What is the importance of a smile? Not only will smiling give you health and emotional benefits, but you will also be playing your part in spreading joy around the world. Not only do the positive effects of smiling effect you, but there are benefits of smiling at others too. We often underestimate our effect of smile on others.

1. THE IMPORTANCE OF A
SMILE: JOY ACROSS THE
WORLD
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2. THE IMPORTANCE OF A SMILE
What is the importance of a smile? Not only will
smiling give you health and emotional benefits,
but you will also be playing your part in
spreading joy around the world. Not only do the
positive effects of smiling effect you, but there
are benefits of smiling at others too. We often
underestimate our effect of smile on others.
Many of us are aware of the latest health fads;
the ketogenic diet, super-foods, and even Netflix
and chill (I’m sure that has health benefits), but
how often do we pay attention to the time-
honoured humble smile? It’s been around for
centuries, so shouldn’t we be giving it the
attention it deserves?
QUICK OVERVIEW OF THE
IMPORTANCE OF SMILING
Smiling is a universal language
Smiling encourages positive thinking
A smile makes you more attractive
Smiling is contagious
A smile is a natural anti-depressant
Smiling can make you look more
intelligent
Smiling is free

3. A smile can help your immune
system
It’s quick and easy to do
Smiling can improve relationships
It’s environmentally friendly 😉
Smiling can lead to promotion
It can lower stress
Smiles can help you live longer
Smiles can be a pain reliever
Your smile can be a gift
Personally, I smile a lot. My nickname, at my first
place of work, in my late teens was ‘Smiler’. For
someone who had been nicknamed ‘Ostrich’ by
the kids in my street, due to being tall and skinny
– ‘Smiler’ was a vast improvement.
My Grandmother’s smile reached right into my
heart. Each time her beaming face shone at me it
was as if she’d scooped me up in a warm blanket
of love. My Grandfather had a cheeky grin and
loved a joke. I think they nurtured my propensity
to smile and I’ve used it often on my life’s
journey.
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4. Life can throw us a few curve balls now and
again, and being able to smile our way through
them can be a useful tool in our toolbox.
Now, as I travel the world – a smile is always on
the packing list – it certainly makes
communication easier and when you are doing
something that you love, it’s easy to keep your
smile in tip top condition.
16 REASONS HIGHLIGHTING THE
IMPORTANCE OF A SMILE.
1. A SMILE IS A UNIVERSAL
LANGUAGE
A gesture we all understand across the world is a
smile. It is something we all do innately and is
not something that we learn to do. For example,
babies who are blind, smile at their parent’s
voice.
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5. In the words of the late writer and poet, William
Arthur Ward;
“A warm smile is a universal language of
kindness.”
Being on the road for so long now and having
visited so many different countries, we have
used this valuable commodity on many
occasions.
When neither of you speaks a common
language, a smile and a laugh go a long way in
getting along. It’s the universal language, so they
say, and for us, as we road trip around the world,
it has definitely gotten us out of some tricky
situations.
In most countries, a smile conveys warmth and
friendliness and tells the other person that, ‘We
come in peace!’

6. That said though, how we perceive a smile is
learnt and that perception can vary
between cultures. Charlene Solomon writes an
interesting article on, The Cross-cultural
Implications of Smiling, surmising that countries
like the United States, Canada,
and Australia have smiling cultures whereas
countries like China, Russia, and Japan do not.
This is something to bear in mind if you are
travelling to other countries.
Throughout our travels, in Europe, we have had
many a time where a smile has warmed our
hearts and made us feel welcome, even when we
shared no common language.
However, there have also been occasions where
our smiles have been met with stone-cold faces.
Sometimes this is an individual thing, but can
also be reflective of a specific culture.
In the main though, smiling brightens the day of
most of us across the world.
2. SMILING ENCOURAGES POSITIVE
THINKING
Studies have shown that smiling when doing
something that you don’t necessarily like, helps
you to feel much more positive about the task at
hand.
Darwin originally developed this theory, which is
now known as the Facial Feedback Response
Theory. What it basically means, is that your
brain recognises the movement of your facial

7. muscles, so when they are in the ‘smile’ position
it thinks that you are happy which helps you to
think positively about the situation.
So next time you want to lift that optimism level
a notch, break out a full-bodied beam. One that
causes the sides of your mouth to curl up and
the skin around your eyes to crinkle.
That way, your brain gets the message that you
are happy and it will help a more positive
outlook.
3. SMILING MAKES YOU MORE
ATTRACTIVE
Ladies, did you know that the most important
thing in your makeup bag is your smile?
Studies have found that your smile has a bearing
on your perceived atrractiveness.
The study, ‘Something to Smile About‘, found,
that,
‘The evaluation of attractiveness is strongly
influenced by the intensity of a smile expressed on a
face: A happy facial expression could even
compensate for relative unattractiveness.’
Therefore, it’s not so much the colour of our
lipstick, but what our lips are doing .

8. Another article discusses how a dating
app, Coffee and Bagel, found that women who
smiled and tilted their head to the side in a
photo, appeared even more attractive.
Something to bear in mind for your profile pics
and for those of you using dating sites and apps.
Smiling not only makes you look more attractive
but also healthier. What’s even more interesting,
and this is especially for those more mature
ladies among us, researchers at Swansea
University found that,
‘ …while younger adults look healthier when they
smile, older adults look much healthier. A smile was
a more important cue than how old the face
appeared to be.’ – Dr. Alex Jones
… Scientific proof that a smile really is the best
accessory.
4. SMILING IS CONTAGIOUS
Most often, when you smile at someone, they
smile back. Little neurons in our brain are wired
to imitate another person smiling as it helps us
assess how that person is feeling. We are also
emotional human beings and most of us want to
reciprocate.
“A smile is infectious and
contagious. Pass it on!”

