The power of a smile
/So. Much. Information.
There are times when I feel overwhelmed with all the health and wellness information available to us nowadays - the studies, the podcasts, the blogs (!), social media, the experts, the non-experts, the sensational headlines. It’s like a background of incessant chatter and whoever yells the loudest wins.
It can be exhausting (and that’s coming from someone who loves this stuff).
So it was utter joy to read the following piece at my dentist’s office recently - something so simple and so accessible, with big rewards for both the giver and the receiver:
S M I L E :)
It lengthens life;
releases endorphins
and kills pain;
slows the heart;
reduces the stress anxiety;
helps the body relax
and this lets the immune system
react more quickly
and effectively
against invaders;
it makes you appear more
confident, trustworthy,
attractive and younger;
makes you more creative
and productive;
it will be more likely
to earn more money
through tips and raises;
it’s contagious;
it’s free
& a smile is the prettiest thing
you can wear.
What incredible benefits from something so easy.
Backed up by science
Science has shown that the mere act of smiling (whether it’s a real smile or a fake smile – more on that shortly) can lift your mood, lower your stress, boost your immune system and possibly even prolong your life.
A smile literally spurs a chemical reaction in our brains – releasing certain hormones, including dopamine and serotonin. And we know that dopamine increases our feelings of happiness, and a serotonin release is associated with reduced stress – both positively impacting our emotional health.
Laughing helps too
To that end, there was an interesting article in the Globe and Mail a couple of weeks ago, titled, “The science behind why laughter can help you live life to the fullest”. The author, psychiatrist Thomas Verny, starts the article by saying that laughter has positive, quantifiable physiological and psychological effects. It then goes on to list all the same health benefits as a smile, with the addition of improving pain tolerance.
Do you suffer from high blood pressure? Laughter increases blood flow in our body (whereas stress constricts our blood flow). In fact, the positive impact laughter has on our endothelium (the tissue lining our blood vessels) has a cascade effect throughout our body, including potentially decreasing the risk of cardiovascular disease.
Do you suffer from high blood sugar? Kazuo Murakami, a Japanese geneticist and author, carried out an experiment with diabetics, showing that laughter can lower blood sugar.
Fake it till you make it
As for the “fake it till you make it” approach – smiling and laughing when you don’t feel like it, but pushing yourself to do it anyway – that works too. The group, Laughter Yoga International is an exercise program developed by a physician, where people laugh without depending on humour or jokes. It is not only practiced in 110 countries around the world, but they also have groups that work specifically with people suffering from depression, individuals with special needs and people with cancer.
On that note, Mark Dryden (mentioned in Tom Verney’s article), is a two-time cancer survivor, comedian, actor and motivational speaker, who depended on humour during his recovery. He advises, “If your life is touched by cancer, laughter should be a part of your regular therapy”.
Of course I’m not saying that smiling and laughter is the only medicine – of course it’s important to eat well, exercise and get your sleep. But sometimes, in this whirlwind world, replete with terrible grief and sadness at the moment, it might just take a smile or a laugh to lift our spirits and help heal our bodies.
And the icing on the cake – by smiling at someone else, you might even make their day.
Thanks for reading :)
Gillian x
PS - Fall has definitely arrived, and for those of you in Toronto and surrounding area, my Walk & Talk Wellness Reset is going strong. It's a fantastic way to get the therapeutic benefits of a walk in nature while getting personalized nutritional and lifestyle recommendations. Let me help you get your brain and body fine-tuned to help take you to the next level. You can reach me by replying to this email or at gbwellness.ca.