Who thought crying while watching a tearjerker could have benefits? Now, a Dutch study has revealed that people’s moods were positively affected after watching an emotionally charged film.
The study was conducted on 60 volunteers who were made to watch the Oscar-winning 1997 French film La Vita e Bella (Life Is Beautiful), and the 2009 Richard Gere-starrer Hachi: A Dog’s Tale. The study revealed that 28 volunteers who cried experienced an emotional boost sometime after watching the film.
Study leader Asmir Gracanin stated that crying could trigger the release of the feel-good brain chemical, oxytocin. He said, “After the initial deterioration of mood following crying, it takes some time for the mood not only to recover, but also to be lifted above the levels at which it had been before the emotional event.”
