How Many Calories Does Crying Burn? (Plus Thinking, Shivering, Laughing and 20 Other Weird Ones)

Crying burns about what sitting on the couch burns: roughly 70 calories an hour for a 70 kg (154 lb) person. Nobody has measured adult crying in a lab, but the closest measured activities, sitting quietly and laughing, both rate 1.0 MET in the 2024 Compendium. A good laugh adds only 2 to 10 calories. Shaking your leg, weirdly, beats both.

How do you calculate calories burned doing anything?

Researchers use METs, short for metabolic equivalents. One MET is your resting rate, and the standard shortcut is that 1 MET burns about 1 calorie per kilogram of body weight per hour. So:

• Calories = METs x weight in kg x hours
• Extra calories (above what you would burn on the couch anyway) = (METs minus 1) x kg x hours

Every MET value below comes from the 2024 Adult Compendium of Physical Activities, the standard research reference, which lists 1,114 activities with 912 measured values. We ran every number for two people: 70 kg (154 lb) and 90 kg (198 lb). Bigger bodies burn more for the same activity, which is just physics, not a scoreboard.

One honest caveat: METs are averages. Your real number depends on your size, your muscle, and how dramatically you do the thing.

How many calories does crying burn?

Here is the truth nobody on TikTok wants to hear: there is no published study measuring the calories adults burn while crying. We searched PubMed. The closest hits were about newborns and, genuinely, leatherback turtles "crying" out salt.

So any site giving you a precise "crying burns X calories per minute" number is guessing. What we can do is bracket it with real measurements:

• Sitting quietly is 1.0 MET (Compendium code 07021).
• Laughing while sitting is also 1.0 MET (code 09025).
• In the Buchowski laughter study, real laughter raised energy burn 10 to 20% above resting.

If crying behaves like laughing, a big emotional cry sits somewhere between couch level and 20% above it. That is our estimate, not a measurement.

What about crying for 2 hours?

Using that bracket, 2 hours of crying works out to about 140 to 168 calories at 70 kg and 180 to 216 calories at 90 kg. But 140 and 180 of those you would have burned sitting on the couch anyway. The extra cost of the tears is somewhere between zero and about 28 to 36 calories.

Crying is good for a lot of things. Calorie burn is not one of them, and it doesn't need to be.

How many calories does laughing burn?

In a 2007 Vanderbilt study, 45 pairs of friends watched funny and not-funny film clips inside a room-sized calorimeter. Genuine laughter burned 0.19 calories per minute more than resting, on average. The authors concluded that 10 to 15 minutes of laughter a day adds about 2 to 10 calories.

That is a rounding error on your day. Watch the comedy special anyway, it's good for you in other ways.

How many calories does thinking burn?

Your brain is about 2% of your body weight but uses about 20% of the calories your body burns at rest, according to neuroscientists Marcus Raichle and Debra Gusnard. For a 70 kg person resting at 1 MET all day, that is roughly 1,680 calories a day total and about 336 calories of brain. At 90 kg, about 432.

The catch: that cost is mostly fixed. Your brain burns it whether you are doing calculus or watching reality TV. The same paper notes that local changes during most thinking tasks are often 5% or less. Studying is listed at 1.5 METs (code 09060), but that includes the reading, writing, and shifting around, not just the thoughts.

Translation: your exam did not burn off the pizza. Your brain was already expensive.

How many calories does shivering burn?

Shivering is the one weird activity that is genuinely intense. A review by Haman and Blondin found shivering can push heat production up to about 5 times resting metabolic rate, and they describe mild shivering as 1 to 2 times resting. People held around 1.8 times resting for long stretches in 7.5°C (45°F) cold.

Using 1 MET as a stand-in for resting, that is:

• Mild shivering (1.8x): about 126 calories an hour at 70 kg, 162 at 90 kg
• Near-maximal shivering (5x): about 350 an hour at 70 kg, 450 at 90 kg

Please don't turn this into a plan. Hard shivering means your body is struggling to stay warm, and cold exposure has real risks. Put the jacket on. If winter has you wondering why the scale creeps up, we covered that in Why You Gain Weight in Winter.

How many calories does shaking your leg burn?

The surprise winner of the desk-chair Olympics. The Compendium lists sitting while fidgeting your feet at 1.8 METs (code 07023), almost double sitting still.

• 70 kg: 126 calories an hour, which is 56 extra over sitting still
• 90 kg: 162 calories an hour, which is 72 extra

Do it for half of an 8-hour workday and a 70 kg person burns about 224 extra calories. Your coworkers may have opinions.

This lines up with Mayo Clinic research. In James Levine's 2000 fidgeting study, energy burn rose 54% while fidgeting seated and 94% while fidgeting standing, compared with lying down. Standing still added just 13%.

How many calories does a fart burn?

Essentially none, and no one has published a number, so we won't invent one.

