkswimudqe26
https://www.istockphoto.com/vector/woman-giving-comfort-and-support-to-friend-gm1213133986-352431150
https://www.istockphoto.com/photo/a-man-who-sheds-tears-gm1286801775-383194406
https://www.istockphoto.com/vector/sad-young-girl-is-crying-on-a-blue-background-gm1257723212-368687525
https://www.istockphoto.com/vector/watching-tv-alone-gm595350468-102089425
https://www.istockphoto.com/vector/set-of-icons-depicting-tv-settings-and-features-gm112153392-15838965
https://www.istockphoto.com/vector/rating-satisfaction-feedback-in-form-of-emotions-gm1160344267-317584172
https://www.istockphoto.com/vector/viewfinder-template-old-vhs-video-camera-white-horizontal-lines-on-black-backdrop-gm1223288826-359285569
https://www.istockphoto.com/photo/young-couple-in-the-movie-theater-woman-crying-gm104187577-29674410
Have you ever wondered why you feel better after a good, hearty sob? Well, it turns out the reasons are kind of a mystery, and they range from social support to brain temperature.
Hosted by: Anthony Brown
----------
Support SciShow by becoming a patron on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/scishow
SciShow has a spinoff podcast! It's called SciShow Tangents. Check it out at https://www.scishowtangents.org
----------
Huge thanks go to the following Patreon supporters for helping us keep SciShow free for everyone forever:
Silas Emrys, Charles Copley, Drew Hart, Jeffrey Mckishen, James Knight, Christoph Schwanke, Jacob, Matt Curls, Christopher R Boucher, Eric Jensen, Lehel Kovacs, Adam Brainard, Greg, GrowingViolet, Ash, Laura Sanborn, Sam Lutfi, Piya Shedden, KatieMarie Magnone, Scott Satovsky Jr, charles george, Alex Hackman, Chris Peters, Kevin Bealer
----------
Looking for SciShow elsewhere on the internet?
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/scishow
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/scishow
Tumblr: http://scishow.tumblr.com
Instagram: http://instagram.com/thescishow
----------
Sources:
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/1754073915586226
http://gruberpeplab.com/3131/Rottenberg_2008_Iscryingbeneficial.pdf
https://psycnet.apa.org/record/1984-19574-001
https://doi.org/10.1016/0092-6566(91)90017-k
https://scihubtw.tw/10.1007/s12110-018-9312-8
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11031-019-09771-z
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/147470491100900304
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12110-018-9312-8
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/230794248_When_is_Crying_Cathartic_An_International_Study
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4035568/?report=classic
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1053811918300235
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/02699930143000149
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11031-015-9507-9
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/BF02251890
https://www.storyblocks.com/video/stock/sad-woman-crying-watching-tv-at-night-syhw9ks28kb5n136q
https://www.istockphoto.com/photo/baby-crying-gm151557041-10665240
https://www.istockphoto.com/photo/make-yourself-heard-gm953426266-260265197
https://www.istockphoto.com/vector/risk-icon-on-speedometer-high-risk-meter-vector-illustration-gm1178382356-329343636
https://www.istockphoto.com/photo/young-woman-sad-and-depressed-gm628139146-111425849
https://www.istockphoto.com/photo/crying-baby-sitting-on-the-ground-gm915338718-251913574
https://www.istockphoto.com/photo/instant-polaroid-frame-gm1278965743-377719823
https://www.istockphoto.com/vector/businessman-holding-a-clipboard-and-filling-a-checklist-form-flat-survey-checklist-gm878093788-244924643
https://www.storyblocks.com/video/stock/crying-redhead-baby-girl-sitting-on-the-floor-szqm6ml6vjvwewe7y
https://www.storyblocks.com/video/stock/close-up-of-young-girl-crying-on-the-foreground-mature-blond-caucasian-woman-calming-down-her-daughter-at-home-sad-adult-child-sharing-her-problems-with-mother-good-family-relationship-sympathy-s40inbvqrk2djgisj
https://www.istockphoto.com/photo/depressive-man-gm1185422927-334074967
https://www.storyblocks.com/video/stock/gay-man-comforting-sad-boyfriend-at-home-ba0pxrpsvki9t294l
https://www.storyblocks.com/video/stock/sad-girl-crying-for-problems-in-office-toilets-with-friend-brzdlnkyvjpfefnr7
https://www.istockphoto.com/vector/restroom-door-pictograms-gm1188304492-336001866
https://www.istockphoto.com/vector/red-heart-sign-isolated-on-transparent-background-valentines-day-icon-hand-drawn-gm1182472970-332055588
https://www.istockphoto.com/vector/drop-icon-on-white-background-water-icon-vector-gm967219304-263845129
https://www.storyblocks.com/video/stock/mysterious-deep-liquid-very-calm-peaceful-soothing-loopable-motion-background-full-hd-purple-magenta-violet-svkfkswimudqe26
https://www.istockphoto.com/vector/woman-giving-comfort-and-support-to-friend-gm1213133986-352431150
https://www.istockphoto.com/photo/a-man-who-sheds-tears-gm1286801775-383194406
https://www.istockphoto.com/vector/sad-young-girl-is-crying-on-a-blue-background-gm1257723212-368687525
https://www.istockphoto.com/vector/watching-tv-alone-gm595350468-102089425
https://www.istockphoto.com/vector/set-of-icons-depicting-tv-settings-and-features-gm112153392-15838965
https://www.istockphoto.com/vector/rating-satisfaction-feedback-in-form-of-emotions-gm1160344267-317584172
https://www.istockphoto.com/vector/viewfinder-template-old-vhs-video-camera-white-horizontal-lines-on-black-backdrop-gm1223288826-359285569
https://www.istockphoto.com/photo/young-couple-in-the-movie-theater-woman-crying-gm104187577-29674410
This episode is brought to you by the Music for Scientists album, now available on all streaming services. [♪ INTRO].
