My Nerdy Life

The Science of Smiling: If You’re Sad, Just Smile!

Everybody has their down days, and sometimes it just feels like the world is against you. But don’t fret, there’s an incredibly simple way to help you break out of your melancholy. It turns out, that it’s possible to improve your mood simply by smiling. Today’s post is a bit of a departure from the more recent content on personal finance and travelling, but one that I feel is equally, if not more, important. What good is saving up all that money and mastering the art of rewards travel if you’re not in a good mood to actually enjoy it? So let’s dive into some of the science of smiling.

There’s lots of reasons for sadness and in many instances it is an entirely healthy feeling to experience. Sometimes though, it can be very distracting and prevent you from enjoying life, or performing as well as you might otherwise. I recall many times in university being stressed out about exams and having moments where I felt like it would take a miracle to pass (it turns out I could pass without miracles, who knew?! haha). Nonetheless stress can put your mood down in the dumps, and even negatively impact your ability to perform to your full potential, so improving your mood can have all kinds of benefits.

Mirroring

No I don’t mean go stare at yourself in a mirror, although that could affect your mood too. I mean being around people in a good or bad mood can drastically affect your mood. I tend to be a homebody and sometimes if I’m having a stressful day, staying home by myself can be the worst thing for me to do. So instead of wallowing in your own gloomy day, get out and see some (happy) friends. Humans are social creatures, and we psychologically mirror the people around us. So a group of people can quite literally feed-off of each other, at least emotionally anyway. No cannibalism allowed, unless you’re a black widow spider that somehow learned to read (like Dory)!

This effect can also be circular and snowball. If one person is laughing and having a good time, than the people around them are more likely to do the same. It’s the same reason comedians typically have a warm-up act. Once the crowd starts laughing, it’s easier to keep them laughing. Watching a comedic movie can have a similar effect and cheer you up by mirroring the mood of the movie.

When you’re happy, endorphins are produced, which trigger your facial muscles to make you smile. When your facial muscles contract, they send a signal back to the brain to stimulate your internal reward system,which further increases the production of hormones and endorphins associated with happiness. Much like the power of compounding (just couldn’t resist a finance reference, haha), this causes a positive feedback loop, which can put people into giggly moods for extended periods of time.

Fake it Until You Make it

Of course the best smiles are genuine ones, but at that point you’re already in a good mood. If you’re feeling down, and just want to break out of a bad mood, a fake smile can go a long way. As it turns out, forcing a smile will actually cause your brain to release endorphins that will improve your mood, even if it’s a fake smile.

 

 

When we simile genuinely, your brain associates the movement of your facial muscles (the zygomaticus major muscle and orbicularis oculi muscle to be exact) with the emotion of happiness and the endorphins in your brain that are released when you smile. Over time (years), this association can become very strong and you can trigger the same release of endorphins on command. Arguably to a lesser degree, but it does work. In one study, researchers found that participants that purposely smiled while performing stressful tasks, actually performed better and had lower heart rates than those with neutral expressions. Similarly, holding a pencil in your mouth can force your facial muscles into a smiling position and have a positive affect on your mood.

So moral of the story is, if you’re sad and you know it, smile! It can go a long way to improving your mood and getting you out of a rut. What tips do you have for cheering yourself up?