Smiling might be one of the most underrated social gestures in life. It might not seem like it, but a smile can influence our mood. Most of us have had someone tell us to smile more often. Smiling has been related to many positive outcomes and influences our outlook on life. So, if you are looking for ways to grow, consider smiling. Something as simple as this can help improve your life directly or indirectly. Here are four reasons to smile more often:
1. It will improve your mood. When you smile, your mood is immediately improved, and you feel lighter and happier, even if it is for a moment. Try it and enjoy the feeling! When your mood is improved, it affects everything you do. You seem more positive, and it also helps to ease a tense situation. It can also influence those around you to smile. Remember to think about positive memories and smile whenever you feel sad, then see how that suddenly improves your mood.
2. It helps reduce stress. When you smile more, you release hormones called endorphins. The release of endorphins helps manage stress effectively and prevents pertinent health issues like heart attacks, and strokes, Endorphins are neurotransmitters released by the pituitary gland and hypothalamus in the brain. As natural hormones, they can alleviate pain, lower stress, improve mood, and enhance your sense of well-being. The body releases endorphins when you do pleasurable activities such as eating, exercise, sex, etc. Smiling makes you feel good. When you feel good physically, you are likely to feel better mentally. The impact of smiling is like going for a good workout, taking a run, swimming, or spending some time in the sun. Avoid situations and people who only make you stressed, but if you feel sad, smile; it’s free and easy to do!
3. It helps you focus. Stress makes concentrating difficult, and we now know smiling helps lift our mood. When you reduce your stress, you increase your chances of focusing on the task. Smiling increases the combination of dopamine and serotonin, which improves your overall mental health. Dopamine acts on areas of the brain to give you feelings of pleasure, satisfaction, and motivation. Dopamine also has a role to play in controlling memory, mood, sleep, learning, concentration, movement, and other body functions and Serotonin plays several roles in your body, including influencing learning, memory, and happiness as well as regulating body temperature, sleep, sexual behavior and hunger. Lack of serotonin is thought to play a role in depression, anxiety, mania, and other health conditions. For instance, If you find it hard to focus on work, try watching something funny or listening to a song that makes you smile and then go back to work. You’ll see an immediate improvement.
4. It improves your immune system. Studies have shown that people who smile or laugh often have more white blood cells than people who don't smile often. Hormones like dopamine work to activate the immune system and increase the production of antibodies and other illness-killing cells. Our immune system works more efficiently when we are in a good mood. This means they are stronger as a result. So ultimately, a happy person is a healthy person. If you want to improve your health by boosting your immune system, try smiling more and engaging in activities that only serve you well. Remember, smiling is free, and you can do it anywhere. It's a ticket to improving your life and mental health. So, if you haven't smiled today, try smiling right now! Smiling cheers, you and those around you up and can improve your day. Just a little may even improve your dating and sex life as to the best of my knowledge no man approaches a woman with an RBF!
to help end suffering,
William J. McClelland CLC, CNC, CMPNLP
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Disclaimer: Please understand that the content of this article is not meant to replace the advice of a licensed physician. The information provided here is intended as educational material only and should never be interpreted as medical advice. If you feel that your condition is a medical emergency, be sure to get in touch with your physician or mental healthcare professional immediately