Real Girls: Want to be happier? Try this counterintuitive approach


	October 4, 2024

Original photo by goffkein.pro/ Shutterstock

Crying can make you happier.

Although crying to make yourself happier seems counterintuitive, shedding some tears can be one of the best ways to restore your emotional equilibrium. A 2014 study found that emotional crying activates the parasympathetic nervous system, which regulates the body's "rest and digest" actions. Crying also elevates levels of endorphins and oxytocin, which helps dull both emotional and physical pain. And the physical act of crying — taking in big gulps of air — cools the brain and helps regulate your mood. All in all, "having a good cry" can actually be good for you.

Of course, whether crying makes you feel better can also be dependent on the situation. Tears are known to inspire interpersonal benefits by signaling to others that you're in need of support. Unsurprisingly, studies have shown that people who receive support after crying are more likely to feel happier than if they're shamed for crying. So while the physical act of crying can help our bodies return to an emotional homeostasis, it's the support of friends and loved ones that makes those good feelings stick.

Humans are the only animals that cry emotional tears.

FACT

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Chemicals that irritate the eyes and make humans cry are called __.

REVEAL ANSWER

		Numbers Don't Lie

Types of tears found in humans, including basal, reflex, and emotional tears

Gallons of tears a human produces per year

15-30

Number of times per year women cry, on average (5-17 for men)

30-64

Length (in seconds) of Roy Orbison's song "Crying"

165

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Humans tear up when laughing because it's physiologically similar to crying.

Although crying is often associated with sadness, tears are actually a complex biological response — after all, humans also shed tears of joy. Evidence suggests that the same part of the brain controls both laughing and crying; some of this evidence comes from studies that have shown that patients with a condition known as pseudobulbar affect (PBA) experience both uncontrollable bouts of crying and laughter caused by lesions located on a specific part of the brain. Although scientists aren't 100% certain why people cry when they're laughing, one prevailing theory is that in both instances the body is attempting to regulate a high emotional state and simply doesn't discriminate between immense sadness and immense joy.

Today's edition of Interesting Facts was written by Darren Orf and edited by Bess Lovejoy.