A smile may seem simple, but it is more powerful than you might think. It has an impact on your happiness, self-esteem, and overall health. So, let’s review how a smile can bring joy into your life during these uncertain times.

Benefits of Smiling

Everybody knows what it’s like to have a bad day. You sleep late, the car gives you trouble, or you spill coffee in your lap. But if you run into someone who is smiling, before you know it, you’re smiling, too. Then that bad day doesn’t seem so bad. A simple smile can change the tone and course of your day.

Here’s something you might not know—smiling has been proven scientifically to make you happy. And it can do more than that.

Elevates Your Mood

A smile not only makes you look happy, but it can also make you feel happy, as well. When you’re smiling, facial muscles trigger neurotransmitters into your system that make you feel great. These include endorphins, serotonin, and dopamine.  Endorphins make you relax and feel happy and act as a suppressant for discomfort or stress. Serotonin and dopamine are the natural antidepressant molecules of the brain, and we now know that smiling makes you create more of these.

Decreases Stress

We’ve all been under stress. But perhaps we don’t know that smiling can help relieve stressors by causing serotonin release. Smiling will increase serotonin levels, decrease anxiety, and lower the heart rate. So, the next time you feel stress come on, try smiling or watching a short video that will make you laugh. You may be surprised how much of a difference this can make.

Boosts Your Immune System

Smiling can leave us feeling less depressed and more positive whether the act is fake or real. This has been proven through scientific studies. Other tests have determined that smiling makes our bodies more resilient to the flu or common cold. Participants in these studies report that they feel more positive and happier and have a lower risk of becoming sick. One research study even suggests that smiling will help us live longer.

It’s Contagious

We’ve all heard the axiom, “When you’re smiling, the whole world smiles with you.” And we know it’s true because we see it in our lives. When someone smiles at us, we return the smile. The reaction is called facial mimicry. When we see someone smile, our brain registers the expression, and we’re likely to return it.

So, a smile can boost your mood and help others’ moods as well. Your smile could start a chain reaction that can influence an entire room.

Smiling Impacts Your Appearance and Confidence

Now let’s get to something we all would like to experience. Did you know that smiling can affect your appearance? It makes you look approachable, relaxed, and friendly. And get this, it makes you look younger, too. Now, if that’s not a selling point to smile more—what is?

Smiling makes you seem more open to others. This will have people wanting to spend time with you. And having more friends will increase your confidence and elevate your self-esteem.

Oral Health is Good for Your Overall Health

At Hill Country Oral Surgery in Austin, we understand that a healthy mouth helps you with a healthy body. That’s why we tell our patients to get regular oral check-ups to maintain overall health. If you would like to learn more about attaining a confident smile, we would love to talk to you.

Call us at 512-327-7233 or Request a Consultation.