Why You Should Smile (and Laugh)
Monday, November 8, 2021
12:18 PM
Every first Friday in October is World Smile Day. It was an idea initiated by Harvey Ball, who developed the iconic yellow smiley image. October has passed this year, and the world is pushing past the pandemic. But you should be smiling still. British researchers found that a smile could do more for your neuro-circuitry in the brain than 2,000 bars of chocolate. Amazing huh? Indeed smiling can actually make you healthier and more, smiling can trick your brain into happiness.
Everyone smiles when they are happy. But a study conducted at the University of South Australia suggests that smiling despite feelings of sadness or bad mood, tricks the brain into feeling positive and thus assumes it’s time to start feeling good again. “In our research, we found that when you forcefully practice smiling, it stimulates the amygdala – the emotional center of the brain – which releases neurotransmitters to encourage an emotionally positive state”, reports lead researcher and human and artificial cognition expert Dr. Fernando Marmolejo-Ramos. The researchers were able to illustrate that our actions (e.g. smiling) have a direct influence on our perception of the world around us. The full study can be found here.
This further adds credence to the various studies conducted at many research centers on the Mind-Body connection. It’s now known that our chemistry and biology impact our mood and emotions, and thus play a major role in influencing our stress and physical health. If you’ve experienced your stomach tighten up when you were anxious, you’ve experienced the mind-body connection.
Reader’s Digest magazine’s ‘Laughter is the Best Medicine.’ section is a favorite with many of its readers. I am looking out for it as I start reading the magazine. Laughter is medicine indeed, but sometimes a smile will do much good too. Great benefits of laughter include the enhanced intake of oxygen-rich air, stimulation of the heart, lungs, and muscles, and the increased release of endorphins in the brain. (endorphins are chemicals produced naturally to cope with stress and pain) Laughter stimulates blood circulation and aids muscle relaxation, both of which reduce some of the physical symptoms of stress. Read more on this in the Mayo Clinic Report.
Putting a smile on your face suggest success, helps you stay positive, elevates your mood, strengthens relationships, and makes you attractive. A smile has the health-inducing power to reduce stress, relieve anxiety, and boost the immune system. It will lower blood pressure and reduce your risk of heart disease. With all of these benefits, you will live longer.
The late Mother Teresa’s quote: Let us always meet each other with a smile, for the smile is the beginning of love. Smiling is indeed contagious. When you meet someone who looks too tired to give you a smile, give them one of yours, as none needs a smile as much as he who has no more to give. You will be generous with your Love, and good wishes for Health and Happiness. It brings rest to the weary, cheer to the discouraged, sunshine to the sad and it’s nature’s best antidote for trouble. Go ahead, Smile!
Weblink: trick your brain into happiness
https://www.nbcnews.com/better/health/smiling-can-trick-your-brain-happiness-boost-your-health-ncna822591
Weblink: Your Face and Moves Seem Happier When I Smile
https://econtent.hogrefe.com/doi/10.1027/1618-3169/a000470
Weblink: Mind-Body Connection
https://www.newportacademy.com/resources/mental-health/understanding-the-mind-body-connection/
Weblink: Mayo Clinic Report
https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/stress-management/in-depth/stress-relief/art-20044456
Weblink: you will live longer
https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/if-you-are-happy-and-you-know-it-you-may-live-longer-2019101618020
