Study Suggests Crying Can Help With Emotion Regulation
- Emotesy
- Nov 26, 2019
- 2 min read
A recent study completed by Sharman, Dingle, Vingerhoets, and Vanman (2019) suggests that crying can help an individual maintain stable breathing rates despite being emotionally distressed. The study included 197 undergraduate students in Australia who were separated into two group: those that watched a neutral video vs. those that watched a sad video. Following the video, participants completed a physical stress task (putting hand in cold water). Results indicated that cortisol levels (stress hormone) between the groups were similar, however, respiration and heart rates were lower for the crying group vs. the non-criers or neutral group, In addition, results indicated that heart rates slowed down just before crying and then returned to baseline. This study lends support to the self-soothing nature of crying and the role it plays in allowing one to self-regulate during an emotional experience. Not only does crying assist in returning the body back to its natural state, but it serves as a signal to others as to how you are feeling and cue others to help. So the next time your little one is struggling with emotions, rather than asserting they "stop crying!," consider sitting with them and letting him or her feel her feelings and being there as a silent source of support. Sometimes just being with your child, not offering solutions or trying to "fix" things right away shows them that you are capable of holding the big stuff--because if what he or she is going through is too much for them, and too much for the grownups around them...then how can they possibly survive this emotional wave?
Reference: Sharman, Leah & Dingle, Genevieve & Vingerhoets, Ad & Vanman, Eric. (2019). Using crying to cope: Physiological responses to stress following tears of sadness. Emotion. 10.1037/emo0000633.
That’s a fascinating look at the physiology behind why a good cry can feel so calming. The part about heart rates slowing down right before crying is especially interesting to me. I might try to use the imposter game generator next time I'm feeling overwhelmed to see if it helps channel that.
It's interesting that the study found lower respiration and heart rates in the crying group compared to the non-criers. The idea that crying is a self-soothing mechanism that helps regulate the body's physical stress response makes a lot of sense. I wonder if this connects to other tools for emotional awareness, like using a grid maker to visualize personal patterns over time.
That's interesting how the study found heart rates slowing down just before crying—almost like the body is preparing to release tension. I've always felt better after a good cry, so it's cool to see some science backing up that self-soothing effect, like you mentioned on Bizarre Lineage Wiki.
That’s a fascinating finding—the idea that crying actually helps stabilize breathing and heart rate rather than just being a sign of distress. I’d love to see more research on how this plays out in everyday life, maybe through something like SubtitleOps to track emotional patterns over time. The detail about heart rates slowing just before crying really stood out to me.
That's fascinating—I always wondered if the physical act of crying actually does something measurable beyond just feeling like a release. The finding that heart rates slowed down *just before* crying really stood out to me, almost like the body is preparing for a reset. I’ve been reading more about how small emotional shifts affect our physiology, and this piece from ScopeQuill helped tie a few of those ideas together for me.