SMILE

Did you know that smiling can improve your health and mood by releasing “feel good” chemicals like dopamine and endorphins? First there is muscle movement. When you smile, you use specific muscles – primarily the ones which lift the corners of your mouth and the ones that crinkle your eyes. This action sends a message to the brain that specifically targets the emotional processing center. Then, miraculously there is a chemical release. The brain reads these muscle movements as a signal that you are safe and happy. The brain’s response is a release of the “feel good” neurotransmitters. Three to be exact – One is Dopamine which creates an increase in your sense of pleasure. Another is Endorphins that act as pain relievers and help to reduce stress. And the last one is Serotonin that elevates your mood and emotional balance.

Now I find that to be fascinating, that a simple thing like a smile can bring about such transformation in our body and mind. There is less stress because smiling reduces stress hormones like cortisol. A smile is also a boost to heart health by helping to lower blood pressure through the hormonal shift that relaxes the blood vessels and calms the nervous system. People who smile appear more open and kind. Smiling at others can be a trigger for them to smile back. There is a feeling of safety and trust that can be experienced when someone smiles at you.
The gift of the smile is that these happy chemicals flood your nervous system and lift your mood, making it easier to keep on smiling naturally.

You can build a habit of smiling by creating a muscle memory that can help lighten your mood throughout the day. You can begin by taking a moment to close your eyes and recall a memory that genuinely made you laugh. Your face will react naturally to that memory. You can smile at yourself in the mirror, crinkling your eyes and relaxing into the moment with sincerity in your smile. Think about someone you love or a place that you enjoy now or in the past. It has been found that even a forced smile can trick the brain into lowering your heart rate and reducing stress during difficult times.

Now on the other hand, there is the frown – Which results in the exact opposite of the smile. A frown causes muscle tension and sends stress signals to the nervous system which can then elevate cortisol if you frown too often. A frown has the potential of intensifying any negative feelings. It can also discourage others from interacting with you in an open way.

Smiling is infectious
You catch it like the flu.
When somebody smiled at me today
I started smiling too.

I passed around the corner
And someone saw my grin,
When he smiled, I realized
I had passed it on to him.

I thought about my smile and then
I realized its worth
A single smile like mine could travel
Right around the earth.

If you feel a smile begin
Don’t leave it undetected,
Lets start an epidemic quick
And get the world infected.

By Jez Alborough