“Sometimes your joy is the source of your smile, but sometimes your smile is the source of your joy.” Those wise words were by Vietnamese Buddhist monk and peace activist, Thich Nhat Hanh.

The power of the smile is often underestimated. If you observe the expressions of the people that you meet and those around you, you’ll realise that generally, a smile is not really an expression that is given generously to others, despite it being absolutely free!

Truth is, smiling can do wonders. It doesn’t just make you more likeable, it also improves your health and your relationship with those around you.

Want to know more about how such a simple act can improve your life? Read on and discover the magical effect of smiling.

1. Makes You More Attractive

A frown or a face without any expression, is certainly not the way to go if you’re planning on getting the attention of that hottie sitting just across your table. However, a smile, will certainly do the work. Believe it or not, smiling actually makes you look better, more approachable and sincere. Though, don’t just smile only when there’s a good-looking person in front of you. A study published in the journal Neuropsychologia found that when you smile or when you see a person smiling, you will actually feel rewarded.

So, be sure to smile at everyone who crosses their path with yours. After all, it makes you look amazing!

2. Positively Affects Your Brain

Did you know that each time you smile, your brain ‘lights up’? Smiling actually activates neurotransmitters in your brain which helps to improve your health and happiness levels.

These neurotransmitters are known as dopamine, endorphins and serotonin. All of them are released the moment you smile and you will be able enjoy its immediate benefits.

They include:

• Dopamine – Helps you to regulate your emotional responses and enables you to see rewards and take action towards them.
• Endorphins – A natural pain reliever which does not have any negative side effects.
• Serotonin – Lifts your mood and serves as an anti-depressant which does not require a prescription.
• The best part of this ‘feel-good squad’ is that, they’re 100 percent organic too!

3. Crushes Cortisol Hormones

Cortisol hormones influences your stress levels. When these hormones are active, you feel stressed up and anxious. Hence, causing you to have negative feelings.

So, when you smile, the neurotransmitters that are emitted by your brain (as mentioned in Effect 2.), helps you to reduce cortisol. Hence, allowing you to enjoy and see life from a more positive perspective.

That is why, instead of pulling your hair off when you’re caught in a stressful situation, smile instead and you’ll be amazed how magical this effect can be.

4. It Makes The World A Better Place

With all the negativity that the world is dealing with, isn’t it time for you to take action and make the world a better place to live in? Well, smiling can help! Did you know that your smile is actually contagious?

A special part of the human brain is designated to be responsible for your facial expressions. So, when the brain registers that it sees a smile from a person, it will automatically respond by mimicking a smile.

Now that you know a smile is contagious, try it for yourself by smiling at others and encourage others to enjoy the benefits of smiling. You’ll most likely receive a smile in return because it is only natural if the person smiles back. However, if the person doesn’t, that only goes to show that he or she is making a conscious effort to avoid smiling.

Well, at the end of the day, that’s alright because there’s no harm with you smiling away.

5. It Makes You A Better Leader

Researchers at the University of Montpellier in France, discovered that smiling is a more effective leadership quality that having good management responsibilities.

So, if you’re a leader or would like to be one, never forget to have a smile on your face. After all, being a horrible boss with an intimidating vibe is so yesterday. Being a leader is also about improving the lives of others. The next time you plan on showing off your leadership skills, don’t forget to smile!

Now that you have discovered the wonders of smiling, don’t hesitate to flash your pearly whites each time you feel the need to.

Would You Like To Smile More? Here’s How!

Smiling can bring so much of joy in life. Here are a few simple ways on how you can laugh, smile and enjoy your day :

• Spend time with people that make you happy – Surround yourself with people who are loving, optimistic and sees the brighter side of life. Soon enough, you’ll unconsciously realise that you’ve caught their vibe and you’ll start to have much happier days in your life.
• Watch something that makes you laugh – Subscribe to your favourite comedy channel or identify media platforms that air shows that makes you de-stress and laugh. This is a great way to switch your mind from feeling stressful to feeling happier.
• Smile regularly – You brain does not know between a genuine or fake smile. So even if you have to, force a smile on your face and feel better. This also increases the chances of you laughing and smiling spontaneously.