So we're on a plane watching some movie for the hundredth time, and we suddenly find ourselves inexplicably sobbing. If this scenario sounds familiar, apparently we're not alone.
I’ve spent a fair amount of time on airplanes over the years and while I can’t say I’ve observed the premise of the title every time I fly, there is some validity in the observation.
A recently published article says that 15 percent of men and 6 percent of women reported that they're more likely to cry while watching a film during a flight than if they were to watch it anywhere else, according to a new survey commissioned by London's Gatwick Airport.
An earlier survey from Virgin Atlantic found that 55 percent of people admitted to being more emotional than normal while flying. (Virgin even started running tongue-in-cheek "emotional warnings" before some of its in-flight films.)
Unfortunately, there's no clear-cut answer as to why some people seem to be more prone to crying on planes, but scientists do have a few theories:
There could be a physiological link between altitude and emotion.
"Some believe that the slight reduction in oxygen levels at high altitude might affect the levels of serotonin and dopamine in the brain, thus altering our mood and potentially making some of us more susceptible to feelings of sadness," biologist Emily Grossman said in Gatwick's report.
"Altitude can certainly make us feel more tired, which is known to decrease our ability to be able to manage negative emotions, perhaps explaining our reduced threshold for tears."
The theory is that when there are no distractions, we can be more emotionally involved in a film.
"You have to watch movies with headphones on [on a plane], which forces you to really immerse yourself in the movie and also to have a sense that you are alone, which may increase the impact of the movie," Lauren Bylsma, Ph.D., assistant professor of psychiatry at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, notes in the article.
Another theory: airplanes can feel like a safe place to grieve.
There haven't been any official studies on this in reference to flying, but a 2004 study on grieving while driving found that "some bereaved people seem to save their grieving for times when they drive, because that is when they have the time and privacy to think and feel." Traveling on a plane can feel isolating and therefore experts theorize you could feel more open to crying.
Still another explanation: being stuck in one place for an extended period of time can make us feel hopeless.
"Crying seems to occur in situations where action makes no sense," Ad Vingerhoets, professor of social and behavioral sciences at Tilburg University in the Netherlands, and one of the world's leading experts in crying, told The Atlantic.
"Where [action] is not needed or where you can't act because you feel hopeless or are helpless. When there's no reason to fight or fly, you just have to deal with your emotions."
According the article, this means that when we're on a plane, we have given up complete control. Once we're up in the air, we're stuck there, and can feel lonely and force us to experience a variety of emotions, possibly resulting in some tears.
Of course a common perception is that everything about traveling just makes us want to cry!
If we're going on a trip, we're probably leaving something behind, even if only temporarily. And if that weren't enough to deal with, we've probably also stayed up all night packing, rushed to the airport, and dealt with surly travelers and airline workers—meaning once we finally take off, we're ready to release all that stress from our bodies.
In summary, the article says it’s perfectly OK to let it all out. I suppose that’s one way to pass the time.
Courtesy CountryLiving
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