Are you a member of the ‘Mile High Cry Club’? These top reasons you cry on planes will surprise you.
When I first cried on a flight, I didn’t know what was wrong with me. I’d put on a movie that wasn’t even sad! I uncontrollably sobbed through the last 20 minutes of Brittany Runs a Marathon…an Amazon comedy that you probably haven’t even heard of. I know it’s weird and I hope you don’t judge me (or do), but as it kept happening I of course turned to Google.
“Why am I crying on a plane to lame rom-coms?”
Well, there actually were quite a few articles on the topic, and I suddenly didn’t feel so isolated. Maybe I won’t cover my face the next time tears start streaming down my face while watching the stampede scene in The Lion King. Whoever doesn’t cry to Simba and his dad getting separated while drinking a vodka soda 36,000 feet in the air clearly isn’t okay. Kidding.
Let me preface that I rarely cry during movies on land – this is just an air thing. So I hope you’re ready for today’s science lesson because here are my findings on the top reasons you cry on planes…
You have little control over your environment.
The moment you step on the plane, you lose almost all control to your environment for the duration of the flight. Confined to your seat and only walking for bathroom breaks, let’s hope no passengers on your flight are throwing tantrums. While it might seem like no big deal, your mind is working overtime to adapt to your heightened surroundings.
Without distractions, you’re simply left alone with your thoughts.
When you’re sitting on a plane for hours with no wi-fi, no social media to check, no emails to respond to and no calls to friends to make, being left alone with just you and your thoughts can sometimes be a scary place for your mind to wander freely. I’m not saying that being without your phone will make you cry, but add in the uncontrolled environment, low oxygen levels and A Star is Born on the illuminated screen in front of you.
Altitude levels and air conditions of planes can affect your mental and physical state.
Much like the way cabin pressure and sounds can impact taste on flights, altitude levels can mess with you too. Low air pressure reduces oxygen in our blood which can affect our decision-making and emotions.
Being dehydrated can send you on a slippery slope.
Low oxygen levels can lead to dehydration, which can be tricky as it affects your entire body including behavior and the brain which can cause difficulty self-regulating your emotions. Regardless of tears or not, you should be trying to drink as much water as you can inflight.
Movies can open the floodgates of tears.
Men are more likely to cry on a plane watching a movie than anywhere else, a 2017 survey confirmed. When you mix in the high altitude and uncontrolled environment, turning on a movie that might not even be a sad drama is the perfect storm to let those tears fall. Virgin Atlantic once had trigger warnings on their movies for tearful endings!
Honestly, who TF cares if you cry on a plane?
I find all of this very interesting, but there is absolutely nothing wrong with letting it out at 36,000 feet. On the spectrum of bizarre things to happen on a plane nowadays, crying is not weird so own that sh*t.
Enjoy your next flight and perhaps pack some tissues? Be good, JB
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