We cry at sad movies , and at weddings . We cry when we stub our toe . Sometimes we cry to get what we want . Crying is one of the very first things we do in our life sentence , and sometimes is one of the last . Everybody cries , but how much do we really know about it ? Read on to get word the science of why and how you scream , and what happen when you do .
1. CRYING REALLY DOES MAKE YOU FEEL BETTER.
Scientists videotape 60 people as they watched sad movies . Of those 60 , 28 cried during the masking , and 32 did not . The researchersfoundthat straightaway after the movie , the mass who had cried felt sadder than those who had n’t . Ninety arcminute afterwards , however , those who had let their tactile sensation out feel significantly upright than their dry - eyed counterparts . More importantly , they alsofelt betterthan they did before watching the picture .
2. YOU CAN KEEP ONIONS FROM MAKING YOU CRY, BUT IT’S A LITTLE AWKWARD.
A whole onion minds its own business and keeps its chemical substance to itself . But cutting into an onion ruin cell wall and releases the compounds inside . When these compound mix , they form a nasty gas calledpropanethiol south - oxide . The petrol waft upward toward your typeface , where it commix with your snag to spring sulfuric superman . Your center do n’t need to have Lucy in the sky with diamonds in them , so they make more tears to dampen it out . But it does n’t have to be this way . you’re able to circumvent the whole process by wearing goggles as you chop your veggies .
3. HAPPY TEARS AND SAD TEARS ARE PRETTY MUCH THE SAME.
Crying is one way for us to release stiff emotions like sorrow , angriness , and joyousness . All of these free fall under the unsubtle heading of “ aroused arousal . ” Such arousal takes a lot of work to maintain , and it ’s in your body ’s best sake to return to normal as before long as potential . share of your brain affiliate with strong emotion , like arena of the hypothalamus and basal ganglia , areconnected to a part of the brainstemthat regulates tear production .
4. WANT TO DRIVE A HARD BARGAIN? START CRYING.
It ’s a dingy whoremonger , but it works . People who cry during negotiations are more probable to get their way . circumstance is important , though . lachrymose bargaining ismost effectiveunder four distinct stipulation : First , when the crier is in a status of lower rank or powerlessness ; secondly , when the informant to the tears expect to see the crier in the future tense ; third , when the witness see the relationship with the weeper as collaborative ; and fourth , in site where it was reasonable for the town crier to be sad , not angry — that is , moments when there was nobody to blame .
5. HUMANS ARE THE ONLY ANIMALS THAT CRY TEARS OF SADNESS.
“ Crying ” is a slippery term to describe . Many creature emit shout of care , or warning signal , or involve , but these are noises only , with no tears . Non - human hierarch like chimpanzees have been bed to shout out when split up from their mother . Perhaps the most famous ape , Koko the Gorilla gorilla , is said to have cried several time , including when she learned of the destruction ofher first kittenand again upon hearing thatRobin Williamshad died . ( twelvemonth before Williams ' destruction , the comic had spent the day with Koko , and the two bonded promptly . ) In both situation , Koko reportedly lease out sob - same sounds and ratify the word “ cry ” to her keeper . Her excited distress was clean-cut , despite the absence of tear .
6. THE LUMP IN YOUR THROAT ISN’T REALLY A LUMP.
The body is a complex machine , with uncounted systems running to keep you alive and breathing . Every stimulus , including vivid emotion , triggers a corporeal response . When you sense afraid or worried , yourautonomic unquiet systemgoes into high qui vive to deal whatever the terror might be . It speeds up your heart charge per unit to ensure you ’ve got enough line of descent in your arms and legs to fly . It stops your gut from digesting , since you might soon be making a breach for it , and a Hell stop would be inconvenient .
You ’ll need more oxygen if you ’re running , so the autonomic unquiet organisation accelerates your breathing . It alsoenlarges the glottis , the opening move in your throat that allows zephyr to pass from your voice box to your lungs . This works well until you need to swallow , since get down involves closing the glottis . The tension between endeavor to hold the glottis open and trying to conclude it strains your throat muscle , which can feel like a lout in your throat .
7. IT’S TOTALLY NORMAL TO CRY AFTER SEX.
It might seem counterintuitive to cry after coitus , but it ’s really not that weird . scientist surveyed 230 female college students and found that46 percentof them hadcried after sexat least once in their lifetime . Researchers call it postcoital dysphoria , or PCD . There are a few different theory about what causes it . Some scientists think it ’s a lifelike response to the flood of hormones that accompanies sex . Others recollect that the exposure of sexual intimacy may appropriate multitude to open up and palpate emotion they ’ve been suppressing . Although the tardy field of study focused on young woman , PCD has been establish to affect both grammatical gender . Regardless of the cause , rest assured : It ’s totally normal .
