Social psychology research indicates that while facial expressions reflect our inner mood, ie your face is a dead give away when you’re in a bad mood, the opposite is also true and deliberately changing your facial expression helps to change your inner feelings.  Studies have shown that different facial expressions are accompanied by changes in physiological activity.  Feeling irritated in the morning traffic?  Had a bad day at work?  Force your face from a scowl into a smile and your mental state will shift with it and that traffic jam or bad day suddenly won’t bother you as much.  So controlling your facial expressions is not only an instant (free) makeover, it’s also a mood lifter.

Perhaps more importantly, aside from lifting a bad mood or reversing a negative mental state, smiling has also been linked to very real, positive health benefits such as relieving stress, boosting immune function, lowering blood pressure and promoting the release of endorphins (those naturally produced ‘feel good’ chemicals) and serotonin (the chemicals that promote relaxation and help you sleep better). Another great benefit is that smiling is contagious. Even strangers in the supermarket generally can’t help responding in kind when smiled at so see it as your good deed each day and if someone smiles at you, smile back and then remember to pay it forward by smiling at someone else.

As the saying goes, laughter is the best medicine but you don’t need to roll around laughing like the village idiot to be healthy.  Smiling will do the trick, so for the sake of your health and happiness not to mention that of everyone around you, go out and smile!