By: Dr. Kira Capozzolo

In the past few years, our world has been turned upside down in multiple ways. Social distance limitations have made human connections harder to come by. As we yearned to connect more with our friends and family, it was the little things that got us through tough times. A simple smile packs a powerful punch of positive emotion that can create a cascading ripple effect of joy throughout a group of people. Smiles make the world go ‘round. While a smile can make someone feel happy, what does it do for the person providing it?

Today, we’ll uncover the emotional benefits of showing your beautiful teeth and smiling at someone in public.

Relieves Stress and Negative Emotions

A smile involves face muscles to shift up, showing the front of your teeth to others. It’s hard not to feel happy when you see someone else smile. However, when you show your teeth through a smile, there is magic happening behind the scenes through your emotions too. Smiling helps relieve stress and release negative emotions that you are dealing with.

The brain oftentimes releases endorphins, serotonin, and dopamine when you smile. These all have a direct influence on our stress levels and mood. If you are dealing with bouts of anxiety or negative emotions, try smiling more throughout the day. Even if you have to force it initially, it can improve your mood and help relieve stress. You’ll notice that, over time, smiling helps negative thoughts slowly drift out of your mind as your mood improves.

Helps You Stay Positive

When you’re having a bad day, positivity is hard to come by. Smiling can help disrupt limiting beliefs about things in life by improving your outlook. It’s hard to focus on the negative aspect of things when you’re smiling. If you going through a big transition in life, whether it be a move or job change, try adding a few more smiles into your day. This injection of positivity will help boost your confidence going into these events that are frightening or intimidating. Do you know someone that struggles to stay positive sometimes? Try to make them smile and see what difference that makes.

Live Happier and Longer

Over time, emotional stress can have a negative impact on our physical bodies. Have you ever gotten a stress-induced migraine? That is your body reacting physically to emotional stress. Naturally, smiling makes us feel a jolt of happiness for a particular moment. The more that we smile, the happier we will likely be throughout our day.

Practicing a consistent habit of smiling more can compound to create a relaxed life and lifestyle for someone. People that experience less stress in their lives typically encounter fewer stress-induced ailments and injuries. This most likely increases their longevity by living a happier life.

Prioritize Happiness

Life is too short to not be as happy as possible. Prioritize happiness in your life by showing off your healthy teeth and smiling. It not only helps feel happier, but you can also spread happiness this way. There are multiple emotional benefits that you can experience from adding more smiles to your day. Don’t be afraid to be vulnerable and smile when you get the opportunity.

Author: Dr. Kira Capozzolo is a Chiropractor at Twin Waves Wellness Center, a holistic chiropractic office that practices Network Spinal. She opened up her wellness center with her Twin Sister. Kira enjoys writing about health, wellness, and holistic topics.