Sometimes, when you’re feeling overwhelmed, nothing hits the spot like a good, emotional movie. I mean, you’ve got the swelling music, and the ending that gives you all the feels, and then suddenly, you’re just weeping.
But afterward, you somehow feel... better? You’re not alone in that. In studies, plenty of people have reported feeling better after a good sob.
But the reasons why are kind of a mystery. And they range from social support, to brain temperature. For one possible explanation, we turn to some of the most celebrated sobbers in the world: babies. Babies cry for all kinds of reasons, from emotional ones to physical ones like hunger and discomfort.
And it makes sense! Since human infants are pretty helpless, it's important to have a signal for caregivers that something is wrong. But for adults, tears might actually be a similar distress signal!
In a 2019 study published in Motivation and Emotion, researchers asked 140 participants how much they’d be willing to help people they saw in photos. Half the photos showed people crying. And the other half showed the same people, but with the tears photoshopped out. And it turns out, tears had a really big effect. Most people reported being more willing to help when they saw those tear tracks.
In fact, tears might be an even more important cue in adults than in babies. Another study revealed that photos of crying adults evoked more sympathy than photos of crying children and infants. That might be because participants rated the photos of bawling babies as more irritating. Which I mean, is kind of unfair; they can’t help it.
But also, when babies are wailing, it’s primarily an auditory thing. Whereas adults are more likely to quietly cry, so it’s mainly a visual cue. So, the researchers think adult tears are seen as a subtle and sincere signal of emotional distress that’s designed to invite others to comfort us. Other researchers suggest that when adults weep, it tells other people that you're in less control than usual, and that you need help from someone who might be more in control at the moment.
So, if crying connects you to someone who can comfort and support you, that may be one reason you’re more likely to feel better afterward. In fact, one study examined more than 4000 people’s reports of recent weeping episodes. And the researchers found that when criers received comfort, they were more likely to experience improvements in mood. And if you cry when no one’s around? Well, it could just be your body’s automatic strategy to get support. That said, that’s not the only idea about why crying can feel so helpful.
Others are rooted a little more in biology, and how our bodies work. Like, one idea is that crying might serve a basic, physiological purpose: to soothe your mind and body. Now, crying is contradictory, because it both works you up and calms you down.
But the timing of those emotional shifts is key. In one study that involved 60 participants, peoples’ heart rates accelerated when they started to cry. But then, they quickly went back to normal. Meanwhile, their breathing became slower than normal, indicating they were calming down. Crucially, the soothing effect lasted two to three minutes longer than the agitating effect.
So the researchers concluded that crying may be a self-soothing behavior. It's also possible that crying triggers the release of oxytocin -- a stress-reducing hormone associated with social bonding. That said, it's unclear whether oxytocin levels rise due to the biological act of crying or because the tears caused someone to, say, give us a hug. Either way, oxytocin helps improve our mood. And beyond that, there are several other reasons crying could make us feel better.
Some scientists speculate that weeping releases opioids that boost our tolerance for physical and emotional pain. Others think crying might lower the amounts of stress hormones in the blood. And most bizarrely, some researchers say inhaling all that cold air when we’re sobbing might cool the brain, by literally cooling our blood. And that could alter the activity of neurotransmitters and create a pleasurable sensation.
But these are just hypotheses, so we still have a lot to learn. The reason there’s so much uncertainty is because the way crying affects mood is really challenging to study. For one, it’s hard to get people to cry on demand. So, in a typical crying study, a participant might watch a sad movie alone. And that means the social motivations behind crying, like seeking support, don’t really come into play. After all, crying participants probably don’t want to have a heart-to-heart with the scientists.
In fact, in laboratory settings, participants usually report feeling worse after crying. That may be because of the lack of support, or because they’re often being observed or filmed, which might make them self-conscious or ashamed about crying. So, the way we feel about crying and whether it’s okay in a certain situation can impact how it makes us feel afterward, too. Like, in one study, subjects were asked to either suppress crying or let it flow while watching a sad movie. In the end, people who were trying to hold back tears experienced a big stress response.
But people who rarely shed tears but tried to force it also felt stressed. So when it comes to crying, do what comes naturally. If you want to let it out… let it out.