What science does know is the volume. A 1991 study in the journal Gut collected 24 hours of gas from 10 healthy volunteers (who also ate 200 g of baked beans for science). The median was 705 mL a day, spread over the day, and on a fiber-free diet it dropped to 214 mL. The fermentation of fiber makes most of it, which is a sign your gut bacteria are eating well.

So, a fart burns about as many calories as reading this sentence. If you are going big on fiber, Fibermaxxing explains how to ramp up without the side effects clearing a room.

The weird calorie table: 25 activities ranked

Calories per hour from the 2024 Compendium MET values. "Extra" means calories above sitting on the couch for the same hour, at 70 kg.

Activity	Compendium code	METs	70 kg (154 lb) per hour	90 kg (198 lb) per hour	Extra vs couch (70 kg)
Sleeping	07030	1.0	70	90	0
Sitting quietly (the couch baseline)	07021	1.0	70	90	0
Meditating	07075	1.0	70	90	0
Laughing, sitting	09025	1.0	70	90	0
Scrolling, texting or talking, sitting	09055	1.3	91	117	21
Video games, handheld controller	22040	1.3	91	117	21
Desk work, typing	09040	1.3	91	117	21
Standing in line	07040	1.3	91	117	21
Studying (reading and writing)	09060	1.5	105	135	35
Fidgeting your hands, sitting	07022	1.5	105	135	35
Fidgeting, standing	07041	1.5	105	135	35
Shaking your leg (fidgeting feet), sitting	07023	1.8	126	162	56
Kissing and hugging	14030	1.8	126	162	56
Singing, standing	20020	2.0	140	180	70
Showering and toweling off	13050	2.0	140	180	70
Non-food shopping	05065	2.3	161	207	91
Getting dressed	13020	2.8	196	252	126
Playing with kids, standing	05171	2.8	196	252	126
Vacuuming	05043	3.0	210	270	140
Walking the dog	17165	3.0	210	270	140
Sex, moderate effort	14020	3.0	210	270	140
Grocery shopping, carrying a bag	05060	3.3	231	297	161
Scrubbing the bathroom	05130	3.5	245	315	175
Running around with kids, vigorous	05180	5.8	406	522	336
Hula hooping	02230	5.8	406	522	336

A few things jump out:

• Getting dressed (2.8) beats kissing (1.8). Nobody tell the romance novels.
• Hula hooping ties with chasing toddlers at 5.8 METs, the top of the list.
• Sleeping, meditating and laughing all tie with the couch. Your body runs about 70 calories an hour at 70 kg no matter what, and that is a lot of free work.
• Getting dressed takes minutes, not an hour, so scale these to how long you actually do them.

Do small movements like fidgeting really add up?

Yes, and this is the most useful part of the whole weird list. Scientists call it NEAT, non-exercise activity thermogenesis: everything you burn that isn't sleeping, eating, or formal exercise.

In a 2005 Science study, Levine's team tracked the posture of 20 sedentary volunteers every half-second for 10 days. One group sat about 2 hours longer per day than the other. The researchers estimated that adopting the more active group's habits could burn about 350 extra calories a day, with no gym involved.

That is why walking the dog, pacing on calls, and taking the stairs matter more than any single "workout." Curious what your steps add up to? Try the steps to calories calculator. And for the big picture of how all this fits into your daily burn, see What Is TDEE?.

Should you "burn off" your food?

No. Food is not a bill you pay off with leg shaking. Your body needs fuel to run that 70-calories-an-hour couch baseline, your brain's 336 calories, and everything else you do.

Tools like our walk it off calculator exist to make calorie numbers feel real, not to make anyone feel guilty about a meal. If you are working toward a goal, the gentlest lever is understanding what you eat, not punishing yourself for it. And if you have a history of disordered eating, please work with a doctor or registered dietitian before tracking calories or exercise.

Why I care more about the food side of this

When I started tracking, I used MyFitnessPal. The numbers were fine. Typing in a normal dinner just took several minutes, and after a long day I would skip it. Then I tried AI photo trackers, which were fast, but I wasn't losing weight. When I added up a few meals ingredient by ingredient, a plate the camera called about 400 calories was closer to 700. That 300-calorie gap is more than five hours of leg shaking for a 70 kg person.

That is why I built Nouri. You type, say, or snap a meal, or tell Siri from the lock screen: "Hey Siri, track food in Nouri." It shows the per-item reasoning behind each estimate and a confidence rating, and if you forgot the oil in the pan, you add it in a few words and it recalculates. It also syncs with Apple Health both ways, so your movement and your meals live in one place.

The freshly redesigned Nouri is iPhone (iOS only), with a 3-day free trial. Think of it as the friend who laughs at your weird calorie facts and still remembers what you had for lunch.

FAQ

How many calories does crying burn?

No study has measured adult crying directly. The closest measured activities, sitting quietly and laughing, are both 1.0 MET, about 70 calories an hour at 70 kg. Laughter measured 10 to 20% above resting, so crying likely adds very little beyond the couch.

How many calories does crying for 2 hours burn?

