Blogpost 7: The Power Of Your Smile

I believe in the power that a simple smile can bring. Living in a chaotic world where crime rates are on the rise, people are abused, innocent loved once are being killed and anything can happen in the blink of an eye. I believe that a simple smile can remind others that the world is still full of kind people and still full of hope.

According to "There's Magic In Your Smile" an article written  by Sarah Stevenson, the act of smiling activates neural messaging that benefits our health and happiness. Neuropeptides are tiny molecules that allow neurons to communicate. They facilitate messaging to the whole body when we are happy, sad, angry, depressed, excited. The feel good neurotransmitters dopamine, endorphins and serotonin are all released when a smile flashes across your face as well. Finally, the serotonin release brought on by our smile serves as an anti-depressant/mood lifter. Many of today’s pharmaceutical anti-depressants also influence the levels of serotonin in your brain, but with a smile, we don’t have to worry about negative side effects and we don’t need a prescription from our doctor. When we smile, people treat us differently. We're viewed as attractive, reliable, relaxed and sincere. A study published in the journal Neuropsychologia reported that seeing an attractive smiling face activates our orbitofrontal cortex, the region in our brain that process sensory rewards. It also explains the 2011 findings by researchers at the Face Research Laboratory at the University of Aberdeen, Scotland. Subjects were asked to rate smiling and attractiveness. They found that both men and women were more attracted to images of people who made eye contact and smiled than those who did not. 

"We can’t always control what happens to us, but I am 100% confident that gracing your face with a grin can seriously change your internal and external experience. Your smile is something that should be worn often, so make it a priority to surround yourself with people, places and things that brighten your day," Sarah said. 

I agree with what Sarah mentioned, we do not have the control in what will happen to us. But we should always smile to the people around us because maybe it will be the last. Through our smile, we gain friends and we also experience new happenings in our life. They said that we should start our day with a smile because it will be the start of a new productive day for all of us. 

Another good article I've read was written by Julia Layton entitled "Explanations for Why Smiling Causes Happiness". She said that the theory goes back to Darwin, who proposed in the 19th century that facial expressions didn't only reflect emotions, but also caused them however, there is a lack of good evidence. But in the 1980s, some interesting studies on the physiology of smiling brought it back into the consciousness of the psychology field. Dr. Zajonc's research took this observation further, into a full-fledged proposal for why a smile might trigger happiness. When facial muscles are activated in an expression, the biochemical processes associated with those areas of the face are altered according to their temperature change. And research suggests that a cooler brain creates good emotions, while a warmer brain produces negative emotions. Dr. Zajonc points to the part of the body called the internal carotid artery, which is the pipe that delivers the majority of blood to the brain. This artery flows through an opening called the cavernous sinus, which contains lots of facial veins. When someone smiles, causing certain facial muscles to stretch and tighten, veins are constricted. This would cut down on the blood flowing to the cavernous sinus, which in turn would reduce the amount of blood flowing through the carotid artery to the brain. Less blood volume means the temperature of that blood drops. When that cooler blood gets to the brain, brain temperature would drop too, triggering a happy feeling.    

Julia Layton said, "Even proponents of the theory don't suggest that smiling can make unhappiness go away. The theory basically states that in a state of emotional neutrality, putting a smile on your face can tip you in the direction of a positive feeling."

Smile is a beautiful thing. It's a symbol of happiness. I believe that a smile is one of the most powerful gift that we as humans, possess. It is our ability to create and express our infinite love. So today, smile often. Smile at yourself and smile at your loved one. And whatever that thing that we love to do, do it and share it with someone. And do it all with a smile, knowing that we are spreading love, joy and inspiration.