The #1 Reason to Watch a Sad Movie Tonight

by Madeline Haller
March 29, 2012, 08:19 pm EDT

You ask, why would anyone catch “Titanic” in 3D next month? The answer: Because it will make them happy.

That’s not James Cameron talking, or Roger Ebert, or even those reviewers you’ve never seen who love every movie. That’s science clearing its throat and telling you how it is.

Crying is manly too, right?

A recent study published in the journal Communication Research, to be exact, which said that viewing sad or tragic films can improve your mood. The researchers had 361 college students screen the movie “Atonement”—good choice, if you’re going for a real downer. The students were asked a series of questions before, during, and after the movie to gauge how they felt throughout the film.

The results: Exposure to the tragic film actually made the students happy.

Why? “It appears that individuals use tragedies as a way to reflect on the significant relationships in their own life,” says Silvia Knobloch-Westerwick, Ph.D., lead study author and associate professor of communication at Ohio State University. “It’s as if the film made them think about their own loved ones and sources of happiness, which in turn made them happy.”

But let’s say you’re not in the mood for a tearjerker, or don’t think you could survive the ribbing you’d get from friends if you go back to see what happens to Leo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet. How else can you score an instant pick-me-up? Check out the following tips, guaranteed to spread a bit of cheer.

Hit the Gym

As few as 15 minutes of exercise daily can increase an individual’s positive emotions (enthusiasm, happiness, pride, and excitement), says a study published in the Journal of Sport & Exercise Psychology. Researchers recruited nearly 200 college students in order to analyze the effect that physical activity had on their overall emotional state. Researchers found that those who were highly active reported greater levels of pleasant feelings. (So if you have some time, check out how you can get happy and fit in just 15 minutes.)

Turn On the Tunes

Having a bad day? Whip out your iPod and blast your favorite song. When you listen to music that moves you, your brain releases dopamine (a chemical that activates the reward circuits in your brain) and results in a positive emotional change, says a study published in the journal Nature Neuroscience.

Ignite Your Sense of Smell

According to research presented at a conference held by the Association for Psychological Science, floral scents can increase your happiness and evoke positive memories. To test this theory, researchers split the study participants in to three rooms—one of which had a floral scent—and gave written tests. When analyzing the tests, researchers found those in the floral-scented room used three times as many happiness-related words and indicated that their overall mood was better than those in the other two rooms. What if you’re not a flower guy? Try other aromas. A study published in Physiology & Behavior found that people sitting in a dentist’s office were less anxious and in better moods when the waiting room smelled like orange or lavender.

Plan a Vacation

Everyone knows that vacation will bring you bliss—but just planning the trip itself can make you happier, too. The research, published in the journal Applied Research in Quality of Life, measured the effects that vacations had on nearly 1,000 people. Although the researchers found the trip itself brought about pleasure, the bigger finding was that anticipating the trip boosted happiness for 8 weeks. Why? The researchers hypothesized that having something to look forward to served as a reminder of what lies ahead, and lifted subjects’ moods.