Why You Should Smile More
A genuine smile is always your best feature, which is one reason why you should do it more often! We tend to think of a smile as a product of confidence, happiness, and good fortune but, in fact, a smile can be the cause of these things too. With so many benefits associated with grinning, beaming, and laughing, take a look at these top reasons why you should smile more:
1. Minimize Your Stress Levels
Stress can have a negative impact on your quality of life, as well as your emotional health, which is why it’s vital to reduce your stress levels whenever you can. As well as using stress management techniques, like exercise or meditation, to manage stress, you’ll be amazed at how effective smiling can be.
Even if you don’t feel particularly joyful, smiling can trigger a more relaxed bodily environment. This naturally reduces your stress levels and can even eradicate symptoms of stress, such as a fast heart rate and anxiety.
2. Boost Self-Confidence
Smiling can have a significant impact on how confident you feel, and it also affects how confident others think you are. If you’ve ever heard the phrase, ‘fake it ‘til you make it’, you’ll know exactly what we mean. Even if you’re experiencing self-doubt, plastering a smile on your face and acting confidently can help you to develop genuine self-confidence.
Despite this, many people continue to feel self-conscious about their smile. If this is something that’s holding you back, it’s well worth talking to your dentist. With treatment from a reputable dentist, like Keystone Dentistry, you can transform your smile and boost your confidence. From dental implants and orthodontics to teeth whitening and veneers, there are a variety of treatments that can enhance your smile.
3. Smiling is Contagious
Mirror neurons are one of the cells that help us to imitate the behavior of others, even though we do it unintentionally. When you smile at someone, chances are they will return the gesture by smiling back. They may even do this without realizing but that doesn’t diminish the impact it has.
While smiling is a great way to boost your own confidence and reduce your stress levels, you can also prompt this reaction in other people. When you smile at someone and they smile back, they reap the benefits too. This ‘contagious smile’ means you can have a transformative impact on yourself and others, simply by smiling more often.
4. You’re More Attractive
Unsurprising, we’re all more attractive when we smile, so, if you want to look your best, it’s important to smile as frequently as you can. However, smiling isn’t just about looking good – it also changes how others react to you.
When you smile, you create more warmth between yourself and the recipient. This can foster feelings of ease, relaxation, and friendship. By smiling more frequently, you’ll notice how easy it is to make connections, break down barriers, and expand your social circle. Whether you’re at work, at home, or out and about, becoming more approachable, friendly, and attractive is always a good thing.
5. Lower Your Blood Pressure
Smiling can have an immediate impact on your blood pressure and can cause it to drop quite significantly. Similarly, laughing causes your heart rate to increase temporarily before causing your muscles and heart to relax. At the same time, it causes your blood pressure to drop, which can help to reduce your risk of heat-related illnesses.
Currently, nearly 45% of adults in the U.S. have high blood pressure, which can be a precursor to stroke, heart failure, and vascular dementia. Due to this, it’s vital that people are able to reduce their blood pressure to a healthy level. With a simple smile, you can substantially affect your blood pressure and boost your health in the process.
Learning to Smile More Often
Now you know just how beneficial smiling can be, you’ll want to make a conscious effort to smile more often throughout the day. There are various ways to do this but setting yourself reminders with sticky notes is a simple yet effective way to remind yourself to smile. If you enjoy taking selfies, treat yourself to a little photo session, and capture yourself smiling broadly. Alternatively, start an email or message chain with a group of friends and post funny images or memes throughout the day.
No matter what strategies you use, making the effort to smile more frequently offers an array of benefits – both for yourself and for other people.
