By MEREDITH MELNICK
There's something cathartic about having a good cry and "letting it all out," even if you don't have anything in particular that's bringing you down.
Or maybe not. Research published in the Journal of Research in Personality found that shedding some tears had no effect on the mood for nearly two-thirds of a group of women who kept daily emotion journals.
"Crying is not nearly as beneficial as people think it is," Jonathan Rottenberg, lead author of the study and an associate professor of psychology at the University of South Florida told MSNBC's Body Odd. "Only a minority of crying episodes were associated with mood improvement -- against conventional wisdom."
MORE: The Crying Game: Women's Tears Dial Down Testosterone
As part of the study, 97 Dutch women between the ages of 18 and 48 logged a total 1,004 crying episodes as part of daily mood journals they kept over a three month period. For 61% of the women, crying didn't improve mood at all, although the tears didn't make them feel worse: only 9% of respondents reported feeling more sad after a crying jag, while 30% reported feeling better.
Rottenberg suspects that crying isn't the physically cleansing act that many have assumed it is, and instead suggests that those who felt better after a waterworks session may not have benefited from the actual tears so much as the social support and showings of affection they elicited.
MORE: Why Adults Cry So Easily in Animated Kids Movies
The study also offered a peak into the private act of crying—when, how long and why the women experienced their outbursts. The participants reported crying sessions lasting an average eight minutes, either alone or in the presence of one other person. The majority of crying occurred in the living room and women reported the main reason for their tears were conflict, loss and empathy over another's suffering.
There's something cathartic about having a good cry and "letting it all out," even if you don't have anything in particular that's bringing you down.
Or maybe not. Research published in the Journal of Research in Personality found that shedding some tears had no effect on the mood for nearly two-thirds of a group of women who kept daily emotion journals.
"Crying is not nearly as beneficial as people think it is," Jonathan Rottenberg, lead author of the study and an associate professor of psychology at the University of South Florida told MSNBC's Body Odd. "Only a minority of crying episodes were associated with mood improvement -- against conventional wisdom."
MORE: The Crying Game: Women's Tears Dial Down Testosterone
As part of the study, 97 Dutch women between the ages of 18 and 48 logged a total 1,004 crying episodes as part of daily mood journals they kept over a three month period. For 61% of the women, crying didn't improve mood at all, although the tears didn't make them feel worse: only 9% of respondents reported feeling more sad after a crying jag, while 30% reported feeling better.
Rottenberg suspects that crying isn't the physically cleansing act that many have assumed it is, and instead suggests that those who felt better after a waterworks session may not have benefited from the actual tears so much as the social support and showings of affection they elicited.
MORE: Why Adults Cry So Easily in Animated Kids Movies
The study also offered a peak into the private act of crying—when, how long and why the women experienced their outbursts. The participants reported crying sessions lasting an average eight minutes, either alone or in the presence of one other person. The majority of crying occurred in the living room and women reported the main reason for their tears were conflict, loss and empathy over another's suffering.
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