Crying DOES make you feel better

It’s often said that laughter is the best medicine. But a good cry may be just as uplifting.

A study found that people who cried while watching a film actually felt happier afterwards.

The researchers said this may be because crying changes the brain chemistry. Another possibility is that we work hard to become happy after a good cry.

But whatever the reason, it seems it is good to cry.

Sixty men and women were videoed as they watched two weepie movies and the tapes analysed for the slightest sign of tears.

The volunteers were also quizzed about how the felt at the start and end of each film.

Almost 60 per cent cried while watching Hachi: A Dog’s Tale, a story about a dog that remains devoted to his master long after his death.

The 1997 tragi-comedy Life is Beautiful triggered tears in 45 per cent of the viewers.

The video tapes showed that the women were more likely to cry and cried more often.

But the most interesting findings come from the surveys of the film-goers mood.

Those who didn’t cry said they felt no different after watching the films.

In contrast, those who shed a tear or two felt sadder than before.

However, this dip in mood was brief and within 20 minutes of the film ending, their mood had bounced back.

And by an hour or so after that, they felt better than ever, the journal Motivation and Emotion reports.

Researcher Asmir Gracanin, of Tilburg University in the Netherlands, said that crying may trigger the release of the feel-good brain chemical oxytocin.

Another possibility is the films left the volunteers so sad they made a concerted effort to cheer themselves up.

Finally, it may be volunteers didn’t actually end up happier than before but simply thought they did because their mood fell and rose in a short period of time.

The researcher said that ‘a good cry might go a long way to make you feel better’.

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