Smile- Not Just For the Camera

Smiling and laughing have been a subject of curiosity that has been worth studying extensively for centuries. The French anatomist Guillaume Duchenne studied it in the 1800’s and discovered that two muscles are mainly involved in the act of a genuine smile. One of the muscles is the zygomatic major which controls the corners of the mouth. This muscle can be activated at will. The other, the orbicularis oculi, controls the area around our eyes. This muscle cannot truly be activated just anytime. Therefore, a genuine smile has been dubbed a Duchenne smile and it involves using both our mouth and eyes.

Americans mostly associate smiling with the mouth, whereas Japanese mostly correlate smiling with the eyes. The emoticon represents a happy person :) and, of course, :( is a sad person. The Japanese depict it in this way more so with ^_^ having happy eyes, and ;_; representing a person crying. Emojis were designed to add emotion to the text being written - to depict the feeling going on behind the words. If you cannot see the person you are speaking to, sending a smile indicates how you feel. Smiles mean a lot.

Smiling makes the people around you feel better. When you smile it makes you a more approachable person. Have you noticed that even when a perfect stranger smiles a genuine smile and says hello, that you automatically want to share the same kindness back to them? 

Smiling is contagious, so when you see someone without a smile, give them one of yours, because your supply is unlimited! A warm smile is the universal language of kindness. It is such a simple way of brightening someone’s day, so why be stingy with it? Smile!

Smiling makes everyone feel better, including yourself. It may be very difficult to do, but when you are in a bad mood even a pretend smile can trigger your brain into feeling happier. When things in life are all awry, a smile is the curve that sets everything straight. The world always looks brighter from behind a smile, too. You see things differently when you face them with a smile.

Spanky Hank can even smile!

Smiling not only makes you feel good, but studies show that smiling and laughter can also protect you from the common cold. It helps to boost the immune system by lowering the level of stress. That increases your white blood cell count and releases helpful antibodies. Those antibodies have the ability to help fight infection and disease. Smiling is good for the heart, laughing is good for the soul, and loving will keep you living, laughing and smiling. Who could’ve guessed there are scientifically researched health benefits to such a simple act as a smile?

Today, give a stranger one of your smiles.

It might be the only sunshine he sees all day.

                                       -H, Jackson Brown, Jr.

~Jayla