There may be more to the song “Dont Worry,Be Happy” than just a catchy tune – putting on a happy face is actually good for you, and those around you.
Besides research showing health benefits of laughter ranging from increasing one’s threshold for pain to reducing food cravings to affecting your posture. There’s even an emerging therapeutic field known as humor therapy to help people heal more quickly, among other things. Humor also has several important stress relieving benefits.
Ever seen one of those everyday grumpy souls? They slouch, Everything about them screams how lousy everything in their life is. We all know people like this. Gosh, if they ever smiled you’d expect their face to crack.
But it actually takes a lot less muscles to smile than to frown or scowl, so apart from creating misery for themselves they are also doing more work to achieve that result. So here are 5 reasons why you should smile more often:
1. Manage Your Hormones:
Have a good Laugh!
Laughter reduces the level of stress hormones like cortisol, epinephrine, adrenaline, dopamine and growth hormone. It also increases the level of health-enhancing hormones like endorphins, and neurotransmitters. Laughter decreases stress hormones and increases immune cells and infection-fighting antibodies, thus improving your resistance to disease.
2. Nice Internal Workout:
A good belly laugh exercises the diaphragm, contracts the abs and even works out the shoulders, leaving muscles more relaxed afterward. It even provides a good workout for the heart. Start working those Abs and shoulders!
3.It Feels Like Eating 2,000 Chocolate Bars
We have the release of endorphins after laughing to thank for. Endorphins promote an overall sense of well-being and can even temporarily relieve pain.
According to The British Dental Health Foundation, a smile gives the same level of stimulation equivalent to eating 2,000 chocolate bars.
Dr. Nigel Carter, chief executive of the Foundation, pointed out, “We have long been drawing attention to the fact that smiling increases happiness both in yourself and those around you, so it is good to receive the backing of this scientific research … A healthy smile can improve your confidence, help you make friends and help you to succeed in your career … “
4. Positive Frame Of Mind:
Laughter brings the focus away from anger, guilt, stress and negative emotions in a than other mere distractions. It will make you happy and put you in a positive frame of mind. A Smile a day keep you Happy all day!
5. Social Benefits Of Laughter:
Laughter connects us with others. Also, laughter is contagious, so if you bring more laughter into your life, you can most likely help others around you to laugh more, and realize these benefits as well. By elevating the mood of those around you, you can reduce their stress levels, and perhaps improve the quality of social interaction you experience with them, reducing your stress level even more!
What’s even better is that the more you smile, the more others will too. Says psychologist Dr. David Lewis, “Seeing a smile creates what is termed as a ‘halo’ effect, helping us to remember other happy events more vividly, feel more optimistic, more positive and more motivated.”
So what are you waiting for? Go ahead … Smile! …and again!