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Smiling

Table of Contents
17 Types Of Smiles To Wear: A Guide For All Occasions My 7 Tips To Bring Up Smile #17 10 Hidden Benefits of Smiling 1. Get others to trust you 2. Smile for leniency 3. Recover from social slip-ups 4. Because otherwise I'll feel bad 5. Laugh off the hurt 6. Grin for insight 7. Smile for sex 8. Hide what you really think 9. Smile to make money 10. Smile and (half) the world smiles with you A man without a smiling face must not open a shop Smile for longevity Just grin and bear it!

Smiling may lower your heart rate Study: Forcing a Smile Genuinely Decreases Stress Grin and Bear It: Smiling Facilitates Stress Recovery A man without a smiling face must not open a shop Smile for longevity 7. Smile for sex 19 Ways to Enhance Your Sense of Humor Health Benefits From Smiling Brain Connection Immune Boost Pain Relief Stress Reduction

17 Types Of Smiles To Wear: A Guide For All Occasions

What happens when you feel the first instance of joy? Thats right. You break out in a smile. A smile is a facial expression with the upward contours at the ends of your mouth Sometimes, it may not be mouth that is telling of a smile;

it may just be that sparkle in your eyes! Hence, it is very possible to use a smile to communicate a thousand words. Most smiles are happy signs. They speak of joy, happiness, love or even pride. However, there are smiles that can also be an involuntary expression of anxiety, otherwise known as the grimace, or an expression of embarrassment in a sheepish sort of way. Please also do not confuse a smile in a human with what seems like one in an animal. Animals baring their teeth which you may mistake for a smile is often used as a threat or warning display. In chimpanzees, rather than it being a sign for happiness, it can be a sign of fear. I was most amused when I came across this statement found in Wikipedia: Biologists believe the smile has evolved differently among species and especially among humans. I just cant imagine how a smile can look so different back in the days of my great grandma. So, for the purposes of record keeping, I am going to publish my glossary guide for smiles and declare it to be the most updated one at this point in time. After 30 million years of human evolution, here is a list of smiles that you can currently wear for all ocassions. (Note: Your intent is very important when it comes to projecting the smile you wish to put on). 1. Sweet Smile. This is the smile that melts hearts. One look and you know you are done for! It is hard to say no to the request that accompanies it. Ive been hijacked several times over this smile (see my elder daugthers in the left picture)Sigh!!

2. I am in Love Smile. You cant mistake this smile from the rest. This smile exudes the energy of pure love and bliss. It need not be just a romantic smile. A smile for the love of your pet also qualifies! 3. Most Beautiful Smile. This is a smile that is Simply Breathtaking! It is a smile that causes others to skip a heartbeat! Hence, use it Sparingly, or ER

will have to be alerted !

4. Happy Smile. This is a smile that reflects a happy and joyful heart. My younger daugther, who had previously been more of an introvert, is now very much in her element (see left picture)!

5. Thoughtful Smile.

Your eyes look glazed. There is no eye contact in this smile because you are thinking about sometime faraway:

the longing for someone or the cherished memory of a past. You can still remember the joy and how it felt like. It is as if you are living the moment again; so you break out into this smile. 5. I know it all Smile.

You have the hint of a smile. It is also one that you cultivate as you get older, your mind filled with wonderful stories from your past. It is a smile that speaks volumes about the wisdom youve gained about life.

6. The Sparkle in The Eyes Smile.

The eyes say it all. Sparkling with excitement and sheer joy over an important discovery. No words need to be communicated.

7. I am the Boss Smile.

Wear this smile if these thoughts run through your head: Say what??!!?? I am the boss. Come humor me!

8. Lucky Smile.

An almost embarrassed look. The smile that says "Im Lucky Again!"

9. Amused Smile.

Make a guess: which is the amused and not so amused smile?

10. Naughty Or Up-to-NoGood Smile.

This is the smile that you would wear when you are embarrassed for being caught red handed at something naugthy. My younger daugther is very good with this! Her smile (see picture on the left) is classic and a dead giveaway! Put on this smile after a most satisfying experience such as a delicious meal, connecting with a friend or beating the computer in a chess game.

11. Satisfied Smile.

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12. Contented Smile.

This is a smile that needs to be distinguished from the satisfied smile. A satisfied smile is one for having felt joy derived from an external factor, whereas a contented smile comes from within. A contented smile reflects quiet serenity, a sense of peace and fufilment in everyday joys. It is a "In the Now" Smile. Wear this smile for any reason that you feel confident about. Even if it means showing off your braces!

13. Confident Smile.

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14. Proud Smile.

There is the hint of a smile that speaks of pride. A job well done. A Smile of Achievement.

15. Sexy Smile.

This smile needs some strategic positioning. It is to be projected at a 47degree angle to the recipient, so that you are seen from your best side. You also need to tilt your head slightly downwards (for coyness) but with

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eyes glancing up (daring the recipient to come forward) and if you are female, fluttering your eyelashes with deliberate intent. Leaning your head on one of your hands denotes helplessness: That You Need to be Rescued Quickly!! Overall, there is a certain mystery to your smile. I know it takes practice..but I assure you it works it was the smile that snarled my husband!! 17. Cheered Up Smile. This is a smile that you wear with an uplift in your spirits. You put it on, after being in a better mood from a low. In fact, if it helps, this is THE smile that lit Tim Brownsons face (see left picture) after failing to get his new top-of-range and pricey laptop to work. Using his advice from

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7 Reasons To Be Cheerful, I propose that you wear this smile, even if you are similarly tempted to hack your dysfunctional PC to pieces.

