You might have heard this song that says-

“Smile though your heart is breaking, Smile even though it's aching
When there are clouds in the sky, you'll get by If you smile.
In times of pain and sorrow, Smile, and maybe tomorrow
The sun will come shining through, For you, If you just Smile.”

Truly, a smile can make a difference to your life. Here are some research findings that show just how important it is to smile.

 

Firstly, it is important to note that there are two main kinds of smiles. One is known as the Duchenne smile. This smile involves two sets of muscles- one set which pulls the corners of the mouth up and another which causes wrinkles of the skin around the eyes. This is the genuine smile. A non-Duchenne smile on the other hand is a fake smile and it does not involve the eye at all. It is merely a smile of courtesy. Research shows that only Duchenne smiles have positive benefits for the people who smile. There is a proverb that says, “You don't smile because you are happy, you are happy because you smile.” This is what psychologists call the “facial feedback hypothesis”. What this implies is that when you are confronted with any situation, first you show a facial expression and that expression then leads to the actual experience of the emotion. This may not be completely true, but there is a lot of evidence that suggests that when you smile, it leads to intensification of happiness, whereas if you don't smile, happiness is weakened. So smiling plays a big role in making you feel good.

Smiling can help you to deal with distress. Smiling when you've lost a loved one may seem difficult, but it is associated with reduction of grief and it helps you to deal with the sad situation better. Smiling is very important in the context of interpersonal relationships. Smiling helps to build attachment between the infant and mother. It has been found that couples who smile while talking about each other exhibit better commitment related behaviors and report more love for each other. Also, smiling is linked to the production of a hormone known as oxytocin which is called the 'caring hormone' and this hormone leads to greater bonding and intimacy.

“A smile is the shortest distance between two people.” As this proverb says, smiling helps to bring people who don't know each other together. It is a very good ice-breaker. When you smile, it sends a signal to other people that you are willing to befriend them and this can be the beginning of a new relationship. Even when you're just walking on the road, people are more likely to respond to you if you smile at them. When you smile at someone, you create a good impression on the person. People who smile frequently are rated highly on many positive traits and they are regarded as being more likeable than people who rarely smile. It is really useful to smile when you are asking somebody to do you a favour. There is one interesting study which found that waitresses who had broader smiles got more tips than waitresses who had minimal smiles. Another study found that people were more likely to help a person if somebody else had just smiled at them. Smiling is also likely to make people more lenient towards you if you've done something wrong. So when in trouble, it pays to smile!

The effects of smiling are long lasting. A researcher named Messinger exposed 6 month old infants to a sitution in which their mother suddenly stopped looking at them and became unresponsive. For an infant, this is a very traumatic event. It was found that the infants who smiled even in this situation showed better social adjustment and were more resilient at the age of 2 years than those who did not smile. Harker and Keltner studied a photograph of a 21 year old women. Most women in the photograph smiled, however only a few showed genuine or Duchenne smiles. Those who did show genuine smiles were more likely to get married by the age of 28. They also reported more satisfaction with their marriage and more well being than those who had just smiled for the sake of courtesy and this effect was found even 30 years later i.e when they turned 52. This is very significant, because it shows that a single instance of heartfelt smiling can provide you with many benefits that last lifelong.

Finally, what happens to people at whom you smile? The phenomenon of “emotional contagion” shows that the mood that a person is in is often transferred on to people around him or her. So, if you smile at someone, that person will smile back and he will feel good himself. This shows that by smiling, not only do you make yourself feel good, but you also make others happier and contribute towards making the atmosphere more cheerful. These are not general claims made by random people. All the information provided here is based on psychological research conducted by eminent researchers. And so, please do put your faith in it and take it to heart. A smile is a beautiful expression which can bring about a positive change in your life.

So keep smiling!

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