The Telegraph
Grinning and bearing
it really might work, say scientists, following research that smiling can
reduce stress and help the heart.
Researchers found
smiling can reduce stress levels and low the heart rate while performing
difficult tasks. Writing in Psychological Science, the authors tell how they
studied the effects of different types of smiling in difficult situations. Tara
Kraft, of the University of Kansas, said: "Age old adages, such as 'grin
and bear it' have suggested smiling to be not only an important nonverbal
indicator of happiness but also wishfully promotes smiling as a panacea for
life's stressful events.
"We wanted to examine
whether these adages had scientific merit; whether smiling could have real
health-relevant benefits." She and Dr Sarah Pressman divided smiles into
two categories - standard smiles, which use the muscles surrounding the mouth,
and genuine or Duchenne smiles, which engage the muscles surrounding both the
mouth and eyes.
Kraft and Pressman
worked to manipulate the types of smiles to examine the effects on stress. They
recruited 169 participants from a Midwestern university and divided them into
three groups, with each group was trained to hold a different facial
expression.
They were instructed
to hold chopsticks in their mouths in such a way that they engaged facial
muscles used to create a neutral facial expression, a standard smile, or a
Duchenne smile.
Chopsticks were
essential to the task because they forced people to smile without them being
aware that they were doing so: only half of the group members were actually
instructed to smile.
Participants were
then asked to work on multitasking activities which, unknown to them, were
designed to be stressful.
During both of the
stressful tasks, participants held the chopsticks in their mouth just as they
were taught in training and the researchers measured participants' heart rates
and self stress levels.
Compared to
participants who held neutral facial expressions, participants who were
instructed to smile, and in particular those with Duchenne smiles, had lower
heart rate levels after recovery from the stressful activities.
The participants who
held chopsticks in a manner that forced them to smile, but were not explicitly
told to smile as part of the training, also reported a smaller decrease in
positive affect compared to those who held neutral facial expressions.
Dr Pressman said that
the findings show that smiling during brief stressors can help to reduce the
intensity of the body's stress response, regardless of whether a person
actually feels happy.
She said: "The
next time you are stuck in traffic or are experiencing some other type of
stress you might try to hold your face in a smile for a moment.
"Not only will
it help you 'grin and bear it' psychologically, but it might actually help your
heart health as well."
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/healthnews/9440567/Smiling-is-good-for-the-heart.html
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