My 7 Tips To Bring Up Smile #17

Since this blog is on self help, Im also throwing in my lifesaver tips for smile #17. I suggest you take notes carefully. There may just come a time when you will need a good cheer, from feeling lousy. 1. Munching Chocolates. Chocolates can work wonders, since it contains alkaloids such as theobromine and phenethylamine, which have mood enhancing effects. I keep a stack of them in my fridge, out of sight from my sweet-toothed kids. 2. Playing with my kids. My kids never fail to cheer me up. Of course, we have our fair share of trying moments. But mostly, their presence alone is great for bringing a smile to my face. There is something about them that makes me feel like squeezing and hugging them many times a day. Heres a piece of interesting research finding for you: Young children and toddlers laugh on average 300 times as compared to 15 times for an adult daily. Hence, if you want to be happy, then you should really be learning from the experts children!! To them, life is just one happy event after another. And it should be the same for you too! 3. Walking In The Park. Being close to nature is therapeutic. Just breathing in the fresh air, taking in the sights of swaying trees and feeling the gentle breeze does it for me! I always feel better after a walk in the park. 4. Listening to Music. This is one of my favorites Built to Lastthe tempo is really upbeat, dont you think?

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Only uplifting music makes the cut here. Now, dont play the above song if you are trying to get over your broken relationship. 5. Watching A Comedy. Im with Tim on this tip. The only thing is that I dont watch as much TV anymore. But I know this tip works and will not hesitate to use it, if needed. My favorite shows used to be Third Rock From The Sun, Friends, Seinfied and Mr Bean. I would sit curled up in my favorite arm chair, eating chocolates and having a good laugh. Its funny how laughter can also help put things in perspective. Since these shows typically reveal how dysfunctional life can be, they earn top marks for helping you re-evaluate yours and throw your blues away. 6. Swimming. Doing laps can be rejuvenating. The rush of water while swimming is a good mental relaxer. Of course, it does not have to be swimming for you. Just about any exercise activity that puts you in a better mood will do. 7. A Good Meditation Session. This tip beats all the above 6 because it is about joy that arises from internally rather than from an external stimulus. What is to be noted is that joy on its own, may or may not arise during the meditative session. From my understanding of Buddhist teachings, neither do you attempt to seek joy while meditating. Simply Be in the Now while meditating. Just being able to experience the sense of peace, above all the madness, is intrinstically uplifting. Inner peace comes when your mind settles and stays quiet, after all that frustration, despair and hopelessness over your troubles. In the meditative state, you feel a shift towards light. A veil of peace overtakes you and you find yourself cheered up, after the sitting. In Time, with Enough Meditative Practice, Youd Be Wearing Smile #12 Naturally! 1. Become comfortable with smiling. If you're not used to smiling regularly, overcoming your nervousness or cynicism about smiling can take a little practice but like any habit, it's easy to reform with time. Some things to keep in mind include:

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A smile always looks good. Feeling nervous about the beauty or appearance of your smile is unnecessary. Trust that your smile makes you look great. A smile is professional. Smiling at work or during other professional occasions is not going to make you seem unprofessional. Quite the opposite, a smile will humanize you and make you appear more approachable. People will appreciate your recognition of their worth and of a job well done when you smile. A smile makes you real. If you're afraid of appearing vulnerable when you smile, accept that any form of vulnerability suggested by a smile is precisely what makes it such a powerful act. You're opening yourself up to others and people will respond better to that than to a serious, unmoved demeanor. Moreover, a smile accompanied by an assertive personality will take care of any sense that people will use your smile to walk all over you!

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2.

Make your smile genuine. While it is perfectly possible to crack a smile when you feel terrible, angry, annoyed, or you're up to something nefarious, a genuine smile is much harder to fake; indeed, only around 10 percent of the population can manage that feat.[2]

A genuine smile is detectable by others because it is accompanied by a general glow, smiling eyes where the outer corners crinkle and the lower lid tightens, and a reassuring demeanor that helps the viewer to feel more at ease in your presence. A genuine smile comes from being happy, positive, and from drawing your feelings from the heart. Think happy thoughts. The easiest way to a fantastic, genuine smile is to be happy. Think about someone you care about (perhaps the person standing in front of you as you smile), about something that you genuinely love to do, or think of a funny joke that you just find hilarious. Or think about the happiest moments in your life.

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Be genuine. Draw on your heartfelt feelings, not just rationalizations. When you're confronted by a person or situation that makes you feel ambivalent and you're oscillating between giving the cold shoulder or smiling, err on the side of smiling find one single thing in your heart that is positive about the person or situation before you, and use that to create your smile. Love people and your life. It's much easier to produce friendly, easygoing, genuine smiles when you love what you do, when you love the people around you, and when you love humanity in general. Be grateful for all that you have and you'll find smiles come far more naturally. Be playful. Intense times can make us too serious. See life as an adventure, be gentle on yourself and watch children at play. Being playful will bring a smile to your face much more easily. 3. 3 Smile with your eyes. A wholehearted smile will naturally draw in the eyes (called a Duchenne smile). It is commonplace to hear a person say "her eyes were smiling", or to say "he didn't mean it; he was smiling but his eyes weren't". The eyes are essential for a genuine, warm smile. Your eyes light up, twinkle, and reflect your happiness. While it's hard to fake this unless you're really feeling it, you can try this exercise:

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To get a feel for how to make your eyes smile, stand in front of a mirror and practice smiling, but concentrate only on your eyes. You may find it helpful to cover the lower part of your face with a piece of paper. Play around with it a bit, and you'll find that you can make your mouth smile when your eyes aren't smiling, and you can also smile only with your eyes. When your eyes do smile, remember how it feels, which muscles are working and how. With practice, you may discover how to smile with your eyes at will by relying on your feelings and muscle memory. 4. 4 Practice your smile. There is no harm in practicing your smile doing so will increase your smiling confidence, improve your sense of wellbeing,[3] and help you to learn which of your smiles are your best.

