Smile - The sure route to happiness

by Rosanne Koelmeyer Anderson

Oops! Grumpy. Finding it difficult to smile? A smile is worth a thousand words afterall. Many people seem to find it difficult to smile. Preoccupied or indifferent, unhappy or sad, angry or depressed whatever it may be, the onlooker would not be able to fathom the reason for that grouchy appearance. But there are many connotations in a smile.

Did you know that a smile is a powerful part of our conversation capability. If you can't smile you are very limited in your ability to pass on information and relate to other people psychologists say.

In 1872, Charles Darwin in his book titled "The Expression of Emotion in Man and Animals" states that facial expressions are biologically based and universal among humans and therefore must provide an evolutionary advantage such as building kinship bonds, improving co-operation and helping increase the survival of the species.

In the 1960's psychologist Paul Ekman found out that the facial expressions like that of a joyful smile of people in any part of the world had the same emotional meaning.

Professor of Psychology, Ulrich Mueller says infants of depressed mothers show fewer signs of happiness and smile less often than infants of non-depressed mothers. The Duchenne smile or the first smile was named after the 19th century French neurologist who helped scientists discover that a genuine Duchenne smile is a marker of real happiness.

Today, give a stranger one of your smiles. It might be the only sunshine he sees all day. - H. Jackson Brown, Jr.

There may be more to the song "Put on a Happy Face" than just a catchy tune - putting on a happy face is actually good for you, and those around you.

Research has shown health benefits of laughter ranging from strengthening the immune system to reducing food cravings to increasing one's threshold for pain. There's even an emerging therapeutic field known as humour therapy to help people heal more quickly, among other things. Humour also has several important stress relieving benefits.

According to psychologists there a some plausible reasons why one ought to smile more. Laughter reduces the level of stress hormones like epinephrine, adrenaline, dopamine and growth hormone. It also increases the level of health-enhancing hormones like endorphins, and neurotransmitters producing a stronger immune system, as well as fewer physical effects of stress.

A good belly laugh exercises the diaphragm is said to contract the abs and even works out the shoulders, leaving muscles more relaxed afterward. It even provides a good workout for the heart.

Laughter also takes the focus away from anger, guilt, stress and negative emotions and puts you in a positive frame of mind. What's even better is that the more you smile, the more others will too. Says psychologist Dr. David Lewis, "Seeing a smile creates what is termed as a 'halo' effect, helping us to remember other happy events more vividly, feel more optimistic, more positive and more motivated.

"The research is very clear," says Christopher Peterson, Ph.D, a University of Michigan professor who's been studying optimism's link to health for over two decades, "This is not some social science generalization. There is a link between optimistic attitudes and good health.

It has been measured in a variety of ways. Overall, we have found that optimistic people are healthier. Their biological makeup is different. They have a more robust immune system," while according to The British Dental Health Foundation, a smile gives the same level of stimulation as eating 2,000 chocolate bars.

The results were found after researchers measured brain and heart activity in volunteers as they were shown pictures of smiling people and given money and chocolate. Finally we know that the ancient Chinese were a wise lot - wise in the ways of the world; and they had a proverb that you and I ought to cut out and paste. It goes like this: "A man without a smiling face must not open a shop." Your smile is a messenger of your good will. Your smile brightens the lives of all who see it.

To someone who has seen a dozen people frown, scowl or turn their faces away, your smile is like the sun breaking through the clouds. Especially when that someone is under pressure from his bosses, his customers, his teachers, parents or children, a smile can help him realise that all is not hopeless - that there is joy out there in the world.

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