Remembering to smile often can not only build more friendships, but also help you feel better.
And rather than waiting for a reason to smile, the simple physical change of literally turning that frown around could have an impact on emotions, experts say.
Research supports the fact that smiling is very helpful.
Some older research has focused on this “facial feedback hypothesis,” according to Jeanne Tsai, a longtime psychology professor at Stanford University who directs the Culture and Emotion Lab. In a classic study conducted in the late 1980s, researchers asked subjects to put a pencil between their lips and adopt a smile or frown while watching a positive film clip, such as a cartoon. Some subjects who smiled would feel the sensation of smiling more and would be more amused.
“When we demonstrated this in class, it works,” Tsai said. “When you’re doing it alone in a room, you’re not doing it as part of a social interaction, maybe it reminds you, or it’s the effect of remembering a good thing that happened that would put you in a better mood.”
At the Academy of Sciences and Arts of Orange County in Southern California, the power of a smile is taken very seriously. An entire section of the charter school group’s website is devoted to its philosophy that a smile can make a difference.
“Smiling creates a feeling of support classroom culture it makes students relaxed, active and motivated,” according to the website. “It increases emotional well-being, reduces stress and gives students confidence.”
This article is part of AP’s Be Well coverage, focusing on wellness, fitness, nutrition and mental health. Learn more Be well.
How smiling can benefit your health
Dr. Judy Ho, a clinical and forensic neuropsychologist in Los Angeles who also teaches at Pepperdine University, considers smiling a coping strategy with some patients suffering from depression or anxiety.
“I’m not saying it’s the only way to deal with problems,” Ho said. “It’s like another thing you can add to your toolbox.”
According to Ho, smiling can affect the level of cortisol, a hormone that the body releases in part to help regulate stress and mood. Smiling can affect brain chemicals associated with positive feelings, including endorphins, dopamine, and serotonin.
“People who smiled during stressful tasks generally demonstrated lower heart rates during recovery than those who maintained neutral expressions,” Ho said. “Smiling also reduces aspects of the body’s physiological response to stress.”
The hope is that if you smile enough, you will start to feel it emotionally.
“In a way, it’s like a mediating effect,” she added.
The value of a smile varies from culture to culture
The way a smile and even the opening of a smile are perceived are not universal. Tsai, the Stanford professor, has conducted research on how emotions in American culture emphasize trying to always feel positive and minimizing negativity and sadness. In East Asian cultures, emotion is more about balance.
“It’s like positive and negative emotions are tied together, and so you don’t want to feel too positive or too negative,” Tsai said. “You want more balance between the two.”
His previous studies also examined how Europeans, Americans and East Asians – including Taiwanese, South Koreans, Japanese and Hong Kong Chinese – perceive a “neutral or calm” smile compared to a straight smile. Subjects rated different facial expressions in terms of warmth and trustworthiness. While some Americans viewed excited smiles as more friendly, some East Asians characterized these facial expressions as “emotionally unstable” or “unreliable.”
“What kind of smile is important: whether it’s a calm, closed smile, more like the Dalai Lama’s, or a big, excited smile, like Julia Roberts’,” Tsai said. “We’ve done a series of studies in Taiwan and other East Asian settings. They don’t like the big, excited, toothy smile unless it’s really appropriate for the situation.”
In Thailand, nicknamed “the land of smiles”, smiling is anchored in the culture. There are almost 30 Thai words for “smile”. Many study abroad programs where people can teach English as a foreign language in Thailand cite that smiling often with children and colleagues is key to showing respect, good manners, and calmness.
At OCASA charter schools, smiling is part of an effort to make children feel seen.
“I always believed in making school a happy place for children,” said RaNae Posey, principal of OCASA Capistrano Elementary School. “To really help them get into the habit of looking on the bright side of things.”
Obligatory smiles can lead to more frowns
In recent years, women have rejected the idea that they have to smile in the workplace, while men don’t. Smiling can feel like a trap for some women and sometimes people of color who can be stereotyped as unapproachable or cold if they don’t smile enough.
Last year, retailer Target was ridiculed on social media for instituting a smile policy. Workers were required to smile and make eye contact if a customer was within 3 meters (10 feet) and greet them personally if they were within 1.2 meters (4 feet).
People don’t like feeling like they don’t have “emotional autonomy,” according to Nicholas Coles, an assistant professor who directs the Social Science Collaboratory at the University of Florida in Gainesville.
“In these scenarios, what we find is that you smile instead to lead yourself to misery,” Coles said. “Only when it feels authentic and intentional do I think it will have a real effect.”
As the holidays approach, more and more people may need to find smiles with family if sensitive topics like politics and religion come up. These might be good times to see if smiling helps.
“If we could just smile and say, ‘Look, this is someone who historically cares about you and loves you,’ maybe that would change the way we respond to him, even in a difficult moment of conversation,” Ho said.
Gn Health
