Babies smile - a lot. Beauty queens smile - on cue. Winners
smile – most of the time, in between all that jumping and high-fiving. Smiles
are a way of expressing our happiness, our joy, our pride, our gratitude.
More than that, smiles are a way of connecting, of saying –
without words – I’m with you on this, I acknowledge you as a fellow human or a
delightful animal or a beautiful flower, someone/something I’m in sync with.
All this you already know, but did you know that smiles are
really good for your health and well-being?
Researchers
in the UK used
electromagnetic
brain scans and heart-rate monitors to measure the “mood-boosting values” for a
variety of stimuli including sex, chocolate and money. Their findings are
astounding: one single solitary smile can provide the same level of
mood-enhancement as up to 2,000 chocolate
bars, as stimulating as getting up to 16,000
pounds sterling (roughly $20,000), and smiles are more likely to produce a better
short-term high than either sex or shopping!
So if your credit
cards are maxing out – try smiling! If you’re too hooked on chocolate – find
something or someone to elicit a smile from you! Dogs always work for me. Of
course so do flower, sunsets and Carol Burnett re-runs.
But here’s the
thing. We’re not talking New Age feel-good stuff here. Smiling has
well-documented physiological impact on your mind and body. For example, neurotransmitters
relay messages to your body on how to respond and react, given various
situations. Dopamine, endorphins and serotonin, known as the “feel-good”
neurotransmitters, are all released from your brain into your body when you
smile. Not only do these neurotransmitters relax you, and make you feel better
emotionally, but they can also lower your heart rate and blood pressure – two
significant contributors to your physical well-being. The very act of smiling
makes us feel better, all around.
Children smile way more than adults do
– the number most commonly given is 400 times a day. As compared to the happy
adults 40-50 smiles per day, and average adults 20 smiles per day. Now you may
say, well, gee, kids have a lot less worries, and thus a lot more to smile
about. True. But just like anything else, you can get better at smiling with
practice.
No, I don’t mean to affix a phony smile
to your face. You can’t fool your brain, it knows the difference between the
real thing and a fake. Rather, I mean to become more conscious about the many
opportunities to smile that you now may let go by un-noticed.
You might think of it as
smiling-mindfulness. Because that’s really what it is. Becoming more mindful of
occasions that – for you – genuinely merit a smile, and allowing yourself to
indulge in that very life-enhancing act.
For example, the barista hands you your
coffee: add a smile to your “thanks.” As a matter of course, any time you say
“thanks” or “thank you,” add a smile! That includes when you thank spouses,
significant others, children and other family members: too often we forget to
smile at those closest to us.
Or, the sky is dotted with little puffy
clouds, a sight which pleases you: smile. Someone’s yard is awash in white
roses, your fav: smile. The traffic eased up: smile! There are a gazillion
opportunities to smile each and every day.
You may never make it up to the children’s’
400-smiles-per-day mark, but for sure, your body and mind will most decidedly benefit
from your increased smiles. What could be better?
