Keep Smiling

A smile is a facial expression that is created through the flexing of facial muscles, predominantly located around the eyes and mouth, but often also including muscles located around the cheeks and brow, depending on the type of smile.

Evidence suggests that smiling occurs in all human beings at some points in their lives, regardless of our culture, and can actually begin before childbirth. Natural smiling and laughter occurs when we are genuinely happy and relaxed and we now know that this process has therapeutic health benefits, including the release endorphins from the brain that can reduce pain and which provide a sense of well-being. Smiling and laughing has also been linked with the reduction of stress, the prevention and cure for depression and also encouraging open-mindedness and freer thinking.

As humans we naturally love to laugh, on average adults laugh 15 times everyday. Laughing feels so good, can you remember the last time you laughed uncontrollably, tears running from your eyes and an inability to stop yourself – how good was that? And, I bet you are at the very least smiling now, just thinking about it.

The actual laughing process is a complex response, only experienced by humans (and possibly chimpanzee’s, though this is not easily recognized by humans), and so unique that people get paid a lot of money just to make people laugh. Think of someone you know who can make you laugh, it would be pretty hard not to like someone like that, now wouldn’t it.

As an extension of the smile, laughing helps you to release hormones beneficial in the prevention of disease and illness. Each time you laugh you literally improve your health, and the more you laugh the more your feel like laughing and the easier laughing becomes for you. Have you met people who laugh regularly, notice whether they look fresh, healthy and alive, most of them will do. Also notice whether their laughter makes you feel like laughing too, laughter is contagious and the mere sight of someone else laughing, particularly someone you have a bond with can signal the start of your laughing too.

From a psychological point of view smiling and laughing helps provide an emotional context within social situations, indicating to others where we fit within a conversation and indicating that we feel positive and have a level of acceptance within the interaction.

Why do we laugh?
Scientists have confirmed that there is no specific area in the brain that is responsible for laughter. We laugh for many reasons, because we find something funny, because we feel superior to someone, because a situation worked out well, at ourselves for messing up, because we have avoided danger and because we want to fit in. Whatever the reason for our laughter, however honourable, laughter has the same therapeutic benefit.

Laughter happens when we interpret something, a person or a situation in a certain way, because we are following the rules of human nature or conversation, and then something else happens, throwing us and causing amusement. Or sometimes when we are expecting disaster, and then the impending danger is avoided, this will cause a release that often occurs in the form of laughter.

Becoming happier
Smiling and laughter, the symptoms of happiness and joy, have such widely accepted health benefits, both physical, emotional and for general well-being that we should be doing all that we can to increase our happy levels.

You can try to laugh more, at first it may seem forced, but you can genuinely find humour all over the place, and as we have identified, humour doesn’t have to come from the most honourable sources, if you find something funny, then find it funny and smile and laugh at it.

Try to be more humorous, well timed humour like telling a joke, or being observational can start both yourself and others laughing. Be careful to be funny though, poorly timed and in-appropriate humour can have negative effects.

Humorists tend to come from academic backgrounds because humour often comes from seeing a different unexpected side to a situation, you often have to think laterally, or outside the box and as such becoming more humorous can actually expand your mind, try it!

Laughter can also be used to transform your mood, when you are in a situation and you begin to feel angry or upset, try to find something funny in the situation. If you are with someone imagine them with pink hair or wearing cross-dress clothing, anything that can make you smile or laugh and you will feel better instantly, with the negative emotions releasing from your body.

Try to laugh at least 15 times a day, if you watch television try and watch more comedy, listen to light-hearted radio and read less serious materials and you will notice the benefits within just a few days.

Smiles and Laughs really are a tonic for the sole, there really are no downsides, they are something you can do naturally, they cost nothing and they can be shared or kept to yourself, have a laugh when you can and feel the benefits unfold.