The Benefits of the smile Are both physical and mental and occur at work, general life and in children, adolescents, adults and elderly people.
The smile is a communicative facial gesture that consists of raising the ends of the mouth slightly, as if you were laughing but not doing noise.
Through the smile shows and transmits many feelings, emotions and attitudes, such as: joy, happiness, pleasure, satisfaction, Well-being, trust, gratitude, predisposition towards others...
According to Spanish philosopher and pedagogue José Antonio Marina,
"The smile is an expressive sign of well-being that fosters sociability and favors communication between people (...). This gesture shows that the other person is warmly welcomed and that there is a willingness to communicate."
Within which is the smile we can find many different types, for example the genuine smile, the false smile, the false smile, the smile Cruel, the mocking smile, the fearful, the sad, the distant...
How many smiles are you able to identify in yourself? And in the others?
According to the psychologist Paul Ekman , An expert in the study of emotions and facial expressions, there are 18 different types of smiles that emerge from the Combination of 15 facial muscles.
Throughout this article I will refer to the genuine smile, also called the Duchenne smile , That is, the one that appears in your face of Spontaneous, sincere and natural way. Of all the smiles, this is the most powerful.
The difference between a genuine smile and a smile that is not, is that the first raise the extremities of the mouth along with the cheeks and are Mark the famous crow's feet, while in the second only the muscles of the mouth move.
This is the key to differentiate when someone is smiling in a sincere way and when not.
The smile is a basic expression in the human being common to all cultures and societies, that is to say, the smile is a universal gesture that we use All human beings to express the same: joy, happiness, satisfaction, enjoyment, well-being...
Paul Ekman contributed to this discovery by showing that there were African tribes who smiled even though they had never had contact with the world Western, and did so for reasons very similar to those of the rest of the world population.
Through advanced 3D technology, it has been seen how developing fetuses smile in the womb, and this activity is maintained when they are born, Especially during sleep, at which time more smiles occur in newborns.
It is also known that babies who are born blind smile when they hear the voices of other people, so you can say that the ability to smile Is innate.
6 Benefits of smiling for health
1. Smiling makes you happier
When you smile, your brain releases Endorphins , Which are natural opioid substances that produce the Central Nervous System , Which stimulate Brain centers of pleasure and that circulate by your body producing a series of benefits:
- They act as a natural pain reliever by reducing body aches
- Reduce the level of stress
- Strengthen the Immune System
- They help in the recovery of many diseases, both physical and mental diseases
- Increase the sensation of pleasure and well-being
- Improve the State of mind
- And they increase the level of happiness
Endorphins are released when you exercise, when you have sex, when they give you a massage, when they give you a hug, when you sunbathe, When you eat chocolate, when you listen to music, when you laugh and, of course, when you smile.
In many cases the smile is the result of a previous state of well-being and happiness, that is, you feel good, you are happy, you smile and your brain Reward for it by producing substances that make you even happier.
But other times you are down, down, sad... and someone or something make you smile. Your brain will reward you in the same way as in the case Above, ie the positive effects of smiling are the same regardless of whether you are happy or sad.
The same thing happens when you fake a smile, since the brain is not able to distinguish if that smile is natural or forced, so it releases endorphins in both cases.
As you can observe the act of smiling causes your brain to release endorphins that make you happier, regardless of whether you smile when you are Sad or when you are happy or if you smile in a natural or forced way.
Smiling makes you happier.
2. It makes you feel better.
Smiling often has many beneficial effects that together make you feel good, feel better compared to those People who do not smile so often.
Some of these beneficial effects are:
- Reduces blood pressure, decreasing your chance of having a heart attack or other cardiovascular problems
- Prevents depression And sadness
- Generate Positive moods And pleasurable
- It favors internal homeostasis, that is, the internal balance of your organism
- Contribute to your health, both physical and mental
- Improve your perception of your health
- It makes you sleep better
- Relax your muscles
- Reduce tension
- Exercise the body
- Etc.
It could be said that smile is a natural medicine that improves health, and that is what Charles Darwin said: "Smiling makes us feel better" .
3. Increases life expectancy
In 2010, a study was conducted at Wayne State University, Michigan, USA, whose objective was to find out if the breadth of the A person's smile is related to how many years he lives.
The study consisted of analyzing photographs of players from major US basketball leagues prior to the 1950s along with their Vital data
The data that they obtained was that the players who smiled in the photos lived an average of 80 years and those who did not live an average Lower than 72.9 years.
Therefore, the researchers concluded that the breadth of a person's smile can determine the amount of years they will live.