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Look at photos of yourself smiling, with a closed mouth, open mouth, and from different angles. Which smiles and poses make your face light up the most? Which smile displays your other features to their best possible advantage? Which smile comes across as the most natural, the most "you"? Find that picture and focus on what your face is doing. Then practice in front of a mirror until you get it just right. Keep practicing, and pay attention to how that great smile feels, so that you'll be able to replicate it without looking in a mirror. Soon it will become second nature, and you'll likely find that you'll look more photogenic in your next batch of pictures. If you want to improve your smile, look at pictures of smiles you believe are beautiful. Also, remember that you're beautiful (inside and out); your smile is bound to look better if you feel good about yourself! Note the difference between a smile and a grin. Grins bare a lot more teeth (think Cheshire Cat) and are not necessarily flattering on all people, although for some people they can make you appear cute. If you're prone to grinning and it's not doing your appearance any favors,

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try showing only your upper teeth when you smile. Showing your lower teeth can make it seem you're baring your teeth. When showing teeth, pressing the tongue behind the teeth will make small gaps look less noticeable. Practice smiling at random strangers.[4] Make a choice that you'll do this, make brief eye contact with a person, and smile. As you do so, think happy thoughts (it helps to choose someone attractive to begin with). Don't choose a person with sunglasses; you need to see their eyes. Not everyone will smile back but note how you feel when they do! 5. 5 Maintain good oral hygiene. One thing that can cause you to fear smiling is the worry that there is something stuck between your teeth, or that you have bad breath. Eliminate these hygiene sources of worry by taking active steps to keep your mouth fresh and clean.

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Brush your teeth and tongue regularly, carry floss with you wherever you go so that you can clean up after dining, and have breath freshener on you at all times (natural or commercial). See your dentist regularly for teeth check-ups and cleaning, as well as discussing options for teeth straightening, etc., if this is a concern for you. When you smile people will inevitably look at your mouth, so following these considerations will help you make a better impression, and, more importantly, a healthy mouth will make you feel more confident about smiling. If your teeth are stained, consider your lifestyle habits that bring this about and try to minimize the impacts of such habits as smoking or drinking too much red wine, coffee, soft drinks, etc. Keep your lips in great shape to prevent chapping.

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Deal with bad breath. If it's surface, cleaning and fresheners should be adequate. If these do not work, it may be a sign of an underlying health problem, so see your doctor for advice. 6. 6 Expect smiling to be difficult in some situations. Smiling on demand can be difficult, whether it's for a photo or for the sake of keeping mom happy when the relatives you can't stand visit. This is because you are feeling self-conscious or you lack a genuine reason for smiling. In these sorts of cases, smiling needs to come from your memory of good smiles along with a little self-kidding or jokes in the head.

For a photo, smile 20 percent more than you think you should.
[5]

Smile wide and show the top row of teeth. 7. 7

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Enjoy the many benefits of a smile. In order to want to smile, it really helps to know what benefits a smile can bring to your day. The following benefits are bound to make you lean towards sharing a grin with others most of the day:

Smiles improve your appearance. Charles Gordy once quipped: "A smile is an inexpensive way to change your looks". All you need to do is think about how you feel about a person who is frowning and a person who is smiling who tends to be the better looking? Smiles make things right again and say much more than words can. If you've goofed, said something less than complimentary, feel lost or alone, or feel down, a smile can restore the balance. It lets other people know that you're prepared to be open with them, and that you're willingly agreeing to make amends where needed. Smiles create trust and rapport. A smile is a great way of establishing mutual feelings of being on the same level as others, whether that is one-to-one or in front of a group giving a presentation. It says "I'm OK, you're OK, and we're all going to enjoy one another's company."

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Smiles make you feel good. Even if you're feeling a little blue, insert happy thoughts into your mind and just add that smile. It will trick your mind into feeling better, as endorphins are released to reduce physical or emotional stress.[6][7] Smiles make other people feel good. An open-mouthed smile is visible from further away than a frown, offering people reassurance that you're friendly.[8] And it makes people feel better to see a smile, from afar or close-up. Wrinkles are better when they're smile lines rather than frown lines. Mark Twain said: "Wrinkles should merely indicate where smiles have been"; viewed this way, smiles are an indication of your overall character, which becomes more and more outwardly telling as you age! Smiling is a good long-term predictor of happier life [9] outcomes. It's correlated with health, happiness, friends, success, and a longer life.[10] See How to Smile for Better Health. See How to Smile to Be Happy. Tips Opportunities for smiling are all around you. Make the most of them.

8. 9.

You don't need perfect teeth to have a perfect smile. Not everybody has perfect teeth, and that's okay. Straight teeth are nice, but a great smile doesn't depend on standard model's teeth. That said, if you feel uncomfortable about your teeth you may be reluctant to smile, and that's no good. If that's the case, either learn to appreciate your individuality or look into cosmetic dentistry procedures. Or, you could smile with your mouth closed if preferred. 10. Wear clothes that smile. Add to your positive body language the color of happiness. Yellow is the color for dependability. A soft yellow is non-threatening and friendly. Warm colors from the yellow family are welcoming. Golds, browns, golden-oranges, are all dependable colors of friendship. Blues are passive and calm colors. In the visual language, soft blues project a serenity and quiet peacefulness. Avoid reds that are come across as aggressive and threatening.

