We all know that a smile can make you look happy, but research suggests that smiling can actually make you feel just as happy as you look.
You’re having a bad day, week or month and the sight of someone smiling does one of three things to you, it either makes you angry, sad or happy. The power of a smile becomes quite prominent when you are feeling down and research has found that making yourself smile even when you really don’t want to can make you feel better and give you more energy. Let’s look at some science behind why this is and then explore some of the advantages of smiling regardless of your mood.
Science of Smiling
Research over the years has found that muscle movement can have a positive effect on our emotions, which is one reason why exercise is part of depression treatment programs. The same goes for facial muscles, the simple act of curling up the end of the mouth into a smile causes a rush of oxygen and endorphins, the chemical that makes you feel good, to your brain. Similarly not smiling and keeping your facial muscles tight tends to create a sense of stress and repression, ultimately causing you to be irritable and feel even worse. Smiling is a way to free yourself from these negative feelings and start feeling positive and alive!
Benefits You Will Enjoy
Smiling can not only help you feel happier but can also increase your inner confidence, and we all know that a heightened sense of confidence and self-esteem can help you achieve goals and help your relationships with other people. As mentioned earlier, smiling can serve as a form of stress relief, therefore it can also help decrease risk of heart disease, anxiety and high blood pressure, all of which are related to high stress levels. Some studies have shown that if you smile while hearing a joke it will seem even more funny to you and laughter burns calories and exercises the lungs! Smiling can tone facial muscles that aren’t used often and help you appear younger!
Smiling is Contagious
While smiling can help you improve your own mood, it can also help improve the mood of those around you and when other people are happy you are happy. So a simple smile can create a boomerang effect of happiness and help to create a perpetual state of happiness.
Now it’s Your Turn
Are you smiling yet? Well What are you anticipating? Today, why not give it a shot and you will see the more you smile, even if you don’t feel like it, you will start to feel happy!