9. 5. THE IMPORTANCE OF A SMILE
FOR HAPPINESS
When we smile, even if it’s fake, our brain
releases serotonin, which is a natural anti-
depressant. Along with the release of
endorphins, our brains are pumping us full of
these natural ‘drugs’ and getting us high on
happiness.
Ron Gutman, the author of, Smile: The
Astonishing Powers of a Simple Act, gave a
fascinating Ted Talk, on the Hidden Power
of Smiling.
The Happiest 5k on the Planet – Colour run in
Perth, Australia
He refers to studies that have found a smile to
be as stimulating as 2000 bars of chocolate,

10. meaning that the pleasure of smiling far
outweighs that from chocolate.
Personally, I think they may have used the wrong
chocolate bars. That said, if smiling made me feel
as good as chocolate, it would definitely save the
waistline. The day a smile comes with a smooth,
creamy, delicious taste too, then I might buy into
that piece of research;)
6. SMILING CAN MAKE YOU LOOK
MORE INTELLIGENT
Studies have found that smiling makes you more
attractive and as a consequence, you are more
likely to be thought of as intelligent.
A more recent marketing study suggests that
the size of your smile can affect that perception.
They found that a subtle one makes you look
intelligent compared to a wide one.
A wider grin, although not so good for the
appearance of intelligence, suggests to others,

11. that you are warmer and kinder.
7. SMILING IS FREE
There aren’t too many valuable assets today
that don’t have a price tag attached to them. This
is one area that does not need your budgeting
attention. So, don’t be frugal with your smiles,
use them to your heart’s content.
8. THE IMPORTANCE OF A SMILE ON
YOUR IMMUNE SYSTEM
This one is a great example of the importance of
a smile in connection with your health. Smiling
releases endorphins (feel-good chemicals) which
in turn, causes a reduction of cortisol (your stress
hormones). As a result, this means that your
body is more effective in fighting off infections.
To get the most benefit it should be a genuine
one and not a fake one – think of something that
makes you laugh or something that genuinely
makes you smile and your immune system will
get a welcome boost.
9. SMILING IS QUICK AND EASY
So many of us seem to be time-poor, so this is
one thing that won’t be a drain on that finite
resource. It can take less than a few seconds but
can brighten someone’s whole day and improve
your health and wellbeing.
10. THE IMPORTANCE OF YOUR
SMILE IN YOUR RELATIONSHIPS

12. If you smile, other people automatically think you
are more likeable and will warm towards you
much quicker.
One study looked at the smiles of college
students in their yearbook photos, measured
their smiles and then assessed their lives in later
life. The study concluded, that those with bigger
smiles went on to have happier and longer
marriages.
We all like being liked and just a simple act of
smiling a little more can make a big difference in
how you get along with others.
Another study showed that if you smile when on
the phone you sound more friendly to the
person at the other end. Another reason to put a
smile on your dial 🙂
11. SMILING IS ENVIRONMENTALLY
FRIENDLY
This simple act does nothing but improve your
environment. No trees are cut down, no plastic is
wasted and a smile is completely reusable, time
and time again.

13. Smiling is sustainability at its best.
12. SMILING CAN LEAD TO
PROMOTION
Smilers are perceived as more confident and
sociable. Ultimately that means that the more
you smile, the more likely you will be picked for
promotion. Smiling and positivity at work gives
an impression that you are happy in what you
are doing — the best sign to your boss that you
will therefore give more to the job compared to
someone who is lack lustre in the smiling
department.
13. SMILING CAN LOWER STRESS
Next time you are feeling stressed, pop on a
smile to let the tension ease away.
The aptly named, ‘Grin and Bear it’ study, showed
that if a person smiles and then undergoes a
stressful activity, they have a lower heart rate
and their recovery from the stress is quicker.

14. Again, these results achieved the most success
when it was a genuine smile, but just having the
face in a smiling pose, decreased the stress in
comparison to no smile at all.
14. SMILING HELPS YOU LIVE
LONGER
It’s quite possible that smiling could add quite a
few years to your life. Just another testament to
how smiling and positivity are so good for you
and your wellbeing.
The wider your smile and the more laughter lines
you have, the longer you are likely to live.
Scientists measured the smiles of baseball
players and then compared these with their
lifespan. The study concluded that smiling could
add five to eight years to your life.
It’s such a simple thing to do and has such huge
gains.
So get those wide grins
going and crinkle up
those eyes for a longer
lifetime of fun and
happiness.

15. 15. SMILING CAN BE A PAIN
RELIEVER
Smiling while experiencing pain lessens the
effect of the pain. Studies show that pain can be
reduced by up to about 40%. This particular
study found that people who smiled while
getting a needle reported up to 40 percent less
pain than people who didn’t. Not a bad natural
remedy to have available right there on tap.
16. YOUR SMILE IS A GIFT
When someone smiles at you, you get a kind of
warm fuzzy feeling. That happens because
our brains see it as a reward.
So it doesn’t just feel good for you, that great
feeling transfers on to someone else. In
addition, when they smile back at you, you get an
extra boost too! …and so it goes on.
The gift that just keeps on giving.
‘We shall never know all
the good that a simple
smile can do.’
– Mother Theresa

16. So, go ahead and give yourself a gift right now.
The more you do it, the more it becomes a
natural habit.
Smiling is not only wonderful for your own
wellbeing, but so many other’s welfares too. Due
to its remarkable ripple effect, we have the
power to spread joy and change the world, one
smile at a time.
OneSimpleWay To MaintainYourPerfect Smile!
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