Smile cures : research proves

OK ... so you have a sappy, supposedly inspirational quote. It's just an old wives' tale -- just a silly quip. It doesn't really mean anything. Right? Maybe ... maybe not. Doug Horton says, "Smile, it's free therapy." There just may be something to this!

In psychology, there is a theory entitled the "facial feedback" hypothesis. This hypothesis states that "involuntary facial movements provide sufficient peripheral information to drive emotional experience" (Bernstein, et al., 2000). Davis and Palladino explain that "feedback from facial expression affects emotional expression and behavior" (2000). In simple terms, you may actually be able to improve your mood by simply smiling!

A number of research projects support this hypothesis. One study, conducted by Levenson and Friesen, found that involuntary biological changes similar to those caused by emotions were experienced by participants who were instructed to make certain faces. That is, a person told to make an angry face experienced increased blood flow to the hands and feet, which is also seen in those who are experiencing anger. Participants from another study involving posed faces reported more favorable impressions of other people when they were asked to smile.

Research has also found that when you mimic the face of someone else, it may cause you to feel empathy for the other person (Berstein, et al., 2000). In another research setting, participants were either prevented or encouraged to smile by being instructed how to hold a pencil in their mouths. Those who held a pencil in their teeth and thus were able to smile rated cartoons as funnier than did those who held the pencil in their lips and thus could not smile (Davis & Palladino, 2000).

So what does all of this mean? The next time you are down - the next time you are feeling blue or just plain old blah -- SMILE!! An action as simple as that just may improve your spirits. It is most certainly not a cure-all, but in the struggle with the gloomies, every thing that helps in even a small measure is worth a try! Dame Sybil Hathaway sums it up best, "Smile, damn it !! Smile."

Having trouble forcing a smile? Here are a few suggestions that may help liven things up!

jump on the bed (my personal favorite)
make faces at yourself in the mirror
bake cookies
dance
find a playground and swing on the swingset
find your baby pictures
hug someone you love
take a walk in the rain
watch cartoons you loved as a kid
imitate a well-known comedian - with exaggeration
visit a pet store

Works Cited

Bernstein, D. A., Clarke-Stewart, A., Penner, L. A., Roy, E. J., & Wickens, C. D. (2000). Psychology (5th ed.). Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin Company.

Davis, S. F., & Palladino, J. J. (2000). Psychology (3rd ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice-Hall, Inc.