As I have done further research on my topic, I have discovered that smiling has positive affects on you mentally and physically. The article "How Smiling Affects Your Body," by Orthodontist Ltd., gives some interesting information about how smiling not only changes your brain activity but also how well your organs and cells function.
One positive affect the article mentioned was how smiling is good for your heart. A study from the journal Psychological Science states that a smile may help protect your heart from stress-induced inflammation. Who knew that one little smile here and there could possibly lessen the risk of future heart problems?
Another positive affect the article talks about is how smiling strengthens the immune system. "When you smile, your body increases its production of white blood cells." A study found that sick children who laughed and smiled more often had a higher white blood cell count. To me, this sounds kind of crazy. If smiling increases your white blood cell count, and if cancer patients were to smile all of the time, wouldn't smiling be the cure to cancer? Hmmm....
Research also shows that smiling smooths out cell walls, making it easier for your cells to find and repair bodily damage. Keeping your cells in a rigidy state, from constantly being stressed, can mess up your body's homeostasis (internal balance) and make you more susceptible to cell mutations and diseases.
The claims made in the article seem pretty extreme to me, but I will have to do some more extensive research to see if they are true.
Side note: I watched a very cool TED talk last weekend called "The hidden power of smiling," given by Ron Gutman. I'll leave the link right here.
Anyways, don't forget to smile!
"Share your smile with the world. It's a symbol of friendship and peace." -Christie Brinkley