Smiling happens without much thought.
When you watch a friend do something silly
or embarrassing, you smirk.
When you watch a friend do something silly
or embarrassing, you smirk.
When a police officer lets you off without a ticket, you grin.
And when you are recognized for your top performance in academics or at work, you beam. Smiling is a very natural response that shares our happiness with others. But did you know that smiling also triggers activity in your brain? Yep, there's a serious mind-body connection there, in your left frontal cortex to be exact, which is—not surprisingly—the area of your brain that registers happiness. |
How often do you smile in a day?
Do you smile when you meet new people? When you see your friends? Around your co-workers? How about your significant other? Your face has 44 muscles in it that allow you make more than 5,000 different types of expressions, many of which are smiles. |
1.
Smiling is Contagious Because of complex brain activity that occurs when you see someone smiling, smiles are contagious. Studies report that just seeing one person smiling activates the area of your brain that controls your facial movement, which leads to a grin. Even in bad situations, if you smile, others are likely to mimic the expression. 3.
Smiling Releases Endorphins Smiling can help you manage stress and anxiety by releasing endorphins, chemicals that makes you happier. Endorphins are the same chemicals you get from working out or running, resulting in what is known as a runner’s high. 5.
Smiling Will Make You More Comfortable Our natural tendency is to stick to things that are familiar, but smiling decreases this need. A study found that smiling can make you more comfortable in situations you would otherwise feel awkward in. 7.
You’ll Be a Better Leader If you’re in a position of power, or want to be, smiling may be the key to your success. A group of researchers from The University of Montpellier discovered that smiling is a more effective leadership technique than having great management responsibilities. So, the next time you really want to show off those leadership skills, just smile! |
2.
You’ll Decrease Stress and Anxiety It’s not easy to keep smiling in stressful situations, but studies report that doing exactly that has health benefits. When recovering from a stressful situation, study participants who were smiling had lower heart rates than those with a neutral facial expression. So, the next time you’re feeling stressed, just try smiling to calm yourself down. 4. You’ll Be More Attractive A smile suggests that you’re personable, easy going, and empathetic. In fact, a study in the European Journal of Social Psychology found that smiling actually makes you more attractive to those you smile at. 6.
You’ll Be Friendlier Studies have found that people are more willing to engage socially with others who are smiling. A smile is an inviting facial expression that tells people you are willing to talk and interact with them. So, turn that frown upside-down if you want to make some friends! 8.
You’ll Be More Trustworthy Trusting doesn’t come easily to many, but smiling at someone may help. Participants in a University of Pittsburgh study rated people who smiled as more trustworthy than people with non-smiling facial expressions. So, if you want to improve your credibility, simply smile more. What could be easier than that? 9.
You’ll overcome a possible FEAR If doing this is out of your comfort zone it will help you to overcome the fear of what people think about you at all times! So you will grow and also feel how your energy goes up straight away! |