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“Sometimes joy is the source of your smile, but sometimes your smile can be the source of your joy”

Smiling. It’s the universal code for happiness: we smile when we’re laughing, when we’re joyful, when we’ve just received great news (we also smile when things aren’t so great, but more on that here).

We’re so used to smiling when we’re happy that researchers reckon we can make that happen the wrong way round: that if we smile while we’re feeling down, we can actually make ourselves happy. It’s the age-old ‘fake-it-til-you-make-it’ tactic in practice.

Spiritual leader Thich Nhat Hanh said that ‘sometimes joy is the source of your smile, but sometimes your smile can be the source of your joy’. The idea that smiling can put you in a good mood has been floating around for years – but researchers and scientists are increasingly finding that there could be real science behind the supposed old wives’ tale.

Psychologists at Tennessee University found that our facial movements have more impact on our mood than we might think.

The researchers found that smiling had the potential to put subjects in a good mood – while scowling could make subjects unhappy and moody. Basically, pretending to have an emotion made subjects really feel it – not such an old wives’ tale after all, it looks like.

It makes sense, when you think about it, since smiling releases neurotransmitters dopamine, endorphins and serotonin, all of which help to make us feel great – they relax our body and can reduce our heart rate and blood pressure.

Being happier and more relaxed has a positive impact on the way people around you perceive you. As you start to feel better on the inside, others’ perception of you is positively impacted, too: smiling signals to the people around you that you’re feeling happy, and the feeling can be contagious.  

Humans are simple creatures, and researchers have found that, through the process of mimicry (an evolutionary trait which produces empathy), humans who see other humans smile are likely to copy, even when they don’t realise they’ve moved any muscles at all!

One experiment had subjects look at images of people smiling and frowning and asked them to discern their facial expressions. When the subjects looked at the images with free movement in their face, they were able to identify the smiles and frowns with ease. In a second test, however, a pencil was placed in the mouths of the subjects, making it difficult for them to move their face – and researchers found that subjects found it far more difficult to assess whether the people in the images were smiling or not. Researchers concluded that mimicry is an essential part of understanding one another – which explains, in part, why smiling is so contagious.

Smiling suppresses the control we usually have on our facial muscles, though anyone who’s been unable to stop smiling or giggling at the most inappropriate moment knows that all too well.

It’s also far more difficult to block a smile than it is to block a frown – meaning frowns don’t have the same contagious effects that smiles do.

That means that once you’ve started smiling to improve your own mood, you can have a knock-on effect on those around you and kickstart a domino effect of smiling.

Ron Gutman has shared his findings, among other researchers’ discoveries, about the impact of smiling, and about how it can change not just your day, but your whole life.

Gutman says that researchers found they were able to predict how happy individuals would be in the future based on how genuine their smiles were in year book photos: the more genuine someone’s smile in their photo, the more likely they were to be in a happy marriage years later.

And that’s not all: researchers also looked at pre-1950s US Baseball cards and, as Gutman puts it, ‘researchers found that the span of a player’s smile could actually predict the span of his life’ – players who had a beaming smile in their photograph lived an average of 79.9 years, while player who didn’t smile in their photo lived an average of 72.9 years.

So, it looks like smiling can do way more than just showing that you’re happy – it can make you happy in the first place, get others smiling, and even increase your life expectancy.

It’s worth looking after something that can have such an impact on your day and life: maintaining a healthy and happy smile can lead to a happier and healthier life.

Psst…with Brushbox, looking after your smile is easier than ever. Subscribe today for regular toothbrush deliveries that’ll leave you wondering how you ever did without them.

Our smile says a lot about us, and it’s one of the first things people notice when they look at us. However, a smile isn’t *just* a sign of happiness, and that little upside down frown can mean something completely different depending on the situation. We’ve broken down the truths of five smiles and what they *really* mean…

The “of course I don’t mind” smile: 🙃

Let’s face it, of course you mind that your coworker picked you up a caramel latte instead of an Americano, but there’s no point upsetting Karen at the cost of an unnecessarily sugary drink.

This is the smile you reserve for those little inconveniences that life is known for, and it’s the way of showing the world that you will bend but you shall not break! So what if you paid £4.50 for a drink you didn’t want? You’re going to raise your take-away cup and grin at Karen through the sugar rush.

The “I definitely know what you’re talking about” smile: 🙂

Whether it’s the constant roar of noise in an overcrowded bar, or you’re listening to that batty relative natter on over a family meal - sometimes it’s hard to keep track of what’s being said.  Instead of constantly repeating “I’m sorry, I missed what you said”, this smile is meant to convince the recipient that their message has been clearly delivered and received.

The “my bad” smile: 😅

We all make mistakes, it’s a necessary part of life, but some are definitely worse than others. Forgetting an anniversary? Not great, but you’ll make up for it. Forgetting to grab the milk when you went to the supermarket? Could be worse - you could’ve left the kid at the shops.

For those little whoopsies, the chagrined smile and an apologetic mumble will soothe most social upsets. Eating the last biscuit but leaving the empty packet in the cupboard however, that’s inexcusable.

The “caught in the act” smile: 😇

You’ve been spotted - your hand in the metaphorical cookie jar. What do you do? Try and talk your way out of it? No, you charm your way out with the cheekiest of all smiles.

This is one of the first smiles we ever learnt as little ones. We learnt that no one could resist a cheeky smile. Unfortunately we couldn’t keep the chubby cheeks and the youthful cuteness that makes this smile such a successful one. Oh well, worth a shot anyway.

The “showstopper” smile: 😁

Karen in accounting asks if you’ve had work done. John from reception asks if you’ve had a hair cut. Susan from sales asks if you’ve been on holiday. You are magnificent and positively show-stopping and everyone wants to know your secret.

But a cheeky brow lift, hair cut, or holiday aren’t the answer. You’re using Brushbox’s whitening toothpaste with your eco-friendly bamboo toothbrush, and you’re smashing through your box of floss and putting your tongue cleaner to work. Your smile is absolutely dazzling thanks to your  Brushbox subscription and you are letting the world know it.

Our smiles are a very important part of day to day life, and making sure it’s a happy and healthy one is crucial. Whether you’re trying to hide a little mistake, or stunning the cute barista at your local coffee shop, keep your smile at it’s best with Brushbox.