A bright, healthy smile can make a world of difference to how you feel and how you look. It can even have an effect on your love life and career prospects! Unfortunately, a smile that is not well-groomed and isn’t maintained has far greater implications for those around the recipient. People tend to perceive weakness in others, particularly in those they interact with on a regular basis. A person who smiles regularly is perceived as more approachable and trustworthy.
The mechanics of how a smile should look depend largely on which muscles are involved in producing it. In order to understand what these muscles are doing when a smile is produced, it helps to understand some basic anatomy. One of the most important aspects of facial expression is the smile’s ability to generate tension, which is created in the face by the activation of facial muscles, namely the tensors that attach the teeth to the jaw.
Tension is useful when generating energy inside the body, as it activates oxygen and blood flow to the cells and muscles used in respiration. These are the parts of the body most directly affected by a lack of relaxation or lack of activity, and they play a role in many processes within the body, including the regulation of emotions, the creation of moods and feelings, and even sleep. A smile is most effective when it is a bright, unrestrained smile. While there are plenty of reasons why a smile will make you feel better or even help enhance your health, one of the biggest benefits of smiling is that it provides a mood boost. A smile conveys a message of warmth and happiness, which creates a relaxed atmosphere, improves circulation, increases body energy levels and encourages people to spend more time socializing.
Smiling is a natural and casual way of communicating, and in fact, it is the default facial expression of everyone. Even nonverbal communication such as eye contact and facial expressions are linked with smiles. However, in order to maintain a harmonious, friendly, and positive facial expression throughout the day, and especially during socializing moments, a person must regulate his or her facial muscles. The regulation of these muscles, called the facial muscles, is an important step in effective social interaction.
The study of human facial expression dates back to the earliest of times, which can be dated all the way back to prehistoric times. Throughout history, ancient people have shown a consistent preference for various facial expressions, most notably, smiles. Facial expressions are considered to be universal and unconscious, and while some variation is seen in non-verbal communication, such as body language, smiley faces are a powerful, unbroken record of human emotion from the very beginning. Today, there are numerous research projects exploring the psychology of smiling. One of these studies was led by UT Researchers who sought to understand the relationship between facial expressions, attention, and memory.
Researchers found that smiling is associated with increased blood flow to the brain, specifically the temporal lobe. This finding provides the first evidence that a smile may increase memory. Other research has supported the theory that smiling causes the release of neuropeptides, which promote increased serotonin production in the brain. Greater amounts of serotonin in the brain may result in a reduced risk of acquiring various mood disorders, including depression.