Smile Therapy: The Health Benefits of Smiling and More
A smile, which is the basis of non-verbal communication, has many benefits: it makes it easier to communicate with others, goes beyond words and even prolongs life.
Much is known about the social and psychological impact of smiling. We trust more the one who smiles. A smile makes people more friendly, puts people at ease, helps to start a conversation with someone, defuse a conflict, or improve self-esteem in society. A smile can not only lift our spirits, but also prolong our lives. Let's talk about why smiling is so important.
1. Smiling lifts your spirits.
If you're feeling down, smiling can help lift your spirits. Smile even when you're sad and it can help you think more positively and tune out negativity.
2. Smiling can relieve stress.
If you smile more often, no matter your mood, your body will be able to cope with stress more effectively! A study in the journal Psychological Science published in 2015 found that a low heart rate even when dealing with stressful problems could be related to how much a person smiled. A high heart rate is dangerous to your health, so a smile is a kind of medicine that can be taken without a prescription!
3. Smiling improves relationships with other people.
If you are the type of person who smiles a lot, it is actually much easier to build a relationship with you. If you smile often, you stand a chance of being favored in social circles over those who don't.
4. Smiling can relieve pain.
It may seem strange, but smiling may be associated with pain relief. According to the Mayo Clinic, one of the world's largest private medical and research centers, when you smile or laugh, your body produces natural pain relievers. Social laughter can help raise a person's pain threshold.
5. Smiling strengthens the immune system.
This is another strange thing that is associated with smiling. However, research from the Mayo Clinic confirms that when you laugh or smile, you trigger the release of hormones in your brain that fight illness and stress. Negative thoughts reduce the production of these hormones, thereby weakening your body's immunity.
6. Smiling helps lower blood pressure.
The process of smiling begins with an increase in heart rate. Soon after, the muscles tend to calm down, and the heart rate and, as a result, blood pressure decrease.
It turns out that access to health benefits is... right under our noses! It's not for nothing that they say that laughter is the best medicine. Whatever your mood, try to smile in any situation, because it is good not only for the mind and soul, but also for our body!