Ever had someone tell you to cheer up and smile? It’s probably not the most welcomed advice, especially when you’re feeling sick, tired or just plain down in the dumps. But there’s actually good reason to turn that frown upside down, corny as it sounds. Science has shown that the mere act of smiling can lift your mood, lower stress, boost your immune system and possibly even prolong your life.
It’s a pretty backwards idea, isn’t it? Happiness is what makes us smile; how can the reverse also be true? The fact is, as Dr. Isha Gupta a neurologist from IGEA Brain and Spine explains, a smile spurs a chemical reaction in the brain, releasing certain hormones including dopamine and serotonin. “Dopamine increases our feelings of happiness. Serotonin release is associated with reduced stress. Low levels of serotonin are associated with depression and aggression,” says Dr. Gupta. “Low levels of dopamine are also associated with depression.”
Fake It Till You Make It
In other words, smiling can trick your brain into believing you’re happy which can then spur actual feelings of happiness. But it doesn’t end there. Dr. Murray Grossan, an ENT-otolaryngologist in Los Angeles points to the science of psychoneuroimmunology (the study of how the brain is connected to the immune system), asserting that it has been shown “over and over again” that depression weakens your immune system, while happiness on the other hand has been shown to boost our body’s resistance.
“What’s crazy is that just the physical act of smiling can make a difference in building your immunity,” says Dr. Grossan. “When you smile, the brain sees the muscle [activity] and assumes that humor is happening.”
In a sense, the brain is a sucker for a grin. It doesn’t bother to sort out whether you’re smiling because you’re genuinely joyous, or because you’re just pretending.
“Even forcing a fake smile can legitimately reduce stress and lower your heart rate,” adds Dr. Sivan Finkel, a cosmetic dentist at NYC’s The Dental Parlour. “A study performed by a group at the University of Cardiff in Wales found that people who could not frown due to botox injections were happier on average than those who could frown.”
And there are plenty more studies out there to make you smile (or at least, serve as reference for why you should). Researchers at the University of Kansas published findings that smiling helps reduce the body’s response to stress and lower heart rate in tense situations; another study linked smiling to lower blood pressure, while yet another suggests that smiling leads to longevity.
The Secret to Health and Happiness? Laughing at Yourself.
JAN. 10, 201801:18
Smiling Helps On A Day-To-Day Basis
Studies aside, there are plenty of living, breathing, smiling humans who can testify to the fact that looking the part of happy helps them get through the day.
“Smiling absolutely changes the way I think and feel,” says Jaime Pfeffer, a success coach and meditation instructor based in Florida. “My husband and I purposely spend 60 seconds every morning smiling to supercharge our mood. It's part of our morning routine. If something goes awry during the day, I usually use smiling to quickly shift my mood. It only take 10 to 15 seconds for it to make a difference for me now. It helps me to feel less stressed, transform my mood quickly and put things in a different perspective.”
Pfeffer adds that she recommends smiling to all her clients, particularly when they’re dealing with long days or tedious work. “One of my clients last week told me smiling for 30 seconds at a time a few times per day helps him stay upbeat when doing sales calls. He said the task can get old after a while, but the smiling helps him stay more energized and avoid burnout.”
Related
SOCIAL STUDIES
Why Laughing at Yourself Can Boost Your Health
Travel writer Clemens Sehi uses a smile not just to feel better, but also as a way of setting an amicable tone with strangers abroad.
“When traveling there is one thing that one realizes quite fast: a smile can change everything. It can open doors and the hearts of other people whose culture you do not even know. A smile is the most international language that everyone knows.”
Peek Inside Happiness Guru Gretchen Rubin's Office
MARCH 2, 201802:09
How Smiling Goes Viral
A smile is also something that is easy to pass on. Much like yawning, smiling is contagious.
Recommended
CORONAVIRUS
This is how the pandemic is raising your risk for seasonal affective disorder
MENTAL HEALTH
Deepak Chopra on managing holiday and pandemic stress: 'Stop, take three breaths and smile'
“This is because we have mirror neurons that fire when we see action,” says Dr. Eva Ritzo, a psychiatrist and the co-author of "The Beauty Prescription: The Complete Formula for Looking and Feeling Beautiful." As its name suggests, mirror neurons enable us to copy or reflect the behavior we observe in others and have been linked to the capacity for empathy.
Объяснение: на
text about the fisherman
In the early summer morning, our way lies on a fishing trip. The sun is just rising from the horizon, and nature is still asleep. In the lowlands, a milky white fog creeps. The first bee buzzes softly in the warm air of a still morning. Others will join her soon. we make our way along a narrow path among dark green bushes to a small river. The grass, covered with morning dew, touches our feet.
The river is winding, not wide, but in some places quite deep. its banks are becoming more and more overgrown with reeds and shrubs every year. Washed-up seaweed is scattered on the gently sloping shore. a wave splashes gently against a small raft.
we climb into the reeds and settle down with fishing rods. a few fishermen from nearby towns were already lurking there. the angler's tackle is simple. after casting the fishing rods, the fishing enthusiast looks at the flexible twig on the shore for a while. but now the branch begins to shake, and soon several fish are fluttering by the bucket: perch, roach, silver ide.
fishing is, of course, an interesting thing!
Объяснение:
текст про рыбака
Ранним летним утром наш путь лежит на рыбалку. Солнце только-только встаёт из-за горизонта, и природа еще дремлет. В низменных местах расстилается молочно-белый туман. Первая пчелка тихонечко жужжит в теплом воздухе притихшего утра. Скоро к ней присоединятся другие. По узкой тропинке среди темно-зеленых зарослей кустарников пробираемся к небольшой речонке. Покрытая утренней росой трава касается наших ног.
Речка извилистая, неширокая, но местами достаточно глубока. Берега ее с каждым годом все сильнее зарастают тростником, кустами. На пологом берегу раскиданы прибитые водой водоросли. Волна тихо плещется, ударяет о небольшой плот.
Забираемся в камышовые заросли и устраиваемся с удочками. Там уже притаились несколько рыбаков, приехавших из ближайших городков. Снасть рыболова незатейлива. Закинув удочки, любитель порыбачить в течение некоторого времени пристально смотрит на гибкий прутик на берегу. Но вот прутик начинает вздрагивать и вскоре у ведёрка трепещет несколько рыбешек: окунёк, плотва, серебряный язь.
Рыбалка — вещь, конечно, интересная!
Batman is a nickname of a rich orphan Bruce Wayne who lost his parents when he was a kid – they were gunned down within sight of a small boy (Bruce). This moment changed a lot in his life. He inherited big money, family business and lived in a big house with a family butler, Albert. But Bruce didn’t become an ordinary man, but a billionaire industrialist and a well-known playboy with secrets. He decided to be the greatest weapon against crime and save lives of ordinary people.