Does Crying Burn Calories? Know the Truth About It

Tears flow when emotions surge, and if you are thinking, "does crying burn calories?" the answer is yes, it does. As our emotions unfold and tears form, our bodies put in a bit of work to produce those tears. In expressing our emotions, our facial muscles come into play, leading to a slight calorie expenditure.

While this might sound interesting, the number of calories burned through crying remains relatively small. Each cry, with its unique duration and intensity, contributes slightly differently to this calorie count.

However, it's essential to remember that crying is more about emotional release and physiological relief than it is about burning calories. It's a natural way our bodies process and release emotions rather than a significant calorie-shedding activity.

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How Does Crying Burn Calories?

Crying burn calories (Image via Unsplash/Claudia)

Tear Production: Our eyes hold a special gland called the lacrimal gland, and it's this gland that gets to work when we cry, producing tears. These tears aren't just water, as they carry with them a mix of electrolytes, proteins, and enzymes. Every time these tears form, our body undergoes metabolic processes, and this requires a bit of energy, translating into calorie usage.

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Emotional Response: Our tears often find their way out during moments of profound sadness, stress, or even sheer frustration. With these emotions come a host of physiological shifts within our body. Our heart might beat a tad faster, or we might feel warmth, signaling a rise in body temperature. These subtle changes hint at our body using up a bit more calories than usual.

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Facial Muscles: As tears roll down, there's more happening on our faces than just the moist trails. The facial muscles, especially those framing our eyes and mouth, go through contractions. Every squeeze of these muscles, though small, uses a hint of energy, adding to the calorie tally.

Crying burn calories (Image via Unsplash/Danie)

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Duration and Intensity: Not all cries are the same. Some are short-lived sighs, while others are intense outpours. The energy or calories our body uses during these moments vary based on how long and how deeply we cry. Even though the calorie count remains on the modest side, it does fluctuate based on the duration and intensity of our emotional release.

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How Many Calories Do You Burn While Crying?

Average Estimates: Digging into numbers, for many adults, crying might use up about 1 to 1.3 calories each minute.

A Session's Tally: Consider this — if emotions overcome you and you cry for a span of 10-20 minutes, the energy spent would amount to around 10-20 calories. But let's put things in perspective — that's a rather tiny amount.

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Can Crying Make You Skinny?

Crying burn calories (Image via Unsplash/Zachary)

When we shed tears, it's not with weight loss in mind. Crying does use a bit of energy, coming from the formation of tears and the movement of our facial muscles, but the calorie count remains quite tiny.

The journey to a healthy weight leans heavily on balanced eating, consistent physical activity, and a mindful lifestyle. The core idea behind weight loss is simple yet profound — over time, consume fewer calories than your body uses.

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Can Crying Burn Calories? Should You Be Concerned?

No, you should not be concerned about burning calories while crying because the calorie expenditure during crying is minimal and not a meaningful factor in your overall calorie balance or health. Crying primarily serves as an emotional and physiological response to various stimuli, and the energy expended during this process is negligible.

Crying burn calories (Image via Unsplash/Caleb)

Taking care of our emotional health is paramount. If tears are frequent visitors, it's crucial to attend to the heart of the matter, to the emotions and feelings prompting them. The calories involved in crying should be the least of our concerns as our emotional well-being takes center stage.

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Now that you know the answer to "does crying burn calories?" the concept should be way clearer than it was before to you. However, using crying as your weight loss consultant is definitely not recommended.