An Easy Way to Relieve Stress

Did you know that smiling changes your physiology instantaneously?  A simple smile is an easy way to alter what you are feeling and experiencing in life.  Let’s try an experiment.  Get a slight smile on your face and hold it for ten seconds.  Notice what happens inside of you as the ten seconds tick by.  If you are like me you will feel lightness and a letting go of stress.  Some people find that the slight smile quickly turns into a huge grin.  They just can’t help it. 

In a world full of pressure and anxiety, the smile can provide a brief respite. 

Facts about Smiling

1.  A smile is a universal expression of happiness and recognized as such by all cultures.

2.  A smile is the most frequently used facial expression It takes as few as five pairs of facial muscles and as many as all 53 to smile.

3.   Regardless of the precise number of muscles used, smiling causes far fewer muscles to contract and expand than frowning.

4.  Smiling releases endorphins and makes us feel better.

5.  Even ‘faking’ a smile can lead to feeling happier.

6.  People are born with the ability to smile (They don’t copy the expression, even babies who are born blind, smile).

7.  Babies reserve special smiles (Duchenne smiles of joy and happiness) for their loved ones.

8.  A newborn shows a preference for a smiling face over a non-smiling face.

9.  Women smile more than men.

10. Younger people smile more than older people. American males with high testosterone smile least of all.

11. There are 18 different kinds of smile used in a variety of social situations.

12.  Human beings can differentiate between the ‘felt’ (Duchenne) smile (of joy and happiness) and the social smile – ‘it’s in the eyes’ (literally).

13.  A smiling person is judged to be more pleasant, attractive, sincere, sociable, and competent than a non-smiling person.

 14.  A person who studies laughter is called a ‘gelotologist’. From Raisingkids.com

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What a powerful thing the smile is.  And it is FREE!

“Sometimes your joy is the source of your smile, but sometimes your smile can be the source of your joy.”                          

-Thich Nhat Hanh 

Combine the smile with an affirmative declaration and you have a formula for changing your energy and then changing your life. 

Are you taking advantage of all of the things a simple smile can do for you?