7 Reasons to Frown Less and Smile More

Amy Taylor April 24, 2014

We all smile when we are happy, when we feel excited, when we see the one we love, or when we hear good news. But what if you don’t have any reason to smile? Is it okay to just force yourself to? Insane as it may sound – even just faking a smile can actually spark joy! Even better, it is a free and simple tool to ward off bad mood and invite more happiness in your life.

So in what ways do smiling benefit your health and well-being?

It makes you feel better.

Smiling even when you’re not really happy can set you in the right mood. In 1972, Darwin theorised that making changes in our facial expressions can shift our emotional experience – a phenomenon he called ‘facial feedback response’. More recent psychological studies support this idea. In one study, Tara Kraft and Sarah Pressman of the University of Kansas showed that smiling can alter our stress response by slowing down the heart rate and decreasing perceived levels of stress regardless of whether the person actually feels happy or not. So the next time you feel like you are having a bad day, just force a smile. It can do wonders.

It can lengthen your life expectancy.

In the study by Kraft and Pressman, it was revealed that smiling may improve heart health by decreasing heart rate after stressful events. As you may know, heart disease is the leading cause of death worldwide. Researchers from Wayne State University examined the headshots of athletes and found that baseball players with largest smiles lived an average of 79.9 years, two years longer than the average lifespan in the United States.

It strengthens your relationship.

In a study published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology in 2009, researchers found a link between positive emotional expression and self-reported personality traits of affiliation, competence and low negative emotions across adulthood. Such findings remained the same even after taking into account other factors like marriage, family and work. Similar research, published in the Motivation and Emotion journal in the same year found that smiles in photographs correlated with divorce rates. It also revealed that the larger the smile, the lower the divorce rate (and vice versa).

It makes other people smile.

Smile is contagious. A study by computer giant Hewlett Packard suggests that seeing another’s smile stimulated the heart and brain more so than eating chocolate, having sex, or receiving money. In another scientific paper reported in the Scandinavian Journal of Psychology found that it is actually hard to frown when someone around us is smiling.

It makes you appear kinder.

Want to increase your chances of closing a business deal? Smile more often during the negotiation process. Research found that people who smile more are generally perceived to be more trustworthy, sincere, sociable and competent than their frowning peers.

It reduces stress and makes you healthy.

When you’re stressed, your face can’t lie. However, smiling prevents you from looking tired, worn down, and overwhelmed. Smile is an instant makeup you can wear anytime! The effects of smile go within your body to your immune system. Smiling improves immune function by relaxing your body and lowering your stress levels. As a result, you are less likely to catch cold and other diseases.

It makes you optimistic.

Here’s one simple activity you can try right now. Smile. Then think of a negative experience without losing the smile. It’s hard right? Smiling helps your brain stick to positive thoughts and overcome the negative.

See? Smiling, even if you’re not in the mood to, can bring wonders to your emotional and physical health. So cheer up and keep smiling!