A big beaming smile is something that happens when we feel great. But did you know that smiling increases our confidence too?
If you have a chipped tooth or discoloration, you might find yourself smiling as little as possible.
People who take care of their teeth and visit their dentist regularly are likely to have increased self-esteem and confidence.
How your smile increases your confidence
We know that there is a lot in the media about the boost our smile gives us, but there are actual studies to prove it. In 2019, psychologists at the University of Tennessee at Knoxville found that facial expressions impact our emotions.
Using over 50 years of data, 138 studies across 11,000 participants globally. And while a smile alone won’t springboard you into happiness, it does impact how we feel.
Age Reversal
Smiling makes you appear younger! Research by the UMKC tested the theory and found that students perceived people who were smiling to be younger than they were.
When we smile, the corners of our mouths, which are prone to wrinkles, are lifted. Jowls raise up, and our eyes become a different shape all by having a big smile.
Although getting to grow older is something we should all cherish, there is no harm in looking a little bit younger naturally!
People Are Nicer
When you smile, people treat you differently. They will see you as more open and relaxed and respond (most often) in the same way. The Face Research Laboratory Findings in Aberdeen, Scotland, rated people who were smiling more attractive than those who didn’t smile or make eye contact.
But without dental care from a dental professional, you might feel too shy to smile at people you don’t know.
Mood Elevation
Even the most simple tasks become difficult when you feel grouchy. Smiling can elevate your mood. Psychologists believe that when you smile, you release endorphins, dopamine, and serotonin.
Author Ron Gutman noted in his book Smile: The Astonishing Powers of a Simple Act that a smile can stimulate the same impact as 2000 bars of chocolate!
Although if you are eating 2000 bars of chocolate, you’re going to need that regular check-up at Westphal Dental to keep them pearly white and strong!
Most often, we associate something good happening to us for us to smile. However, you can use a fake smile to help stimulate the feel-good hormones and turn it into a real good mood!
Thich Nhat Hanh, a Buddhist author, wrote that “sometimes your smile can be a source of your joy.” People who are self-conscious about their smile will avoid smiling, and some research has found that people who smile more live longer too!
Abel E. and Kruger M’s study in 2021 surmised that the smile intensity in photographs could be a predictor for how long someone will live. A great reason to practice giving those big beaming smiles.
Positivity and Confidence
When you go about your day in a good mood, you will likely find things easier to tackle. Positive self-talk will help improve your mood, and part of being in a great mood is that you will probably be smiling quite a lot.
As your self-esteem and confidence rise, we tackle tasks more positively. Once we check those tasks off our list, we then benefit again from completing a task. Each time we check off a task, we get a boost of dopamine, feeding more into our happy mood.
Something else that gives us a huge boost in dopamine and endorphins? Working out!
These chemicals are super important for regulating our mood, and we all know that after a workout we feel exhausted and elated. To ensure we keep that good mood going, a massage at Kaizen Health Group is the perfect post-workout treat.
Before you know it, you are in a positive cycle, which your smile will be directly contributing towards.
What if you don’t feel like smiling?
Sometimes we are a little down in the dumps. When that happens, you’ll be thrilled to know that even a fake smile will have a positive impact on your brain. While we shouldn’t fake emotions as much as possible, a phony smile can help lift your real mood.
When we smile, particular facial muscles that trigger will trick our brains into thinking we are happy. To help us out, we then get a dopamine increase, which can improve our mood!
So there you have it. Smiling makes us happier, and happiness feeds into our confidence levels! Time to put a big smile on your face and tackle your day.
