The Benefits of Smiling, According to Science
Introduction
Smiling seems like a trivial gesture, but it has more implications than you'd imagine. It's an innate mechanism: fetuses smile in the womb and blind babies smile on recognizing a voice. Yet we lose it over the years: while a child smiles an average of 400 times a day, only a third of adults do so more than 20 times. This article reviews the psychological and social benefits of smiling, most of which appear above all when it's genuine — the so-called Duchenne smile, which lifts the cheeks and forms little wrinkles around the eyes.
Smiling to feel better
There's a two-way channel of communication between the brain and the muscles. The familiar one runs from the brain to the face: something makes you happy and you smile. But it also works in reverse: if you smile — even when it isn't entirely spontaneous — the brain receives that muscular signal and, in order to stay consistent, starts tilting your mood toward optimism. This is the facial feedback hypothesis, which Charles Darwin already intuited. In classic studies, holding a pencil between your teeth so that it produces a smile improved participants' mood (it's worth noting that this effect has had mixed replications, so it's taken with caution). Even the opposite effect has been observed: people who lose the ability to produce a smile tend toward lower mood.
Smiling to provoke positive emotions
A smile sends others the signal that you're sociable, trustworthy and approachable, and it's also contagious through the mirror neurons: around half of people return a stranger's smile. In doing so, you provoke a positive change in their mood which, unconsciously, they'll associate with you. Happiness, in fact, spreads: a famous study by Nicholas Christakis and James Fowler (Harvard) found that having a happy person nearby notably increases your own likelihood of being happy.
Smiling to generate trust
An authentic smile indicates we can be trusted. It has been shown that people who cooperate display more genuine smiles and are perceived as more generous. And a smile also invites trust: in one study, people were more likely to trust someone who smiled. Conversely, someone who doesn't smile can seem more distant or more powerful, something sometimes used deliberately to signal status.
Smiling to be forgiven
We tend to be more lenient toward someone who smiles after making a mistake, and it works even when the smile isn't entirely genuine. Probably because it conveys honesty and because, in evolutionary terms, the smile is a signal of submission that reduces the other person's hostility. Lowering your gaze with a hint of regret and offering a slight smile tightens bonds and makes it easier for us to be forgiven.
Smiling to think better
Under stress we fall into "tunnel vision": we focus only on what's right in front of us, including when searching for solutions. Since solving problems usually requires thinking more openly, smiling can reduce that narrowing and increase mental flexibility. In a 2010 study, those who smiled performed better on tasks demanding a global view. If you're stuck on something, try smiling while you look for the way out.
Smiling and attraction
A smile influences attraction, though in a nuanced way. In a classic study, when a person added a smile to eye contact, the chances of someone approaching rose notably. Curiously, research suggests the effect isn't symmetrical between sexes: in some experiments, male faces came across as more attractive displaying pride than a broad smile. Even so, a smile that conveys confidence or a certain mischief remains a great asset for anyone. And seeing an attractive face smiling activates the brain's reward regions even more.
Smiling for your health
Smiling is associated with the release of endorphins and serotonin — natural painkillers — with the reduction of stress hormones such as cortisol, and with lower blood pressure. Almost a natural medicine. One striking figure: it has been estimated that seeing a sincere smile can generate brain stimulation comparable to a large prize or a mountain of chocolate, although the "value" depends on who's smiling (a lot if it's a baby or a loved one; considerably less if it's a politician).
Smiling and a longer, more satisfying life
Two much-cited studies suggest that a smile is a good indicator of the future. In one, photographs of baseball players from 1952 were analyzed: those who appeared smiling lived on average several years longer than those with a serious expression. In another, women who showed a genuine Duchenne smile in their yearbook photograph reported, decades later, greater life and marital satisfaction. The smile is hardly the direct cause; rather it's the external reflection of an attitude toward life that does influence its quality.
A cultural note
People don't smile the same way everywhere. There are notable cultural differences — in some countries people smile far less as a social norm — and gender differences too. A 2007 study showed that, while in the West we locate the smile mainly in the mouth (hence emoticons like 😊), in Japan, where emotions are expressed more reservedly, people focus more on the eyes (hence ^_^). A good reminder that the same gesture doesn't mean the same thing everywhere.
Conclusion
Smiling makes you feel better, spreads well-being, generates trust, makes forgiveness easier, favors creative thinking and is even associated with a longer and more satisfying life. Most of these effects are more powerful when the smile is genuine, but the mere gesture already sets a good part of the machinery in motion. So, even on gray days, smile a little more: it will help you and those around you.
References
- Strack, F., Martin, L. L., & Stepper, S. (1988). Inhibiting and facilitating conditions of the human smile. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 54(5). (With mixed later replications.)
- Fowler, J. H., & Christakis, N. A. (2008). Dynamic spread of happiness in a large social network. BMJ, 337.
- Abel, E. L., & Kruger, M. L. (2010). Smile intensity in photographs predicts longevity. Psychological Science, 21(4).
- Harker, L., & Keltner, D. (2001). Expressions of positive emotion in women's college yearbook pictures. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 80(1).