• Question: Why do we sometimes laugh so much, we cry?

    Asked by u12tsangv to Dilwar, Lou, Rachel, Simon, Susan on 16 Nov 2013.
    • Photo: Susan Skelton

      Susan Skelton answered on 16 Nov 2013:

      Hi u12tsangv – interesting question!

      We usually associate crying with being sad, but of course we also cry when we laugh too. In fact, crying tends to happen whenever we are particularly emotional.

      Being sad and happy are completely different things, but we’re very emotional when we’re very happy and very sad. Crying is an intense emotional response, so when we are overwhelmed with feelings, our feelings show as tears.

      Some scientists think that we cry when we laugh because when we laugh we screw up our faces so much that we put so much pressure on our tear ducts that we force the tears out.

      Tears also accompany the body’s return to a more stable, balanced state after we have been very excited. So after a big laugh, tears are a sign that the body is returning to normal.

      Scientists have studied tears and found that they contain lots of stress hormones which can be released either caused by stress or by pleasure. So when we cry, we are getting rid of all our excess stress hormones from our bodies. That’s why we always feel better after a good cry.

    • Photo: Simon Langley-Evans

      Simon Langley-Evans answered on 16 Nov 2013:

      It is because laughing gets all of the muscles in our faces working in an uncontrollable manner. That screws up our eyes and pushes tears out of the tear ducts so that we cry. A really good laugh can affect other muscles too so that we have other physical effects. When I laugh hard I often end up with a coughing fit. My daughter laughs so hard that she gets a tummy ache.

    • Photo: Rachel Dakin

      Rachel Dakin answered on 19 Nov 2013:

      love this question – it happened to me just last week!! I don’t have anything to add to what Susan and Simon have said. A combination of being emotional and putting pressure on our muscles. What I find interesting about crying is the fact some people cry a lot and others rarely. Sex seems to play a part in how much we cry, women crying more – this suggests our hormones can alter emotional response. To take it further some women cry more than others. Some people always cry when they laugh a lot – others never. Emotions are difficult things to understand and to be honest I don’t think we really do yet!

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