Discover the benefits of smiling and how it can improve your mental health.
If you're reading this, stop whatever you're doing, and say "CHEESEEEEE", and try to make yourself smile and wide as you can, squint your eyes and let your cheeks rises. And if you're afraid of people staring at you, just ignore them, you're trying to make yourself better!
Hold that smile for 5-10 seconds.
I know it sounds silly but tell me how do you feel right now?
"Sometimes your joy is the source of your smile, but sometimes your smile can be the source of your joy." —Thich Nhat Hanh
Do you know that smiling and laughing could provide a huge positive impact towards your brain?
Each time you smile, you throw a little feel-good party in your brain. The act of smiling activates neural messaging that benefits your health and happiness.
For starters, smiling activates the release of neuropeptides that work toward fighting off stress. They facilitate messaging to the whole body when we are happy, sad, angry, depressed, or excited. The feel-good neurotransmitters—dopamine, endorphins and serotonin—are all released when a smile flashes across your face as well .
The endorphins also act as a natural pain reliever—100-percent organic and without the potential negative side effects of synthetic concoctions.
Finally, the serotonin release brought on by your smile serves as an anti-depressant/mood lifter.
How Smiling Affects Your Body
Perhaps the most compelling reason to smile is that it may lengthen your overall lifespan. One 2010 study found that genuine, intense smiling is associated with longer life.
Overall, happy people seem to enjoy better health and longevity, though more research is needed to understand why that is. Research does suggest that happiness could increase lifespan by years—suggesting maintaining a happy, positive mood may be an important part of living a healthy lifestyle
Smiling could have a beneficial impact on your blood pressure. Laughter specifically seems to lower blood pressure, after causing an initial increase in heart rate and breathing.
While smiling has been shown to lower your heart rate in the face of stress, more research is needed to determine exactly how it reduces blood pressure.
You can try testing this idea for yourself if you have a blood pressure monitor at home. Sit for a few minutes and take a reading. Then smile for a minute and take another reading while still smiling. Do you notice a difference?
Smiley face indicates attractive and trustworthy personality
You’re actually better-looking when you smile—and I’m not just trying to butter you up. When you smile, people treat you differently. You’re viewed as attractive, reliable, relaxed, and sincere.
It explains the 2011 findings by researchers at the Face Research Laboratory at the University of Aberdeen, Scotland. Subjects were asked to rate smiling and attractiveness. They found that both men and women were more attracted to images of people who made eye contact and smiled than those who did not. If you don’t believe me, see how many looks you get when you walk outside with that smile you're wearing right now. (You’re still smiling like I asked, right?)
Sources:
Mark, S. (2021, April 2). Top 10 Reasons to Smile Every Day. Verywell Mind. https://www.verywellmind.com/top-reasons-to-smile-every-day-2223755#:%7E:text=Studies%20have%20shown%20that%20smiling,Smiling%20is%20a%20natural%20drug.
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