Smile AM: Smiling can be a powerful act, activating neuropeptides that improve neural communication while lifting your own mood as well as those around you.
Practice smiling by gazing into the mirror and replicating your most natural expression of it, this will strengthen the muscles used for such expressions of joy.
The Power of Smiling: Positivity Unleashed
Smiling is one of the most basic human behaviors. 3-D ultrasound studies show that preterm babies begin smiling even before birth; they continue to do so as they develop (although initially mostly during their sleep). Smiling can also be contagious: when someone sees you smiling, their brain releases pleasure chemicals similar to when watching a movie or eating chocolate.
Smile more to boost your mood; according to Ron Gutman's "Positivity Unleashed," just one smile can activate the same part of the brain that responds to eating up to 2,000 bars of chocolate!
Though our smile muscles may come naturally, with practice they can be amplified. A "Duchenne" smile - stretching the muscle at the back of your jaw so as to include your eyes - has been found to produce more genuine feelings of happiness than regular smiling and reduce stress levels while improving physical task performance.
Studies have proven the benefits of forcing smiles when we don't feel like it - for instance, forcing smiles has been shown to lower heart rates and reduce stress levels. You might not always be able to fake it for extended periods but try exchanging smiles with strangers on the street or greeting a cashier at your grocery store as another form of practice for being more positive and engaging with life.
As you work to increase the frequency of smiles in your daily life, be sure to incorporate other positive body language. Smiling alongside a slightly raised chest, open palm, and soft eye contact conveys trustworthiness while a relaxed posture signals confidence. And when meeting new people don't forget to wave and give a friendly greeting when greeting someone; an open hand signals empathy while a firm handshake can increase chances of landing that job or promotion!
Smile AM: Mood and Relationship Transformation
Smile AM: Smile and watch how quickly it transforms your mood, increasing positive impressions made on others and leading to healthier relationships in the process.
Smiling may come naturally to us when things bring joy or laughter, but in reality, it can be a conscious choice. Like any art form, smiling can express many different emotions and can convey multiple meanings; from approval, contentment, and trustworthiness to compassion or even deceit and dominance!
Genuine smiles can often be conjured up through recalling positive memories. When feeling down, try thinking back on one of your favorite vacation spots or recalling when you brought home your puppy; this will activate the muscles surrounding your eyes, making them open wider with happiness. Over time, as you focus on these positive moments more and more often, they will become part of your default state.
When you smile at someone, their brain responds by prompting them to return the favor with a smile of their own. This symbiotic relationship can help lower stress levels, boost feelings of positivity, and make both parties more attractive - not to mention improve health since smiling has been linked with reduced risks of heart disease and longer lifespans.
Smiling can also help form connections with strangers. According to studies, smiling and laughing together have been shown to build stronger connections throughout your lifetime as well as reduce cortisol production in your body, protecting against heart disease and other serious medical conditions.
Listening to this episode of The Verywell Mind podcast featuring Amy Morin will help you understand more about the power of smiling. Amy provides strategies on how you can cultivate more authentic smiles by looking in the mirror or taking photographs when feeling happy; then analyzing these photos can reveal which muscles are activated when truly smiling.
The Art of Smiling: Cultivating Positivity
Smiling is one of the easiest facial expressions to recognize, so it's no surprise that researchers often rely on smiles when studying positive emotions and well-being. However, it is important to keep in mind that smiling is a socially contingent act, often expressed when in the company of others and signaling our intention to be open and friendly. As previously discussed, positivity involves more than having an upbeat outlook; rather, it involves being intentional about improving moods and fostering positive relationships.
So if you want to feel more positive, one way is to spend more time with people who bring you joy. This doesn't just have to mean spending more time with loved ones - there are other ways of increasing positive emotional experiences such as doing good for others or taking an evening stroll through nature, or simply enjoying your morning coffee!
Smiling can be one of the most powerful stress relief strategies available. Simply smiling can cause neuropeptides like dopamine, endorphins, and serotonin to be released - which has been shown to reduce heart rate and blood pressure significantly when shared with close friends or family members.
An effective way to foster positive emotions is through practicing expressing them when we find situations challenging, or what's known as the "broaden and build" theory of positive emotions - in essence, this allows us to not only experience these positive feelings firsthand but also use them as resources that strengthen psychological and social wellbeing.
Studies like Lee Anne Harker and Dacher Keltner's yearbook study are of immense value in this respect. They demonstrated how the genuineness (or Duchenne-ness) of a female's smile in their college yearbook photo could predict well-being, marital status, and life satisfaction 30 years later.
Simine Vazire, Laura Naumann, Peter Rentfrow, and Samuel Gosling conducted research that demonstrated that male and female smiles don't necessarily convey similar emotions; indeed they suggest that men may show anxiety or nervousness while women can show more empathy or enjoyment when smiling.
Smile AM for Happiness: Benefits and Techniques
Smile AM: Smiling is an invaluable form of expression of joy and happiness, often returned by others in return. The ripple effect can create an incredible amount of positivity which will not only uplift your mood but help build self-esteem as the days become shorter and colder. Just one small act such as this could have incredible impacts on health and well-being in this winter season!
However, it can be challenging to smile genuinely; it takes practice! One effective way of training yourself to smile more frequently is observing children; their natural happiness often causes them to smile freely. Emulate their behavior and practice smiling whenever you can even if it feels forced; other tools include watching funny movies/TV shows/hanging with positive people/or recalling things that bring happiness in life.
Researchers have attempted to understand why smiling can make us happier. One theory suggests that smiling may signal to our brains that something positive is about to take place, prompting our bodies to release hormones such as oxytocin, dopamine, and serotonin which calm our nervous systems and lower heart rates.
Another theory suggests that smiling gives others permission to respond with positive emotions of their own, helping you feel connected and supported by them. Smiling may also make you appear more trustworthy; researchers recorded facial expressions during laboratory tasks designed to elicit specific emotions; those whose videos showed them smiling were judged more trustworthy than those without smiles in them.
One challenge associated with this research is identifying whether smiling causes us to be happier, or whether happiness leads us to smile in response. Researchers attempted to answer this question using "emotional contagion", by recruiting volunteers able to voluntarily contract their orbicularis oculi muscle when feeling certain emotions, thus creating wrinkled eyelids when their faces wrinkled up involuntarily.
These volunteers completed lab tasks designed to elicit various emotions, such as amusement, embarrassment, or fear. A camera recorded their faces; these recordings were then shown to new volunteers who evaluated how genuine each volunteer's smiles were - those who faked smiles weren't considered trustworthy while those who smiled naturally received higher ratings from participants rated by new participants.
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