Express words: Smile and laugh for mind and body health By Tracey Vale

Smiling and laughter lifts the spirits, improving mind health as well as concentration, immunity and physical health. Scientists have discovered that even forcing yourself to smile has the effect of boosting your mood. A smile releases ‘feel good’ brain chemicals, or endorphins, to boost mood and relieve stress and anxiety. A smile also releases serotonin, a natural, stress-reducing chemical and reduces stress hormones such as cortisol and dopamine.

Smiling and laughter also strengthens the immune system and boosts physical health. It causes the body to increase production of antibodies and white blood cells, thereby boosting immunity.

Studies have shown that smiling lowers blood pressure. Add some laughter and you are gaining overall health benefits through toning the stomach muscles and exercising the diaphragm and heart. Vigorous laughter increases the heart rate and breathing rate. Vanderbilt University scientists discovered that laughter can increase your burning of calories by an impressive 20 percent.

As a universal sign of happiness, smiles also make you seem more confident, sociable and attractive. It has been shown that people who smile more are more likely to be promoted at work. A study from the Scotland University of Aberdeen, revealed that participants chose people who were smiling to indicate the category of ‘attractive’. Another study revealed that 69 percent of male participants believed a woman was more attractive when she smiled, rather than wearing make-up.

Smiling increases life expectancy. The University of Illinois conducted a research study that revealed that people with a happy disposition, who smiled more often, increase their life expectancy by almost ten years. Similarly, laughter reduces stress, anxiety and anger, contributing to increased physical and mental health.

A 2010 study from Wayne State University analysed baseball cards, from Major League players of 1952, to prove increased life expectancy. The study found that the athletes who were smiling broadly in their picture, lived an average seven years longer than their non-smiling counterparts.

Smiling also strengthens relationships and attracts happier people to you. It is contagious, as proven in a Swedish experiment where participants couldn’t resist smiling when seeing others do likewise. Remember the famous quote: "Smile and the whole world smiles with you"?

A study at the University of California Berkeley used the year book pictures of 21-year-old women, then analysed their lives 30 years later. Those with the biggest smiles in their year book photos were all found to have stronger marriages and better wellbeing and overall health, based on psychological and physical health tests, than those who didn’t.

The benefits of a positive, healthy attitude have been well-documented for recovery from illness, with many hospitals adopting programs to boost happiness and increase laughter. Researchers found that just one hour of comedy-watching, boosted tumour-fighting cells in test tubes, with effects lasting for up to 12 hours.

Smile, laugh and reap the rewards.

References

http://health.yahoo.net/experts/dayinhealth/science-smiles Article titled Surprising Facts About Smiling, by Lisa Collier Cool, which cites the book Smile: The Astonishing power of a Simple Act, by Ron Gutman, TED Books, 2011. Cited online 12/10/12.

http://www.nursingschools.net/blog/2010/07/say-cheese-15-fascinating-facts-about-smiling/ Cited online 12/10/12.

http://www.ihavenet.com/Health-Top-10-Surprising-Facts-About-Smiling-BSBY.html Cited online 12/10/12.

http://www.drstandley.com/facts_laughing.shtml Cited online 12/10/12.