Smiles are a universal sign of happiness, health, and power. It is said that a smile is a way to “see the world” or the world in an alternative state. Having said that, a smile can also denote a sign of pain, discomfort or embarrassment. Here are some examples of why smiling is so important.
Lifting the eyelid or winking can signal many different things. A wink is usually an indication that the person is thinking about something, while a raised eyebrow might mean that the person is paying attention to you. In a related fashion, if someone smiles and their eyes are closed, their eyes are much more likely to look at their hands. Therefore, a smile and a blink are really a great way to increase our awareness to the objects around us and reduce the chance of making a poor health or eye contact mistake.
Scientists have studied the effect of facial expressions on the immune system. When researchers observed healthy adults, they found that smiling reduced the activity of inflammatory molecules known as cytokines. Smiling also decreased the activity of a pro-inflammatory molecule called nitric oxide. These findings are believed to be the first explanation for the link between facial expressions and the immune system. If true, these results could be extremely helpful in treating some medical conditions including cardiovascular disease, cancer, diabetes, respiratory problems, and even allergies and asthma.
Another study published in the journal Community Health Psychology found that people who smile frequently have less gum disease, and they have fewer cavities than those who frown a lot or smile infrequently. The reason for this is that smiling creates positive feelings, which are known as perceived stress relief hormones. Over time, the levels of perceived stress hormones were shown to decrease. Smiling is the natural means of reducing stress and maintaining a healthy body weight. Therefore, if you have a lot of visible teeth and are often smiling, you may be able to benefit from these anti-aging results.
A smile can make the world go round. A sad expression can cut into someone’s feeling of self worth. A mischievous smile can be seen as a clever sign. Smiles are contagious, so if you regularly smile, your friend or loved one will be more likely to smile back at you as well. In other words, a smile is the perfect icebreaker if you’re meeting new people, and the more infectious your smile, the more people you’ll meet.
When it comes to the health of your smile, there is no better time than the present. The longer you keep up that smiling habit, the more of those smile wrinkles are going to stay behind. So make a habit of grinning and spreading your happy smile at least five times per day.