Although the results of this study have confirmed the hypothesis of the researchers, this does not mean that because a person smiles more Broadly or more often go live more years without a doubt.
But the fact of smiling together with all the benefits that derive from that act and that you have seen previously ( Decreases stress level , Improves the Immune system, prevents depression...) can contribute to living longer, better health and happier.
4. Improve social relationships
When you smile you appear to be a closer, accessible, sociable, extraverted, friendly, reliable, generous, educated, positive person... which helps you To empathize, to relate more easily with others and to improve the established bonds.
And is that the smile is contagious, so if you smile at someone, it is most likely that the person will smile back, either consciously or Unconscious, which helps you to approach her.
What did you say Goleman "Laughter may be the shortest distance between two brains, causing an uncontrollable contagion that establishes an immediate social bond" .
This contagion is caused by the Mirror neurons , Which are the cause of that when observing a gesture or conduct imitate it in a way Immediately.
When you smile at a person and he responds with another smile, you are causing positive changes in your emotional state, as we have seen previously Talking about the endorphins and the power that has a smile to make someone feel better.
Throughout history, many studies and research on smile and social relationships have been made. One of them revealed that People we trust more in a stranger if this one smiles to us than if it keeps the serious face.
Another study conducted at Harvard University showed that if a person is happy, there is a 25% greater likelihood that people That are around you will catch your mood.
An investigation carried out in Sweden revealed what I have already told you in this section, that when you see a person smiling you tend to smile Also and it costs you more frowning or showing angry gestures.
Smiles make it easier to start a conversation or a relationship with someone you do not know, who seems more empathetic and close, than the Relationships are more satisfying and pleasant, that provoke positive feelings in others...
There is a Tibetan saying that sums up very well what I have just told you, and it says: "When you smile at life, half the smile is for your face and the other half for the face of the other person."
Smiling brings you closer to others.
5. Helps you achieve your goals
When you smile the people around you perceive you as someone confident of yourself, competent, able to deal with problems and with Good self-esteem , Which can help you to get those Goals that you propose .
For example, if you are a commercial and have to sell a product, the fact of smiling makes the customer more inclined to listen to what You want to tell him
The smile can also help you if you have a job interview, if you have to go to the bank to ask for a loan, if you have to ask a favor someone…
The act of smiling also helps with flirting, since people who smile transmit a greater self-confidence And are perceived as more Attractive in comparison to those who do not.
And it is that the smile attracts, which multiplies the possibilities of achieving your goals when it comes to convincing someone.
Smiling helps you achieve your goals.
6. Reduce stress level
As you know, when you smile your brain releases a series of substances very beneficial to your body.
Some of these substances, such as endorphins, improve mood and contribute to stress-related hormones such as Cortisol , the adrenalin and the Dopamine , Causing a decrease in the level of stress in the person. Smiling is a very effective anti-stress mechanism.
Curious facts about the smile
Such is the importance of smiling that, since 1999, the World Smile Day , Which is held on the first Friday of October, and for the past Several years the UN ran rankings to measure the level of happiness.
In the last ranking, Spain ranks 36th out of 158 countries. In the first place is Switzerland.
If we talk about the number of smiles issued per country, the order changes. The United States is the one who smiles the most and Russia the least.
With respect to sex, women smile more often than men.
33% of adults smile more than twenty times a day, while 14% do it less than five times. This number is very low compared to Children, who smile an average of 400 times a day.
As you can see the number of times a person smiles a day descends parallel to their growth, that is, how much older you are less You smile
A recent study has shown that people who inject botulinum substances around the eyes, are no longer able to smile Genuine, so they are more likely to be depressed.
Conversely, those people who inject these substances in the forehead to eliminate the wrinkles that form in that area, tend to be more Happy because they have lost the ability to frown.
References
- Argyle, M. (2013). The Psychology of Happiness. (2 Na Edition). London: Routledge.
- Craig, G.J. Baucum, D. (2001). Psychological development . Mexico: Pearson Education.
- Davis, J. I. Senghas, A. Ochsner, K. N. (2009). How Does Facial Feedback Modulate Emotional Experience? Journal of Research in Personality, 43 (5), 822-829.
- Krishna, A. (2011). An integrative review of sensory marketing: Engaging the senses to affect perception, judgment and behavior . Journal of Consumer Psychology.
- Strack, F. Martin, L. L. Stepper, S. (1988). Inhibiting and facilitating conditions of the human smile: A nonobtrusive test of the facial feedback hypothesis. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 54 (5), 768-777.
- TED. (2011, May, 11). Ron Gutman: The hidden power of a smile. Retrieved from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U9cGdRNMdQQ.