Love starts with the first glance, right? The first thing someone notices about you had better be attractive. So what do people notice first? Not surprisingly, the first thing is your eyes and the second is your smile. That means if you aren’t smiling, you just might be missing out on love…and some great health benefits too!
The Statistics
In a recent poll, 88 percent of people interviewed said they always remember someone with an especially attractive smile. What’s more, 85 percent agreed that an unattractive smile makes a person less appealing to people of the opposite sex. Yikes!
The Psychology of a Smile
There is some speculation about when and why humans started smiling, but Janice Porteous, a laughter researcher from Vancouver Island University, believes that smiling was an expression learned from animals who bared their teeth as a warning or to show submission. She says a smile is “a facial expression that originally arose as a scare tactic, [then] turned into an admission of fear, thereby indicating non-hostility.” Now smiles do so many positive things. They allow us to communicate without words and express warmth, openness, friendliness, and even trustworthiness – all things you might hope for when looking for love!
But simply smiling by turning up the corners of your mouth isn’t enough to make a smile truly speak the language of love. Smiling with your eyes is needed for the full effect, but just seeing a smile creates a ‘halo’ effect, helping us to feel more optimistic and positive, vividly remember other happy events, and feel more motivated.
And those smiles aren’t just good on the receiving end, they are good for the smiler too. One study found that smiling offers the same level of stimulation as receiving over $20,000, which probably feels pretty good, right?
Your Health and Your Smile
Did you know that you can fight off colds with a smile? Every time you flash your pearly whites, your body produces greater quantities of antibodies and white blood cells, which may give your immune system a huge power boost. Smiling is also super relaxing. Research shows that the simple act of smiling can help release endorphins, those “feel-good” hormones. Serotonin, a chemical that’s a natural stress-reducer, is also increased when you smile.
Health, relaxation, and stimulation: That certainly sounds like a love potion to me! If your teeth aren’t feeling up to sharing, give my Warsaw dental office a call to discuss what we can do to help you find a smile you can really love.
Accepting new patients from Warsaw, Winona Lake, and Leesburg.
