“I never will understand all the good that a simple smile can accomplish.” In the words a woman who devoted her life to selflessness and altruism, Mother Teresa remarks on the importance of a smile.
Smiling is one of the most basic human facial expressions which can improve one’s health, relationships, and professional life yet not so many people reckon with this fact.
The sincerity and span of a person’s smile can also be used to predict one's life span.
These are scientific evidences to prove why a smile can provide countless positive benefits.
First, smiling suppresses the control we have on our facial muscles by releasing stress and tension and lowering one’s heart rate.
It also provides a natural form of happiness by reducing stress-inducing hormones such as cortisol, dopamine, and adrenaline and increasing mood-enhancing hormones such as endorphins.
Smiling also stimulates reward mechanisms by allowing us to feel rewarded when we see someone else smile. According to Ron Gutman in a TEDx talk, he says that one smile can stimulate the same level of brain activity as up to 2,000 bars of chocolate.
It is estimated that children smile up to 400 times per day and the average adult smiles 20 times per day. Given the significant difference between adults and children, this explains why we inevitably smile in the presence of a young child and justifies the meaning of the cliché, “a smile is contagious.”
In the context of relationships, a genuine smile can make you appear more confident, self-assured, attractive, and reliable.
People who smile more often are also perceived as more trusting, making them more likely to engage in healthy relationships.
Smiling also puts you in a better mood: it allows you to step back and look at the big picture rather than focus on the minute details of a negative situation.
Overall, people who smile are able to elicit more positive connections with their family, friends, and loved ones.
Smiling in the workplace conveys professionalism and improves your perception at work.
People who smile at their place of work are viewed as more competent, open-minded, and creative.
In the context of interviews, smiling can make one appear as a more attractive, team-oriented candidate for the job.
Smiling is often overlooked in our society because of the stress of daily survival however it is such a little gesture that counts.
Give that face a lift by smiling, it is free, healthy, and such an attractive way to achieve happiness, build personal and professional relationships.
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