A smile is a terrible thing to waste,
especially when you think of the power it holds.
Our world today is always changing and evolving. Society is full of uncertainty, now more than ever. With COVID, stress, and worry over the economy and our families. This is why it has become increasingly important to look after our mental health.
With Saturday being World Happiness Day, we wanted to share a small ray of sunshine over the power your smile can have and its effects on others.
Smile Big & Smile Often:
It was Noel Brick (researcher at the University of Ulster) who found that facial expressions and their typical accompanying emotions are associated with one another. i.e., a facial expression – the smile, has a typical emotion associated with it – happiness.
Studies have indeed shown that smiling helps relax your facial muscles and that promotes a positive emotional response and ultimately an improvement in your mood.
Let’s break it down…
Smiling can activate neural networks in your brain which can help improve mood, reduce stress, and have a positive impact on your mental well-being. On top of that, smiling contributes to improved physical health and has been shown to lower heart rates and blood pressure.
Here’s the Powerful Bit:
While you are smiling it is clear that you are positively impacting your own physical and mental well-being. But did you know a smile can significantly impact those around you? Your smile, like a yawn, is literally contagious!
The power of a smile must not be underestimated. Your smile can share hope, affection, and peace. You never know who could need it and sharing a smile costs nothing. So, go on give it a try. Smile?
I myself didn’t believe this at first and felt silly to smile for no reason. However, I did notice that the more I smiled, the more those around me perked up and smiled back which ultimately led to me feel better.
If you are like me and could possibly do with a little help in kicking off a smile here are a few great smiling activities to get you going.
Smiling Activities:
Grab yourself a few grinning minutes each day with these gems:
Stand-up comedy. There isn’t anything like Michael McIntrye to make the ordinary in our lives seem hilarious.
Listening to music – especially songs that bring back positive memories.
Get the photo albums out – we all laugh at how we used to style our hair back in the day.
My personal favourite – you’ve been framed tv show.
Of course, there isn’t anything like popping the kettle on and have a chat and a laugh with a friend or family member. It’s natural, comforting, and an all-around good time.
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