13 Benefits of Smiling More, Every Day

Be honest: how often do you truly, genuinely smile?

Chances are, you smile every day, but you probably spend most of your day, well..not smiling. Most of us tend to smile only when something goes exceedingly well, like when we’re in a particularly good mood or get some exciting news.

But, what would happen you made it a habit to smile more, all of the time?

Well, it turns out, there are a ton of benefits to smiling a lot, and in this post I thought I’d share thirteen of the most important reasons to smile more!

13 Reasons to Smile More, Every Single Day

Smiling Helps You Feel Relaxed and Comfortable. Firstly, have you ever noticed that smiling is an instant relaxant? Often, we hold tension in our bodies that we don’t even realize we hold (this tension is higher when we’re stressed or worried), and smiling is a great way to immediately relax your body, from your face all the way down to your toes. This helps you to feel more comfortable, and appear to be more in control of any situation, which means…
Smiling Makes You Look Confident. There’s a direct correlation between confidence and positivity. When you smile, you literally enter into that positivity, if only for a moment, making it easier to spark feelings of confidence and empowerment that carry over into the task at hand, and influence others around you.
Smiling Makes You More Likable. When you know that you are relaxed and in control, you exude a magnetic aura that attracts others to you. This charisma is a subtle, but powerful force that makes you more likable.
Smiling Builds Trust. Likability is a precursor to trust. When someone smiles at you, you are more likely to let your guard down, and you begin to build a relationship with that person that is stronger and more authentic than you would if the person presented a cold, closed-off look. This makes it easier to bond and build trust, both in professional and personal relationships.
Smiling Reduces Stress. Another benefit of smiling is that it reduces your overall stress levels. When your body relaces (as mentioned in #1), you also have a tendency to release any mental stress that you have. This physical-emotional connection causes a positive spiral, increasing your overall well-being. This means…
Smiling Makes You Feel Healthier. Think about it: when you’re relaxed, comfortable, confident, and not stressed, you feel better. When you feel better, you’re also more likely to take positive actions that further encourage feeling of health and happiness.
Smiling Reverses The Effects of Aging. Over the long run, consistent smiling is correlated with consistent feelings of health and well-being. This actually slows down the aging process, meaning that smiling can be a direct contributor towards helping you to feel younger and more attractive.
Smiling Helps Others. In addition, a friendly smile can go a long way towards helping others, even people who you don’t know. Smiling kindly to a stranger you pass on the street or someone you have a brief interaction with (like a waiter or a sales clerk), not only improves your mood, but also the mood of the other person. Intuitively, this makes sense. After all, when someone is nice to you, you tend to be nicer back, right? This can cause a chain reaction that can dramatically increase positivity in your community, far beyond the reach of your original smile.
Smiling Helps You Become More Compassionate. Another, less obvious, reason for smiling, is that it can actually help you to empathize more strongly with others. When you smile during a conversation, your smile can help you to respond more clearly to the subtle emotions of the other person, meaning your responses can better help them, and you can relate more directly to their situation.
Smiling Leads To Productivity and Success. When you smile, you release dopamine and other neurotransmitters into the brain that help you to focus more clearly and come up with better, more logical, and more productive solutions. Done once, this can put you into a feeling of flow, but over time, can dramatically increase your overall productivity and success! Learn more about how to increase productivity and happiness.
Smiling Boosts Your Creativity. When you are happy and peaceful, you are also more able to tap into a source of creative inspiration beyond the logical mind. The dopamine released during a smile can help you to come up with more innovative solutions to problems, and think more clearly.
Smiling Expands Your Resilience. If you smile consistently, you will also become more resilient. This means that you become less susceptible to negativity in your environment, as you are more able to stay focused on the positive opportunities in every scenario, and more easily able to bounce back from any setbacks you may encounter along the way.
Smiling Makes You Happier. Last but certainly not least…smiling makes you a happier, more peaceful, and more positive person. Hands down, this is the most important reason to start practicing your smile, all day, every day!