Your smile is more powerful than you may know. Scientists have studied many aspects of smiling, such as how it affects your brain, your health, and your overall experience of life. Even the situation you’re in and the people around you are influenced by your smile. The findings may surprise you. Or, if you’re someone who smiles often, they may just confirm what you already know.
Seattle dentist Dr. Dan McKay loves a good smile and wants to help you smile more—to let us convince you to smile more and to maintain that smile with a healthy dental routine, keep reading!
Smiling & Your Health
The physical act of a smile can benefit both your mental health and your physical health. Experiencing an emotion connects all the parts of yourself: body, mind, and spirit, so the physical act of smiling can improve your overall experience of life. Studies show that smiling makes your brain function better to fight stress and to prevent stress from building in the first place.
Smiling also increases your brain’s ability to release chemicals that make you happy. You can see how this becomes a positive cycle of smiling, reducing stress, smiling more, and reducing more stress. Smiling has even been proven to keep your mood lifted long-term and help fight anxiety and depression. The same chemicals in your brain that make you feel happy can also fight pain and boost your immunity to ward off illness, so be sure to make smiling a regular part of your health routine!
Smiling & Your Happiness
Beyond your body and physical health, your smile is shown to improve your circumstances and make people around you happier, too. Research has found people who smile frequently are perceived as more natural, genuine, younger, and more attractive! How’s that for a winning combination? And speaking of winning, people who smile are proven to be more successful in business and personal relationships. So don’t just wait until you have something to smile about – start smiling now and reap the benefits later.
Misery loves company, but did you know that smiles are proven to be contagious? When you smile, people are drawn to you, and they want to cooperate with you. This is especially helpful if you’ve made a mistake, or if you need help from someone. Be sure to smile to boost your mood, the mood of those around you, and to experience a more positive outcome in any situation.
Ultimately, smiling is a communal experience; it ties you to others. A smile is a gift you can experience and a gift you can share with the world. A genuine smile comes from the heart and looks best with straight, white teeth and healthy gums.
If you’d like a reason to smile more, contact McKay Center for Cosmetic & General Dentistry to make an appointment. We’ll help give you a happy, healthy smile for life.
The content of this blog is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of qualified health providers with questions you may have regarding medical conditions.
Dr Dan McCay
901 Boren Ave. #1940,
Seattle, WA 98104
(206) 889-5602
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