How Smiling Changes Your Brain


How Smiling Changes Your Brain

Putting on a happy face doesn’t just make you more likeable; it makes you healthier, both good for your career.

Few people would argue that smiling is bad for you, but new research is showing just how many ways smiling is beneficial to your career and well-being.

We know smiling can greatly improve your mood and reduce stress. Smiling doesn’t just benefit you on the inside. It also works to your advantage from the outside. A study has found that people who smile appear to be more likeable, courteous. and even competent. This is reason enough to smile at every person you potentially want to do business with. Lifting those facial muscles into a smile is also contagious; if you smile and they smile, everyone in the room becomes a little happier.

Why is a smile so powerful? It all comes down to how smiling can change your brain. When you smile, your brain is aware of the activity and actually keeps track of it. The more you smile, the more effective you are at breaking the brain’s natural tendency to think negatively. If you smile often enough, you end up rewiring your brain to make positive patterns more often than it does negative ones.

Happiness is a work ethic. It’s something that requires our brains to train just like an athlete has to train. The more we train, the easier it becomes to think positively, shut out negativity, and, in turn, boost your productivity and creativity, which allows you to perform better at work and life.

Yes, all of those benefits can come from a simple smile. The more you do it, the more signals your brain will have to mentally shift to positive thoughts even when you might be in a situation that would normally cause you alarm.

Aside from your mental state, smiling can also end up saving your life. Our cells are more than just fortuitous arrangements of chemicals, they are a community of trillions of sentient entities cooperating to create a sanctuary for the human soul.

Scientifically speaking, smiling more is a great thing for your life. It doesn’t cost you anything to do it. Your career might even take a turn for the better as productivity increases, your attention span and cognitive abilities are improved, and you exude competence everywhere you go.

With all of the benefits above, who wouldn’t want to start smiling more?

Credit: Vivian Giang Photo: Aktim