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11. Don't let the anger of others get you down. An easy way to remember this is to think of "Jenna," the average Starbucks employee. Jenna has to sit through the complaints of dozens of customers a day, but she's always got a smile on her face because she knows she has amazing friends! 12. You've probably heard of "contagious" or "infectious" smiles. There's a reason for this when you smile, it tends to make others around you smile. Even in the most stressful times, a roomful of smiles can brighten everybody's mood. 13. Ever laugh hysterically about something you've just seen? Take that memory but just laugh slightly and now you have a natural pretty smile. 14. A lot of men feel uncomfortable about smiling at strangers, especially at other males. If that is the case, then just offer a casual "Hi", or "Hey man!", or "What's goin' on?". It works just as well, and feels less awkward for a lot of guys. 15. Try a light smile: don't show as many teeth as you would when you're laughing. It's the best smile for flirting - light and seductive. 16. If you have a tooth that pokes out a bit at the side, as many people sometimes do, try to get your lip to go above it so your lip doesn't catch on the tooth when you smile. 17. Don't compare yourself to the celebrities you see on TV, in pictures, etc., because they are faking it. Instead, be yourself, be natural, and be genuine. Everybody has a smile waiting to burst out from inside them somewhere! 18. Pretend like you're laughing when you're smiling. 19. People will think you are a better and more fun person when you smile! Even if it is in the darkest of times! 20. Dont pretend to smile! Only smile when you want to or have the urge to! Dont fake it but dont have a gloomy face! Warnings A fake smile can make you look phony, nervous, or even dangerous, so don't just try to put on a smile without first practicing or putting yourself in a happy state of mind. You can spot a fake smile

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from a genuine (or Duchenne) smile a fake smile is one where the corners of the mouth aren't turned up, or the mouth is solely smiling, with no change at all in the eyes. You'll know it when you see it as you pick up the subtle body language cues that confuse you as to the smiler's intention; and if it's you making the fake smile, check your emotions to know whether or not you mean the smile. Try to make sure you don't have spinach or something stuck in your teeth because you'll leave a poor impression. Duck out to the bathroom after a meal and quickly refresh; this is even more important when you know your teeth are prone to catching bits of food. There is no scientific study saying how many muscles it takes to smile over frowning.[11] It's probably just better to accept that smiling is worthwhile because the longer term benefits are worth the effort!

A man without a smiling face must not open a shop

There is an old Chinese saying that goes something like this: A man without a smiling face must not open a shop. That same phenomenon has much the same effect on interviewers. In a survey conducted among 5000 human resource managers, one of the questions was: What do you look for most in a candidate? Of the 2756 who responded, 2322 ranked enthusiasm first. The first thing interviewers look for in a candidate is vitality and enthusiasm. Many candidates with the right background experience and skills disqualify themselves with a demeanor that suggests they lack energy. The easiest way to convey energy and enthusiasm is to smile. Now theres a tip that you can implement today. No waiting, no paying for expensive degrees, no buying a new suit just smile!! In the classic little book, The Magic of Thinking Big, David Schwartz challenges the readers with this test: Try to feel defeated and smile big at the same time. You cant. A big smile gives you confidence. A big smile beats fear, rolls away worry, defeats despondency. That sounds like a great preparation for your next interview.

A man without a smiling face must not open a shop

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What a great Chinese proverb. It is spot on and a key part of delivering a great brand experience at the buy stage of the path to purchase. The first moment of truth. We all know shops we have visited when we had a poor brand experience with the sales person (rude, poor advice, no smile, etc). As a result we may have been put off buying or at least felt less inclined to rush back to buy again. On the other hand, we have also all had a great interaction with a salesperson. A smile was probably a key part that left you with the feeling of a good buying experience. It does not take much but can make a big difference. Retailers know this but don't always have clear values or training in place. Sure, it takes time and money but if you look at the loyalty and potential advocacy it is worth it [check-out advocacy drives growth paper from LSE]. POSTED BY ANDREW WEIR AT WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 07, 2011 LABELS: BUY , FIRST MOMENT OF TRUTH , LSE

10 Hidden Benefits of Smiling

Smiles are about much more than just showing pleasure. Psychological research reveals 10 ways to use them to your advantage.

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People are always smiling, especially in groups, but it doesn't just signal that they're happy, far from it. We use smiles for specific social purposes because they can send out all sorts of signals that can be useful for us1. Here are ten ways smiles can be used to our advantage by sending out messages about our trustworthiness, attractivity, sociability and more. 1. Get others to trust you In a world where everyone is out for themselves, who should we trust? One signal that suggests we are trustworthy is a smile. Genuine smiles send a message that other people can trust and cooperate with us. People who smile are rated higher in both generosity and extraversion and when people share with each other they tend to display genuine smiles (Mehu et al., 2007). Economists even consider that smiles have a value. In one study by Scharlemann et al. (2001) participants were more likely to trust another person if they were smiling. This study found that a smile increased people's willingness to trust by about 10%. 2. Smile for leniency When people do bad things they often smile when they are caught. Is this to their benefit? According to a study conducted by LaFrance and Hecht (1995), it can be. We treat people who've broken the rules with more leniency if they smile afterwards. It doesn't matter whether it's a false smile, a miserable smile or a real felt smile, they all work to make us want to give the transgressor a break. This seems to work because we find people who smile after breaking the rules more trustworthy than those who don't. 3. Recover from social slip-ups Did you forget to buy your partner an anniversary present? Has an important client's name slipped your mind? Have you accidentally kicked a small child? If you've tripped on a social banana, embarrassment is your go-to emotion. The function of embarrassment is to get us out of tight social spots (Keltner & Buswell, 1997). The embarrassed smiles we display involve looking down and sometimes we emit a silly little laugh. This is

