The miraculous power of a smile – Smile 4Smile
Previous research, as well as common sense, has proven that a smile is contagious.

A smile has the power to:

  • Make us more attractive
  • Improve our mood and the mood of people around us
  • Extend our lifespan

Before you continue reading the blog, put on a big smile – you’ll thank us later.

How a smile affects our brain

Every time we smile, a small “feel-good party” happens in our brain. The act of smiling activates neural messages that benefit health and happiness. To start with, smiling triggers the release of neuropeptides that help fight stress. Neuropeptides are small molecules that enable neurons to communicate with each other, making it easier to send signals to the body about how we feel – whether we are happy, sad, angry, or excited.

When we smile, the “happiness hormones” endorphins and serotonin are released. These help the body relax and, in some cases, can even lower heart rate and blood pressure.

Endorphins also act as a natural painkiller – 100% organic and without negative side effects.

The release of serotonin as a result of smiling works as a natural antidepressant.

Many pharmaceutical antidepressants also affect serotonin levels in the brain, but with a smile you don’t have to worry about negative side effects, and you don’t need a doctor’s prescription.

How a smile affects our appearance

A smile automatically makes us more beautiful. Do you agree?

When we smile, people perceive us in a much more positive way. We give the impression of being attractive, trustworthy, relaxed, and sincere. A study published in the journal Neuropsychologia reported that seeing an attractive smiling face activates the orbitofrontal cortex, a region of the brain that processes sensory rewards. This suggests that when we look at someone who is smiling, we actually feel rewarded.

This also explains the results of a 2011 study by the Face Research Laboratory at the University of Aberdeen in Scotland. Participants were asked to rate smiles and attractiveness. They found that both men and women considered people more attractive when they had a smiling face along with eye contact.

How a smile affects people around us

Did you know that a smile is actually contagious?

The part of our brain responsible for facial expressions of smiling – whether we are genuinely happy or simply mimicking someone else’s smile – is located in the cingulate cortex, an unconscious automatic response area.

In a Swedish study, participants were shown images expressing different emotions: joy, anger, fear, and surprise. When a picture of someone smiling was shown, researchers asked participants to frown. Instead, they found that participants’ facial expressions directly imitated what they saw. They had to consciously make an effort to turn the smile upside down.

So if you smile at someone, it is very likely that your smile will be returned. If it isn’t, it means the person is consciously trying to suppress it.

Looking at the bigger picture, every time we smile at someone, we subconsciously invite them to smile back. We create a symbiotic relationship that allows positive feelings to be released, activates the brain’s reward center, makes us more attractive, and increases the likelihood that we will live longer and healthier lives.

A smile is something that should be worn often, so it is important to surround ourselves with people, places, and things that bring “light” into our day. The world becomes a better place when we smile.

Dental Center 4Smile invites you to brighten the world with your smile – and we are here to make your smile even more beautiful! 😁

Sometimes your joy is the source of your smile, but sometimes your smile can be the source of your joy. ~Thich Nhat Hanh