If you enjoyed this episode, you might also be interested in the album . Music for Scientists, written and recorded by Patrick Olson. The album is a creative exploration of the space between art and science.
We recommend checking out the song “The Idea” — and the music video too! The music video is a hybrid of traditional art and advanced machine learning. It’s pretty mindblowing! If you want to check it out, click below to see the video, or you can stream the music on all major music services. [♪ OUTRO].
Sometimes, when you’re feeling overwhelmed, nothing hits the spot like a good, emotional movie. I mean, you’ve got the swelling music, and the ending that gives you all the feels, and then suddenly, you’re just weeping.
But afterward, you somehow feel... better? You’re not alone in that. In studies, plenty of people have reported feeling better after a good sob.
But the reasons why are kind of a mystery. And they range from social support, to brain temperature. For one possible explanation, we turn to some of the most celebrated sobbers in the world: babies. Babies cry for all kinds of reasons, from emotional ones to physical ones like hunger and discomfort.
And it makes sense! Since human infants are pretty helpless, it's important to have a signal for caregivers that something is wrong. But for adults, tears might actually be a similar distress signal!
In a 2019 study published in Motivation and Emotion, researchers asked 140 participants how much they’d be willing to help people they saw in photos. Half the photos showed people crying. And the other half showed the same people, but with the tears photoshopped out. And it turns out, tears had a really big effect. Most people reported being more willing to help when they saw those tear tracks.
In fact, tears might be an even more important cue in adults than in babies. Another study revealed that photos of crying adults evoked more sympathy than photos of crying children and infants. That might be because participants rated the photos of bawling babies as more irritating. Which I mean, is kind of unfair; they can’t help it.
But also, when babies are wailing, it’s primarily an auditory thing. Whereas adults are more likely to quietly cry, so it’s mainly a visual cue. So, the researchers think adult tears are seen as a subtle and sincere signal of emotional distress that’s designed to invite others to comfort us. Other researchers suggest that when adults weep, it tells other people that you're in less control than usual, and that you need help from someone who might be more in control at the moment.
So, if crying connects you to someone who can comfort and support you, that may be one reason you’re more likely to feel better afterward. In fact, one study examined more than 4000 people’s reports of recent weeping episodes. And the researchers found that when criers received comfort, they were more likely to experience improvements in mood. And if you cry when no one’s around? Well, it could just be your body’s automatic strategy to get support. That said, that’s not the only idea about why crying can feel so helpful.
Others are rooted a little more in biology, and how our bodies work. Like, one idea is that crying might serve a basic, physiological purpose: to soothe your mind and body. Now, crying is contradictory, because it both works you up and calms you down.
But the timing of those emotional shifts is key. In one study that involved 60 participants, peoples’ heart rates accelerated when they started to cry. But then, they quickly went back to normal. Meanwhile, their breathing became slower than normal, indicating they were calming down. Crucially, the soothing effect lasted two to three minutes longer than the agitating effect.
So the researchers concluded that crying may be a self-soothing behavior. It's also possible that crying triggers the release of oxytocin -- a stress-reducing hormone associated with social bonding. That said, it's unclear whether oxytocin levels rise due to the biological act of crying or because the tears caused someone to, say, give us a hug. Either way, oxytocin helps improve our mood. And beyond that, there are several other reasons crying could make us feel better.
Some scientists speculate that weeping releases opioids that boost our tolerance for physical and emotional pain. Others think crying might lower the amounts of stress hormones in the blood. And most bizarrely, some researchers say inhaling all that cold air when we’re sobbing might cool the brain, by literally cooling our blood. And that could alter the activity of neurotransmitters and create a pleasurable sensation.
But these are just hypotheses, so we still have a lot to learn. The reason there’s so much uncertainty is because the way crying affects mood is really challenging to study. For one, it’s hard to get people to cry on demand. So, in a typical crying study, a participant might watch a sad movie alone. And that means the social motivations behind crying, like seeking support, don’t really come into play. After all, crying participants probably don’t want to have a heart-to-heart with the scientists.
In fact, in laboratory settings, participants usually report feeling worse after crying. That may be because of the lack of support, or because they’re often being observed or filmed, which might make them self-conscious or ashamed about crying. So, the way we feel about crying and whether it’s okay in a certain situation can impact how it makes us feel afterward, too. Like, in one study, subjects were asked to either suppress crying or let it flow while watching a sad movie. In the end, people who were trying to hold back tears experienced a big stress response.
But people who rarely shed tears but tried to force it also felt stressed. So when it comes to crying, do what comes naturally. If you want to let it out… let it out.
If you enjoyed this episode, you might also be interested in the album . Music for Scientists, written and recorded by Patrick Olson. The album is a creative exploration of the space between art and science.
We recommend checking out the song “The Idea” — and the music video too! The music video is a hybrid of traditional art and advanced machine learning. It’s pretty mindblowing! If you want to check it out, click below to see the video, or you can stream the music on all major music services. [♪ OUTRO].