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designed to elicit fellow-feeling from other people so they think less of the slip and forgive us more quickly. So the embarrassed smile helps us get out of jail free(ish). Once again, the power of a smile. 4. Because otherwise I'll feel bad Sometimes we smile both because it's polite and so that we can avoid feeling bad afterwards. Like when someone enthuses about how they saved a small amount of money with a coupon they found down the back of the sofa. It hardly seems to warrant a smile but you muster one anyway because it's polite. In one study people were asked to remain stony-faced after hearing someone else's good news (LaFrance, 1997). They felt bad afterwards and thought the other person would think worse of them as a result. So we nod and smile politely because otherwise we'll regret it afterwards. Women, though, seem to feel this pressure to smile at the happy news of others more than men. 5. Laugh off the hurt Smiling is one way to reduce the distress caused by an upsetting situation. Psychologists call this the facial feedback hypothesis. Even forcing a smile when we don't feel like it is enough to lift our mood slightly (this is one example of embodied cognition). A word of warning: smiling at upsetting things may work but it doesn't look good to others. When Ansfield (2007) had participants viewing distressing videos, those who smiled felt better afterwards than those who didn't. But people who smiled at distressing images were judged less likeable by others. 6. Grin for insight When we're nervous our attention tends to narrow. We stop noticing what's going on around the edges and only see what's right in front of us. This is true in both a literal and a metaphorical sense: when nervous or stressed we're less likely to notice ideas that are at the edge of our consciousness. But to gain insight into a problem, it's often precisely these peripheral ideas we need. Cue a smile.

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Smiling makes us feel good which also increases our attentional flexibility and our ability to think holistically. When this idea was tested by Johnson et al. (2010), the results showed that participants who smiled performed better on attentional tasks which required seeing the whole forest rather than just the trees. So a smile really can help give us a burst of insight.

7. Smile for sex

A woman's smile has a magical effect on men, over and above eye contact. One study examined how men approached women in a bar (Walsh & Hewitt, 1985). When a woman only established eye contact with a man, she was approached 20% of the time. When the same woman added a smile, though, she was approached 60% of the time. When men smile at women, though, the effect is less magical. While smiling increases women's attractiveness to men, it doesn't work so well the other way around. Indeed there's some evidence men look more attractive to women when displaying pride or even shame, than when they look happy (Tracy & Beall, 2011). Less smiling makes a man look more masculine. 8. Hide what you really think Psychologists used to think that a genuine smile never lies. Fake smiles involve only the mouth, while real smilescalled Duchenne smiles by psychologistsreach up to the eyes. Recent research, though, suggests that 80% of people can fake the crinkly eyes central to a Duchenne smile (see Duchenne: Key to a Genuine Smile?). So smiles can be used to hide what we really think, but it's still not easy to fake a real smile because they have to be timed correctly. A key to a trustworthy smile is that it has a slow onset, i.e. it takes about half a second to spread across the face. One piece of research has found that in comparison to a fast onset smile (about a tenth of a second to spread), slow onset smiles are judged more trustworthy, authentic and even more flirtatious (see: A Slow Smile Attracts).

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9. Smile to make money We've already seen that economists have calculated the value of a smile, but can a smile make us real cash-money? Apparently the broad smile of a waitress can: Tidd and Lockard (1978) found smiling waitresses made more in tips (there's no study on waiters). More generally people in service industries, like flight attendants or those in entertainment and hospitality are effectively paid to smile at customers. But, watch out, a constant mismatch between felt and displayed emotioncalled emotional labour by psychologistscan be exhausting, possibly leading to job burnout. A smile may make money, but it can also be draining. 10. Smile and (half) the world smiles with you One of the simple social pleasures of life, which goes almost unnoticed because it's automatic, is when you smile at someone and they smile back. As you'll have noticed, though, not everyone does smile back. Hinsz and Tomhave (1991) wanted to see what proportion of people would respond to a smile aimed at them with their own smile. Their results suggest around 50% of people reciprocate. In comparison almost no one responds to a frown with their own frown.

Smile for longevity

If none of these studies can coax a smile out of you then consider this: people who smile more may live longer. A study of pictures taken of baseball players in 1952 suggests those smiling outlived their nonsmiling counterparts by seven years (Abel & Kruger, 2010). Now there's a reason to smile. ---1 There are also all sorts of cultural and gender differences in why and how we smile. Women generally smile more than men, although this still depends on the situation. Across cultures, Russians smile the least and Americans the most. American smiles, though, tend to be more 'fake', i.e. involving mainly the mouth rather than both the mouth and the eyes. Image credit: Ben Ishaque Luthor

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Just grin and bear it!

