Science
July 21, 2023
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The Science Behind Smiling

While there’s some debate on the origins of the smile and how many different types of smiles there are, the general consensus is that people smile when they’re happy.

Does Happiness Make You Smile, or Is It the Other Way Round?

And while we do usually smile in response to something that makes us feel good, one question scientists have been asking is whether or not the act of smiling on its own can help to create those feelings for us.

According to multiple studies, the answer is yes. One team of researchers in the UK found that a single smile could generate the same amount of brain stimulation as eating 2,000 chocolate bars (wild!), while another study in Germany found that regardless of one’s mood, the act of smiling activates areas of the brain associated with happiness.

The Health Benefits of Smiling

Science has been hard at work trying to discover what sort of health benefits there may be to smiling, and researchers have discovered quite a few. It turns out, smiling can help you:

  • Recover from stressful situations
  • Reduce your heart rate and calm you down
  • Feel better through the release of brain chemicals
  • Boost your immune system

Smiling makes us feel good because it releases neurotransmitters like endorphins (which help with pain reduction) and serotonin (which acts like a natural antidepressant), but these tiny molecules are also responsible for helping stabilize us in times of stress or anxiety.

Feelings of happiness also boost our body’s immune response, and we can induce those feelings simply by smiling and tricking our brain into thinking we’re happy!

How Often Should I Smile?

The average child smiles around 400 times a day. The average adult? Just 40. That’s a huge difference, and you don’t need me to tell you which group is happier on the whole.

Now us adults have adult problems to be sure (you know, like bills.) But if we’re smiling 40 times a day on average and the happiest segment of the population is smiling 10 times that amount, it can’t hurt to aim a little higher!

How Can I Smile More Often?

While most of us think of smiling as a natural, involuntary action, we don’t need to limit our smiles to spontaneous moments; those same benefits we already talked about aren’t exclusive to random smiles, you can get them from forcing yourself into one even when you don’t feel like it.

Using prompts, for example (like good memories or funny jokes) can help you start smiling intentionally. But the simplest thing to do is simply plant a smile on your face whenever you think about it. Set a reminder if you have to, or use the Brightspot app to send you reminders and prompts to help you smile. 

3 Reasons to Smile Right Now

Before we send you on your way, we thought we’d serve you up 3 reasons you can use to smile right now.

  • You’re alive
  • You have the ability to read articles like this one 
  • You learned something new today on a really cool tool called the internet

Final Thoughts

Go on, crack a smile and leave it there for a bit. See how you feel, then try it again later today. Do it again tomorrow, the day after that, and the day after that. Make smiling a habit and you’ll soon find yourself not only feeling better, but spreading contagious smiles and positivity all over the place. 

The Power of Habits
Charles Duhigg
With penetrating intelligence and an ability to distill vast amounts of information into engrossing narratives, Duhigg brings to life a whole new understanding of human nature and its potential for transformation.
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The Science Behind Smiling

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While there’s some debate on the origins of the smile and how many different types of smiles there are, the general consensus is that people smile when they’re happy.

Does Happiness Make You Smile, or Is It the Other Way Round?

And while we do usually smile in response to something that makes us feel good, one question scientists have been asking is whether or not the act of smiling on its own can help to create those feelings for us.

According to multiple studies, the answer is yes. One team of researchers in the UK found that a single smile could generate the same amount of brain stimulation as eating 2,000 chocolate bars (wild!), while another study in Germany found that regardless of one’s mood, the act of smiling activates areas of the brain associated with happiness.

The Health Benefits of Smiling

Science has been hard at work trying to discover what sort of health benefits there may be to smiling, and researchers have discovered quite a few. It turns out, smiling can help you:

  • Recover from stressful situations
  • Reduce your heart rate and calm you down
  • Feel better through the release of brain chemicals
  • Boost your immune system

Smiling makes us feel good because it releases neurotransmitters like endorphins (which help with pain reduction) and serotonin (which acts like a natural antidepressant), but these tiny molecules are also responsible for helping stabilize us in times of stress or anxiety.

Feelings of happiness also boost our body’s immune response, and we can induce those feelings simply by smiling and tricking our brain into thinking we’re happy!

How Often Should I Smile?

The average child smiles around 400 times a day. The average adult? Just 40. That’s a huge difference, and you don’t need me to tell you which group is happier on the whole.

Now us adults have adult problems to be sure (you know, like bills.) But if we’re smiling 40 times a day on average and the happiest segment of the population is smiling 10 times that amount, it can’t hurt to aim a little higher!

How Can I Smile More Often?

While most of us think of smiling as a natural, involuntary action, we don’t need to limit our smiles to spontaneous moments; those same benefits we already talked about aren’t exclusive to random smiles, you can get them from forcing yourself into one even when you don’t feel like it.

Using prompts, for example (like good memories or funny jokes) can help you start smiling intentionally. But the simplest thing to do is simply plant a smile on your face whenever you think about it. Set a reminder if you have to, or use the Brightspot app to send you reminders and prompts to help you smile. 

3 Reasons to Smile Right Now

Before we send you on your way, we thought we’d serve you up 3 reasons you can use to smile right now.

  • You’re alive
  • You have the ability to read articles like this one 
  • You learned something new today on a really cool tool called the internet

Final Thoughts

Go on, crack a smile and leave it there for a bit. See how you feel, then try it again later today. Do it again tomorrow, the day after that, and the day after that. Make smiling a habit and you’ll soon find yourself not only feeling better, but spreading contagious smiles and positivity all over the place.