The importance of a smile is inestimable. When meeting someone for the first time, your smile will be one of the first aspects of your personality that is conveyed to them. If you are not confident enough to smile, that will come across in the way you act, and the way in which you are perceived.
The famous American writer and lecturer once said: “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.”
The contagion of a smile
The contagion of a smile on other people is obvious to see, but that contagion needs to be there for yourself as well. Often we hear the phrase that ‘his smile didn’t reach his eyes’, and that is a firm indicator that someone might be struggling with their own emotions and happiness.
Yet by putting some effort into smiling, the very act can help you to elevate your own mood – you can ‘trick’ yourself into being happy irrespective of whether or not you are feeling it in that moment.
What happens when you smile is that the movement of the muscles tiggers the release of neuropeptides which are the transmitters for the happy hormones, dopamine and serotonin. The purpose of these hormones is simply to make you feel better. Simply by smiling you have naturally managed to boost your mood without any external interference.
This is the power of the smile.
Yet too often people are embarrassed by the state of their teeth. Bad teeth are more often than not the result of poor dental health, but genetics can also play a part. Dentistry has advanced to such a degree now that treatment is both affordable and accessible, and the range of treatments on offer can resolve a lifetime of issues. An investment in your teeth is an investment in your future confidence.
If you’re teeth have deteriorated beyond repair, then implants can give you your life back! If they’re a little crooked then Invisalign clear braces will soon fix the issue – braces are no longer just for teenagers!
The health giving benefits of a smile
But a smile does not just boost your emotional wellbeing – it can also have a dramatic effect on your physical wellbeing too.
We have already established that when you smile, you release dopamine and serotonin. As well as boosting your mood, these hormones also have a positive effect on your immune system, protecting you against seasonal sniffles and other cold and flu like symptoms.
Smiling also have an effect on your blood pressure as well as lowering pain. Endorphins and serotonin are natural painkillers. When you smile you not only feel immediately better, but you also relax. The more relaxed you are, the better your body can deal with pain. As soon as your body tenses again, your body is more susceptible to feeling pain more intensely.
Make the effort to smile even when you’re down
We all know that it takes more muscles to frown than to smile, but sometimes it can feel so hard to make that change. We get stuck in a rut when we believe that giving a smile takes so much effort – but it is a rut that is easy to get out of very quickly!
Just remember that smiling has been shown to lengthen the time you spend on this earth. Your smile is one of the most important elements to contributing towards this long life!