At some point, we have all probably heard or thought something like this when facing a tough situation. But is there any truth to this piece of advice? Feeling good usually makes us smile, but does it work the other way around? Can smiling actually make us feel better? In a study forthcoming in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science, psychological scientists Tara Kraft and Sarah Pressman of the University of Kansas investigate the potential benefits of smiling by looking at how different types of smiling, and the awareness of smiling, affects individuals ability to recover from episodes of stress. Age old adages, such as grin and bear it have suggested smiling to be not only an important nonverbal indicator of happiness but also wishfully promotes smiling as a panacea for lifes stressful events, says Kraft. We wanted to examine whether these adages had scientific merit; whether smiling could have real health-relevant benefits. Smiles are generally divided into two categories: standard smiles, which use the muscles surrounding the mouth, and genuine or Duchenne smiles, which engage the muscles surrounding both the mouth and eyes. Previous research shows that positive emotions can help during times of stress and that smiling can affect emotion; however, the work of Kraft and Pressman is the first of its kind to experimentally manipulate the types of smiles people make in order to examine the effects of smiling on stress. The researchers recruited 169 participants from a Midwestern university. The study involved two phases: training and testing. During the training phase, participants were divided into three groups, and each group was trained to hold a different facial expression. Participants were instructed to hold chopsticks in their mouths in such a way that they engaged facial muscles used to create a neutral facial expression, a standard smile, or a

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Duchenne smile. Chopsticks were essential to the task because they forced people to smile without them being aware that they were doing so: only half of the group members were actually instructed to smile. For the testing phase, participants were asked to work on multitasking activities. What the participants didnt know was that the multitasking activities were designed to be stressful. The first stress-inducing activity required the participants to trace a star with their non-dominant hand by looking at a reflection of the star in a mirror. The second stress-inducing activity required participants to submerge a hand in ice water. During both of the stressful tasks, participants held the chopsticks in their mouth just as they were taught in training. The researchers measured participants heart rates and self-reported stress levels throughout the testing phase. The results of the study suggest that smiling may actually influence our physical state: compared to participants who held neutral facial expressions, participants who were instructed to smile, and in particular those with Duchenne smiles, had lower heart rate levels after recovery from the stressful activities. The participants who held chopsticks in a manner that forced them to smile, but were not explicitly told to smile as part of the training, also reported a smaller decrease in positive affect compared to those who held neutral facial expressions. These findings show that smiling during brief stressors can help to reduce the intensity of the bodys stress response, regardless of whether a person actually feels happy. The next time you are stuck in traffic or are experiencing some other type of stress, says Pressman, you might try to hold your face in a smile for a moment. Not only will it help you grin and bear it psychologically, but it might actually help your heart health as well! ### For more information about this study, please contact: Tara Kraft at kraft.tara@gmail.com or Sarah Pressman at pressman@ku.edu. ### The APS journal Psychological Science is the highest ranked empirical journal in psychology. For a copy of the article "Grin and Bear It: The Influence of Manipulated Positive Facial Expression on the Stress

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Response" and access to other Psychological Science research findings, please contact Anna Mikulak at 202-293-9300 or amikulak@psychologicalscience.org.

Smiling may lower your heart rate

Next time you're stuck in traffic, quell your road rage by flashing a quick smile. Researchers from the University of Kansas had college students hold chopsticks in their mouths to simulate either a smile or a neutral expression, and then induced a stressful situation. (Besides having chopsticks in their mouths.) The results? Smilers had lower heart rates and reduced stress responses compared to the straight-faced subjects. Researchers believe that activating certain facial muscles--like those used to smile--sends a message to your brain: You're happy. Calm down. Lead researcher Sarah Pressman, Ph.D., an assistant professor at the University of Kansas, explains: "It's not just that our brains are happy and make us smile, it can also be the opposite--we feel the smile and become happy," she says. What about lowering your heart rate? "If you're happy, you perceive stress differently and feel less threatened," says Pressman. But here's the kicker: You don't have to actually be happy to reap the benefits. People in the study weren't necessarily in a good mood--they just faked a smile. So skip flipping off the guy who's driving like a jerk, and force a grin instead. Even though you may feel awkward, it's an easy way to break a very short stress response, says Pressman. (Want more quick health tips like this one delivered to your inbox every a.m.? Sign up for our free Daily Dose newsletter!) Next time you're stuck in traffic, quell your road rage by flashing a quick smile. Researchers from the University of Kansas had college students hold chopsticks in their mouths to simulate either a smile or a neutral expression, and then induced a stressful situation. (Besides having

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chopsticks in their mouths.) The results? Smilers had lower heart rates and reduced stress responses compared to the straight-faced subjects. Researchers believe that activating certain facial muscles--like those used to smile--sends a message to your brain: You're happy. Calm down. Lead researcher Sarah Pressman, Ph.D., an assistant professor at the University of Kansas, explains: "It's not just that our brains are happy and make us smile, it can also be the opposite--we feel the smile and become happy," she says. What about lowering your heart rate? "If you're happy, you perceive stress differently and feel less threatened," says Pressman. But here's the kicker: You don't have to actually be happy to reap the benefits. People in the study weren't necessarily in a good mood--they just faked a smile. So skip flipping off the guy who's driving like a jerk, and force a grin instead. Even though you may feel awkward, it's an easy way to break a very short stress response, says Pressman. (Want more quick health tips like this one delivered to your inbox every a.m.? Sign up for our free Daily Dose newsletter!) vvv By Lindsay Abrams

Study: Forcing a Smile Genuinely Decreases Stress

Adding a smile to your to-do list can ease the stress of multitasking.

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f rankjuarez/Flickr PROBLEM: Happiness makes us smile, but can smiling make us happy? Even if it's a fake smile, because your mouth is propped open by chopsticks? There's the standard smile, which remains located in the muscles surrounding the mouth, and the genuine (or Duchenne) smile, which spreads to the eyes and, at least anecdotally, both looks and feels warmer and more natural. Does one work better than the other?