Our estimate is about 140 to 168 calories at 70 kg and 180 to 216 at 90 kg. Most of that you would burn sitting still anyway, so the extra is roughly 0 to 36 calories.

How many calories does laughing burn?

A Vanderbilt study measured 0.19 calories per minute above resting during genuine laughter. That means 10 to 15 minutes of laughter adds about 2 to 10 calories a day.

Does thinking burn calories?

Yes, a lot, but it is mostly fixed. The brain uses about 20% of your resting calories, roughly 336 a day for a 70 kg person, whether you are thinking hard or not. Hard mental work adds very little on top.

How many calories does shivering burn?

Mild shivering runs about 1 to 2 times resting, and maximal shivering can reach about 5 times resting. That is roughly 126 to 350 calories an hour at 70 kg. It is your body fighting the cold, so warm up rather than chase it.

How many calories does shaking your leg burn?

Sitting while fidgeting your feet is 1.8 METs, about 126 calories an hour at 70 kg and 162 at 90 kg. That is 56 to 72 more than sitting still.

How many calories does a fart burn?

Essentially none, and there is no published number. A study in Gut found people pass a median of 705 mL of gas a day, mostly from fiber fermentation, but nobody has measured a calorie cost because it is too small to matter.

Does kissing burn calories?

Kissing and hugging are listed at 1.8 METs, about 126 calories an hour at 70 kg. That is 56 more than sitting, so roughly 1 extra calorie a minute.

How many calories does sleeping burn?

Sleeping is 1.0 MET in the 2024 Compendium, about 70 calories an hour at 70 kg and 90 at 90 kg. Over 8 hours, that is about 560 and 720.

Does fidgeting help with weight loss?

It adds up more than people think. Mayo Clinic research estimated that adopting more active daily habits could burn about 350 extra calories a day. Pair it with eating patterns you enjoy, not punishment.

What is the easiest way to track calories without it feeling like homework?

Use an app that takes one sentence. Nouri lets you type, say, snap, or Siri a meal from the lock screen, then shows per-item reasoning and a confidence rating you can fix in a few words.

Your body is quietly burning about 70 calories an hour just existing, more if you are bigger, and every laugh, fidget and dog walk adds a little on top. None of it is a reason to earn or burn off a meal. If you want the part that actually moves your goals to feel easy, track your food in Nouri and check your daily needs with the daily calorie needs calculator. Now go hug someone. That's 1.8 METs.

Sources

• Herrmann SD, Willis EA, Ainsworth BE, et al., "2024 Adult Compendium of Physical Activities: A third update of the energy costs of human activities," Journal of Sport and Health Science, 2024, pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38242596 (checked Oct 25, 2026)
• 2024 Adult Compendium, Inactivity (codes 07009 to 07075), pacompendium.com/inactivity (checked Oct 25, 2026)
• 2024 Adult Compendium, Miscellaneous (codes 09025, 09040, 09055, 09060), pacompendium.com/miscellaneous (checked Oct 25, 2026)
• 2024 Adult Compendium, Home Activities (codes 05043, 05060, 05065, 05130, 05171, 05180), pacompendium.com/home-activities (checked Oct 25, 2026)
• 2024 Adult Compendium, Self Care (codes 13020, 13050), pacompendium.com/self-care (checked Oct 25, 2026)
• 2024 Adult Compendium, Sexual Activity (codes 14020, 14030), pacompendium.com/sexual-activity (checked Oct 25, 2026)
• 2024 Adult Compendium, Religious Activities (code 20020), pacompendium.com/religious-activities (checked Oct 25, 2026)
• 2024 Adult Compendium, Walking (code 17165), pacompendium.com/walking (checked Oct 25, 2026)
• 2024 Adult Compendium, Video Games (code 22040), pacompendium.com/video-games (checked Oct 25, 2026)
• 2024 Adult Compendium, Conditioning Exercise (code 02230), pacompendium.com/conditioning-exercise (checked Oct 25, 2026)
• Buchowski MS et al., "Energy expenditure of genuine laughter," International Journal of Obesity, 2007, pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16652129 (checked Oct 25, 2026)
• Raichle ME, Gusnard DA, "Appraising the brain's energy budget," PNAS, 2002, pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC124895 (checked Oct 25, 2026)
• Haman F, Blondin DP, "Shivering thermogenesis in humans: Origin, contribution and metabolic requirement," Temperature, 2017, pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5605160 (checked Oct 25, 2026)
• Levine JA, Schleusner SJ, Jensen MD, "Energy expenditure of nonexercise activity," American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 2000, pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/11101470 (checked Oct 25, 2026)
• Levine JA et al., "Interindividual variation in posture allocation: possible role in human obesity," Science, 2005, pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15681386 (checked Oct 25, 2026)
• Tomlin J, Lowis C, Read NW, "Investigation of normal flatus production in healthy volunteers," Gut, 1991, pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/1648028 (checked Oct 25, 2026)