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The robbed that smiles, steals something from the thief. ~William Shakespeare, Othello
One cannot deny the power of smile. It shows a positive effect on not only one who smiles, but also spreads to people around, soothing the environment. According to research, a smile can generate several physiological changes inside your body and that too without your notice.
What Is A Smile?
According to Max Eastman, a smile is a universal welcome remark. Where as Andrew Newberg concludes that a “smile is the symbol that was rated with the highest positive emotional content.”
According to science, a smile is a facial expression formed due to the muscle flexing at the sides of the mouth. A smile has to offer a lot of other benefits too.
Is It Healthy To Smile?
Yes, the science behind the smile reveals that it is actually healthy. The facial muscle extension like orbicularis oculi muscle and zygomaticus major muscle can actually make you feel better when you are unhappy or sad.
Why? What Exactly Happens When You Smile?
When you smile and are pleasant, the happy hormones or endorphins are produced by the brain which make the brain happy. The happy brain produces and transmits the neuronal signals to your facial muscles, This signals trigger you to smile more. And when the facial muscles contract the signals are sent to the brain to stimulate the and further increases the happy hormone level.
In a nutshell, you smile when your brain feels happy and you will be happy when you smile. They are interconnected. So it is imperative to keep smiling to be happy.
Here Are A Few Amazing Health Benefits That Smiling Has To Offer:
Smiling makes you look younger and live longer: According to research, smiling makes you look three years younger on an average. As per a study conducted in 2010, smiling and positive emotions can promote longevity.
A smile is an inexpensive way to change your looks. ~Charles Gordy
Smiling makes you more productive: Smile is believed to offer better productivity while performing tasks. Working with a grin on the face restrict boosting or lifting your moods. A daily smiling dose can help boost confidence and happiness, thereby making you more productive at workplace.
Before you put on a frown, make absolutely sure there are no smiles available. ~Jim Beggs
Smile makes you more trustworthy: According to a study, we are more likely to trust smiling people or people with genuine smiles. It is because a person who smiles obviously look friendlier than someone with a neutral expression or frown. For instance, smiling customer service executives are usually more likable and tend to generate positive customer experience. As a result, they end up making better sales than their counterparts.
Smile produces endorphins: A smile reduces blood pressure. Endorphins (the body’s natural stress-fighters) go up and blood pressure comes down while smiling. Such endorphins make you feel happier and less stressed. They also lift up your mood.
As discussed earlier, the science behind smiling proves that the facial muscle contraction play a major role in activating happy brain hormones. Happiness means stress reducer. It generates more and more positive hormones and that is why one feels more happier and lighter looking at a baby’s smile.
Smiling helps reduce stress: Smiling boosts your body’s immune system as laughter and positive thoughts release signaling molecules in your brain that fight stress and illnesses. A smile effect is simply unbelievable given the health benefits offered to the body. A smile relaxes your body and also enables the heart to work without feeling the pressure.
As per the experiment conducted on 170 participants by Tara Kraft and Sarah Pressman, the substantial reduction in heart rate and quicker stress recovery was exhibited by the study participants who smiled the biggest with the chopsticks, compared to those who remained neutral.
Smiling is a conversation starter: Someone said some time back that everyone smiles in the same language. Studies suggest that people with positive thoughts and emotions have stable marriages and good interpersonal skills. A genuine smile has the power to bring hearts together.
A genuine smile is the first winning move to make new friends. Research shows people will be likely to be wanting to talk to you if you wear a smile. Also, when listening to others speaking, smile (beware of the topic that you are conversing while you smile)
Today, give a stranger one of your smiles. It might be the only sunshine he sees all day. ~Quoted in P.S. I Love You, compiled by H. Jackson Brown, Jr.
When a smile can make you more relaxed, trustworthy and younger, why not smile always? After all, it costs nothing. Keep smiling, live longer!
Wear a smile and have friends; wear a scowl and have wrinkles. ~George Eliot