METHODOLOGY: In an experiment that was smile-worthy in its own right, researchers used chopsticks to manipulate the facial muscles of their 169 participants into a neutral expression, a standard smile, or a Duchenne smile. In addition to the chopstick placement, some were explicitly instructed to smile. Then, they were subjected to a series of stress-inducing, multitasking activities, which they struggled to perform while continuing to hold the chopsticks in their mouths. The subjects' heart rates and self-reported stress levels were monitored throughout. RESULTS: The participants who were instructed to smile recovered from the stressful activities with lower hear rates than participants who held neutral expressions, and those with Duchenne smiles were the most

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relaxed of all, with the most positive affect. Those with forced smiles held only by the chopsticks also reported more positive feelings than those who didn't smile at all. CONCLUSION: When a situation has you feeling stressed or flustered, even the most forced of smiles can genuinely decrease your stress and make you happier. The full study,"Grin and Bear It: The Influence of Manipulated Positive Facial Expression on the Stress Response," is published in the journal Psychological Science .

Grin and Bear It: Smiling Facilitates Stress Recovery

July 30, 2012 Just grin and bear it! At some point, we have all probably heard or thought something like this when facing a tough situation. But is there any truth to this piece of advice? Feeling good usually makes us smile, but does it work the other way around? Can smiling actually make us feel better? In a study forthcoming in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science, psychological scientists Tara Kraft and Sarah Pressman of the University of Kansas investigate the potential benefits of smiling by looking at how different types of smiling, and the awareness of smiling, affects individuals' ability to recover from episodes of stress. "Age old adages, such as 'grin and bear it' have suggested smiling to be not only an important nonverbal indicator of happiness but also wishfully promotes smiling as a panacea for life's stressful events," says Kraft. "We wanted to examine whether these adages had scientific merit; whether smiling could have real health-relevant benefits." Smiles are generally divided into two categories: standard smiles, which use the muscles surrounding the mouth, and genuine or Duchenne smiles, which engage the muscles surrounding both the mouth and eyes. Previous research shows that positive emotions can help during times of

38

stress and that smiling can affect emotion; however, the work of Kraft and Pressman is the first of its kind to experimentally manipulate the types of smiles people make in order to examine the effects of smiling on stress. The researchers recruited 169 participants from a Midwestern university. The study involved two phases: training and testing. During the training phase, participants were divided into three groups, and each group was trained to hold a different facial expression. Participants were instructed to hold chopsticks in their mouths in such a way that they engaged facial muscles used to create a neutral facial expression, a standard smile, or a Duchenne smile. Chopsticks were essential to the task because they forced people to smile without them being aware that they were doing so: only half of the group members were actually instructed to smile. For the testing phase, participants were asked to work on multitasking activities. What the participants didn't know was that the multitasking activities were designed to be stressful. The first stress-inducing activity required the participants to trace a star with their non-dominant hand by looking at a reflection of the star in a mirror. The second stress-inducing activity required participants to submerge a hand in ice water. During both of the stressful tasks, participants held the chopsticks in their mouth just as they were taught in training. The researchers measured participants' heart rates and self-reported stress levels throughout the testing phase. The results of the study suggest that smiling may actually influence our physical state: compared to participants who held neutral facial expressions, participants who were instructed to smile, and in particular those with Duchenne smiles, had lower heart rate levels after recovery from the stressful activities. The participants who held chopsticks in a manner that forced them to smile, but were not explicitly told to smile as part of the training, also reported a smaller decrease in positive affect compared to those who held neutral facial expressions. These findings show that smiling during brief stressors can help to reduce the intensity of the body's stress response, regardless of whether a person actually feels happy.

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"The next time you are stuck in traffic or are experiencing some other type of stress," says Pressman, "you might try to hold your face in a smile for a moment. Not only will it help you 'grin and bear it' psychologically, but it might actually help your heart health as well!" Share this story on Facebook, Twitter, and Google:

19 Ways to Enhance Your Sense of Humor

What is the greatest reward of being alive? Is it chocolate, sex, ice cream, tropical vacations, hugs from children, a perfect nights sleep, or the satisfaction of a job well done? A thousand people, a thousand different answers. But one supreme pleasure that spans all people is laughter. Little can compare to the feeling of a deep, complete, heartfelt laughing spell. No matter your age, wealth, race, or living situation, life is good when laughter is frequent.

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Life is also healthier. Research finds that humor can help you cope better with pain, enhance your immune system, reduce stress, even help you live longer. Laughter, doctors and psychologists agree, is an essential component of a healthy, happy life. As Mark Twain once said, Studying humor is like dissecting a frog you may know a lot but you end up with a dead frog. Nonetheless, were giving it a try. Here are 19 tips for getting or growing your sense of humor, based partly on the idea that you cant be funny if you dont understand what funny is. 1. First, regain your smile. A smile and a laugh arent the same thing, but they do live in the same neighborhood. Be sure to smile at simple pleasures the sight of kids playing, a loved one or friend approaching, the successful completion of a task, the witnessing of something amazing or humorous. Smiles indicate that stress and the weight of the world havent overcome you. If your day isnt marked by at least a few dozen, then you need to explore whether you are depressed or overly stressed. 2. Treat yourself to a comedy festival. Rent movies like Meet the Parents; Young Frankenstein; Pee-Wees Big Adventure; Monty Python and the Holy Grail; This Is Spinal Tap; Animal House; Blazing Saddles; Trading Places; Finding Nemo. Reward yourself frequently with the gift of laughter, Hollywood style. 3. Recall several of the most embarrassing moments in your life. Then find the humor in them. Now practice telling stories describing them in a humorous way. It might take a little exaggeration or dramatization, but thats what good storytelling is all about. By revealing your vulnerable moments and being self-deprecating, you open yourself up much more to the humorous aspects of life. Plus: 5 Ways Love Makes You Smarter 4. Anytime something annoying and frustrating occurs, turn it on its head and find the humor. Sure, you can be angry at getting splashed with mud, stepping in dog poop, or inadvertently throwing a red towel in with the white laundry. In fact, that is probably the most normal response. But it doesnt accomplish anything other than to put you in a sour mood. Better to find a way to laugh at lifes little annoyances. One way to do that: Think about it as if it happened to someone else, someone you like or maybe someone you dont. In fact, keep running through the Rolodex in your head until you find the best person you can think of to put in your current predicament. Laugh at him, then laugh at yourself! 5. Read the comics every day and cut out the ones that remind you of your life. Post them on a bulletin board or the refrigerator or anywhere else you can see them frequently. 6. Sort through family photographs and write funny captions or one-liners to go with your favorites. When you need a pick-me-up, pull out the album.

