The question of whether shedding tears contributes to energy expenditure is often met with skepticism, yet the answer is yes: crying burns a small, measurable amount of calories. Caloric expenditure is the process by which the body converts food into energy to perform physical or biological functions. The biological processes accompanying emotional tearing cause the body’s energy consumption to rise slightly above its resting rate. This article explores the science behind this phenomenon and quantifies the minimal impact of crying on overall energy balance.
The Physiological Cost of Emotional Tearing
Emotional crying is a physical process that engages multiple internal systems, demanding energy expenditure beyond a state of rest. During intense emotional distress, the sympathetic nervous system activates, triggering an elevation in heart rate and breathing regularity. This increases the rate at which the body consumes oxygen and burns fuel.
The act of sobbing is a form of muscular work, involving the complex network of facial muscles. A forceful cry involves contractions in the diaphragm and chest muscles. The body also expends energy to produce psychic tears, which contain elevated levels of stress hormones, such as cortisol. The body must actively synthesize and transport these hormones to the lacrimal glands for release.
Measuring the Caloric Expenditure
Quantifying the exact energy cost of crying is difficult because it is an involuntary emotional response that varies greatly in intensity and duration. Scientific estimates suggest that a person burns approximately 1.3 calories per minute during emotional tearing. This figure represents a slight metabolic increase above the body’s Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR).
Crying for a sustained ten-minute period results in a total expenditure of around 13 calories. This energy use is primarily a byproduct of the elevated heart rate and muscle contractions in the face and chest. While this consumption is measurable, it remains an insignificant contribution to the body’s total daily energy needs and is not high enough to be considered a method for weight management.
Crying Compared to Other Daily Activities
To put the caloric burn of crying into perspective, it is helpful to compare it with other low-effort activities that are not considered formal exercise. The rate of 1.3 calories per minute for crying is roughly equivalent to the energy expended during hearty laughter. This similarity highlights that both are low-intensity, emotionally driven physical reactions.
The energy cost is only slightly higher than sleeping, which burns approximately 50 to 75 calories per hour (about 0.83 to 1.25 calories per minute). Consistent, low-level fidgeting, such as tapping a foot or shifting in a chair, can increase energy expenditure by an extra 13 to 22 calories per hour above quiet sitting. Chewing gum is estimated to burn between 3 and 11 calories per hour. These comparisons demonstrate that while crying consumes energy, its contribution to overall physical activity is marginal and easily surpassed by many other commonplace movements.