It’s a familiar feeling: you’re exhausted after a hard week and, for reasons that don’t quite make sense, you just feel like having a good cry.
Now experts have revealed why you might get the urge – because it’s actually good for us.
“Crying can help us process emotions and you can even experience a better mood afterwards due to the release of endorphins and the ‘love hormone’ oxytocin,” says British eye specialist Tina Patel.
Plus, it promotes “human connection,” which can help you feel a deeper connection with someone after watching a tear-jerking movie with them.
To help you get your health-boosting cry on-demand, a team of analysts conducted a new study to discover the movies that most induce sobs.
Crying with friends on Valentine’s Day over a sad movie can provide emotional relief and build social support and compassion
The team of eye health specialists Feel Good Contacts analyzed more than 4,000 comments on the social media forum site Reddit regarding sad movies.
They counted the combined number of votes (similar to a ‘like’ on other social media platforms) to rank the top 10 movies most likely to make you cry.
According to the data, the Japanese animated war drama Grave of the Fireflies (1988) is the saddest film of all time, with 1,390 votes and many confessions of tears.
One Redditor commented, “Grave of the Fireflies is a heartbreaking truth that just happens to be in cartoon form. I can’t think of another movie that made me cry harder than this one.”
The Japanese animation shows the devastating impact of World War II on two siblings in Japan. It explores themes of loss, resilience and the human spirit amid the harsh realities of war.
In second place on the list with 730 votes is Manchester by the Sea (2016), starring Casey Affleck. The film centers on a man who is named the guardian of his 16-year-old nephew Patrick, played by Lucas Hedges, after the death of his brother. The tragedy forces Lee to return to his hometown and face his past.
‘Devastating, harrowing, crushing and ‘heartbreaking’ were just some of the words used to describe it.
Also on the list was the 2022 film starring Paul Mescal, AfterSun and the old classic The Green Mile.
Dr. Patel said, “Watching a sad movie can help us trigger emotional crying, which in turn provides the health benefits mentioned above. If you can watch a sad movie with company, then this is even better.’
Both men and women experience a sense of relief when they shed emotional tears. To cry releases oxytocin and endogenous opioidsalso known as endorphins, which help relieve both physical and emotional pain.
It too promotes self-soothinga kind of coping mechanism to help a person recognize and manage their emotional ups and downs.
Leo Newhouse, a licensed social worker at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston, said: ‘Popular culture, in turn, has always recognized the value of a good cry as a way to feel better – and perhaps even to experience physical pleasure.
“The millions of people who have seen classic tearjerker films like West Side Story or Titanic (among others) will probably agree.”
Crying emotional tears also has many psychological and physiological benefits. Crying can ease the pain and remove toxins from the body
Crying also has a so-called interpersonal benefit. Since childhood, crying has been a behavior that lets others around know that we need support.
When a loved one cries, we usually rally around him. Crying helps build a strong social support system when life gets difficult.
Dr. Grace Tworek, a licensed psychologist at the Cleveland Clinic, said: ‘When we are in a comfortable situation and we process the events together, talk to each other about what is going on and share our emotions, it can often connect us.
“It can be a way to connect us by creating an atmosphere of human connection.”