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7. Every night at dinner, make family members share one funny or even embarrassing moment of their day. Plus: 20 Secrets Your Waiter Wont Tell You 8. When a person offends you or makes you angry, respond with humor rather than hostility. For instance, if someone is always late, say, Well, Im glad youre not running an airline. Life is too short to turn every personal affront into a battle. However, if you are constantly offended by someone in particular, yes, take it seriously and take appropriate action. But for occasional troubles, or if nothing you do can change the person or situation, take the humor response. Check out the Top 10 list archive from David Letterman. You can find it at cbs.com. 10. Spend 15 minutes a day having a giggling session. Heres how you do it: You and another person (partner, kid, friend, etc.) lie on the floor with your head on her stomach, and her head on another persons stomach and so on (the more people the better). The first person says, Ha. The next person says, Ha-ha. The third person says, Ha-ha-ha. And so on. We guarantee youll be laughing in no time. 11. Read the activity listings page in the newspaper and choose some laughinducing events to attend. It could be the circus, a movie, a stand-up comic, or a funny play. Sometimes it takes a professional to get you to regain your sense of humor. 12. Add an item to your daily to-do list: Find something humorous. Dont mark it off until you do it, suggests Jeanne Robertson, a humor expert and author of several books on the topic. 13. When you run into friends or coworkers, ask them to tell you one funny thing that has happened to them in the past couple of weeks. Become known as a person who wants to hear humorous true stories as opposed to an individual who prefers to hear gossip, suggests Robertson. 14. Find a humor buddy. This is someone you can call just to tell him something funny; someone who will also call you with funny stories of things hes seen or experienced, says Robertson. Download the free Jokes & Funny True Stories iPhone app. 15. Exaggerate and overstate problems. Making the situation bigger than life can help us to regain a humorous perspective, says Patty Wooten, R.N., an awardwinning humorist and author of Compassionate Laughter: Jest for the Health of It. Cartoon caricatures, slapstick comedy, and clowning articles are all based on exaggeration, she notes. 16. Develop a silly routine to break a dark mood. It could be something as silly as speaking with a Swedish accent (unless you are Swedish, of course).

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17. Create a humor environment. Have a ha-ha bulletin board where you only post funny sayings or signs, suggests Allen Klein, an award-winning professional speaker and author of The Healing Power of Humor. His favorite funny sign: Never wrestle with a pig. You both get dirty, and the pig likes it. 18. Experiment with jokes. Learn one simple joke each week and spread it around. One of Kleins favorites relates to his baldness: What do you call a line of rabbits walking backward? A receding hare line. 19. Focus humor on yourself. Because of my lack of hair, Klein says, I tell people that Im a former expert on how to cure baldness. Learn more about the healing power of laughter.

Health Benefits From Smiling

People smile for a variety of reasons, including fear, contempt, misery and happiness, notes the Harvard Business School. Your first smile, which probably had no emotional significance, probably occurred a few hours after you were born. Within a couple of months, a baby starts to smile in response to a human face. Happy smiles, as documented by scientific studies, benefit your health in numerous ways.
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Brain Connection
Your smile muscles are connected to mood centers in your brain, notes Emory University's Blomeyer Health Fitness Center. A theory, first devised by Charles Darwin, contends that a feedback loop from the muscles that control smiling activates your brain's happy place and may put you in a brighter mood. Similarly, people who readily smile in response to something they find funny report being more amused than people who refrain from using their smile muscles. By contrast, people who have lost control of those muscles and are unable to smile show more frequent signs of depression.

Immune Boost
Laughter, which generally involves smiling, may improve your immunity and take away your pain, according to a study, published in the November-December 2010 issue of the journal "Alternative Therapies in Health and Medicine." Laughter offers physiological, psychological and spiritual benefits with virtually no contraindications -- medical reasons to abstain from it -- and almost no adverse side effects. Also, as far as your brain is concerned, it's just as effective to make yourself laugh as if you find a cartoon or something else in your environment to be humorous.

Pain Relief
Smiling causes a release of endorphins, your body's natural pain-relieving and feel-good hormones, notes Dr. David Beales, co-author of "Emotional Healing for Dummies." Practice releasing them by starting your day with a smile or smiling at yourself in the mirror when brushing your teeth, shaving or putting on makeup. Make it a point to share a smile with someone you meet during the day. Also, the company you keep will influence the number of smiles-per-day. The more smiles you desire, the more jovial people you will likely seek out or gravitate toward.

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Stress Reduction
Stress-reducing effects of smiling may include decreased levels of the stress hormone cortisol and lower blood pressure, according to a study, published in the January 2001 issue of the journal "Australian Family Physician." Smiling also improves your creativity, a vital function for effective problem-solving. In addition, assuming a position with your arms open, head tilted upward and your face smiling radiates pride and competence and decreases levels of cortisol, according to a study, published in the Sept. 21, 2010, issue of the journal "Psychological Science OnlineFirst."