“If you have only one smile in you, give it to the people you love. Don’t be surly at home, then go out in the street and start grinning ‘Good morning’ at total strangers.”

― Maya Angelou

I am a person who loves to observe things in general, and I especially love observing certain things more than the others such as Quotes on T-shirts. I came across a cute and cheeky quote long ago when I was travelling in a bus. A passenger who was standing in the bus, her T-shirt read “Smile because it is the second best thing you can do with your lips” I did not heed the advice that time, but the quote stayed with me through these years. Smile is one of the most beatific gestures that the human species have been endowed with. It is positive and life affirming. And research has proven that smiles play a certain role in longevity. Anything pleasant can act as a stimulant for a smile- A conversation that we accidentally eavesdrop on, a sweet little kids who toddles past and beams at you flaunting her first baby tooth, a spontaneous hug by a friend you bump into suddenly, words of praise, the aroma of your favourite delicacy. This stimulus gets funnelled to your brain exciting the left anterior temporal region is particular. The brain then rouses two dormant muscles into action. The “Zygomatic major” which resides in the cheek, tugs the lips upwards, and the “Orbicularis Oculi” which encircle the eye sockets, squeeze the outside corner of the eye into the shape of a crow’s foot. This whole episode within less than a second to four seconds and is reciprocated by the other person (under most circumstances) with the same process commonly known as Smiling.

There are other muscles that can simulate a smile. But only the quintessential dalliance of these two muscles produces a genuine expression of a smile. Psychologists call it the “Duchenne smile” and it tops the pecking order of sincere positive emotions. The name attribute to the French Anatomist Guillaume Duchenne”. The intensity of a true grin can predict marital bliss, personal wellbeing and even longevity. Mental health research has proven that people who were treated for depression, displayed a lot more Duchenne smiles, than while entering therapy. Genuine smiles are a clear window into a person’s core disposition. In a more recent study by Ernest Abel and Michael Kruger of Wayne state university, which rated the smiles of professional baseball players from the 1952 yearbook, found from among a sample of 46 people, that people with genuine smiles were twice likely to live long than their counterparts. The smile intensity could account for 35% of the variability in the survival rates. Smiles also serve as the perfect alleviator in tough times. In a steady conducted by Keltner and George Bonnano of Catholic University, the facial expressions of people who had recently lost a spouse were measured. Lower levels of distress were reported for those who tried to smile genuinely as against those who did not.

 

“There is good evidence that motor routines associated with Smiling are inborn” say Jeffrey Cohn, a researcher the university of Pittsburgh. At 10 months an infant can offer a false smile to a stranger while it reserves the genuine smile for its mother. Smile is also a marker for altruistic and collaborative tendencies in a person. LaFrance the Author of “Lip Service” writes- “Smiles are universally recognized and understood for what they show and convey, yet not necessarily for what they do. Smiles are much more than cheerful expressions. They are social acts with consequences.” Truly Smiling has a high potency, in the individual as well as the social spheres. Dale Carnegie the author of the bestselling “How to win friends and influence people” puts a Smile as one of the most important attributes or qualities in a person.

When you smile sincerely, chemicals like dopamine and serotonin are released. These chemicals help us to relax, they lower our heart rate and blood pressure. Serotonin specifically acts as an antidepressant. Endorphins which act as natural pain relievers are also released in this process. Dale Carnegie really sums it well in his evocative poem about smiling-

“It costs nothing, but creates much.

It enriches those who receive, without impoverishing those who give.

It happens in a flash and the memory of it sometimes lasts forever.

None are so rich they can get along without it and none so poor but are richer for its benefits.

It creates happiness in the home, fosters goodwill in a business,

 and is the countersign of friends.

It is rest to the weary, daylight to the discouraged, sunshine to the sad,

and nature’s best antidote for trouble.

Yet it cannot be bought, begged, borrowed or stolen,

for it is something that is no earthly good to anyone ’til it is given away.

 And if in the hurly-burly bustle of today’s business world,

 some of the people you meet should be too tired to give you a smile,

may we ask you to leave one of yours?

For nobody needs a smile so much as those who have none left to give”

 A new concept has gone viral in most countries across the world. “Laughter therapy” It is a type of therapy that uses humour to relieve stress and pain and improve a person’s sense of wellbeing. Laughter has shown to decrease cortisol, the stress hormone. It also increases endorphins which lowers pain in the body. Laughter also helps foster a bond between friends, families, relatives, colleagues and total strangers. We must all Smile from our hearts and we must all laugh from our diaphragms. We must love each other unconditionally and the first thing that we should do every morning when we are up, is look at ourselves in the mirror, reward ourselves with the most beatific smile ever, wink at ourselves and feel sexy about our body, our mind and our existence. These are the famous last lines of a poem which I would like to slightly alter in the context of Mahatman:

I have promises to keep and “Smiles” to “give” before I sleep. Let that be our promise to ourselves