The Power of Your Smile
BY JEN WIDERSTROM
It’s the most wonderful time of the year, and also the most stressful time of the year. But there’s something you can wear to help you manage the annual overwhelm that won’t cost you a single cent: your smile.
Photo by Ave Calvar
The research that supported this hypothesis was conducted in the 1980s, and it was called “The Smile Study.” A German psychologist named, Frtiz Strack studied the effects of our smiles on our moods on our endurance levels, and what they found was that your perceived level of endurance and stress isn’t only dictated by what your body says, but it’s about what your brain says too.
The researchers had their subjects put a pencil in their mouths—half of the group was asked to put the pencil between their teeth (mimicking a smile), and the other half was asked to put the pencil between their lips (mimicking a frown). Then the groups were asked to the same exercise sequence on a bicycle. As they were exercising, the subjects who had been surreptitiously put in a frown position, felt that the perceived effort of work was much harder and they also gave up sooner. But the subjects with the pencil in their teeth (simulating a smile) felt like it was an easier ride, and they were able to keep going for much longer.
In addition to the pencil study, there was another experiment conducted at the time regarding facial recognition and how it influences the perceived endurance of the body. In 2014, this British study had cyclists completed a pair of routine time-to-exhaustion tests on stationary bikes. What they didn’t know is that images of smiling or frowning faces were being flashed on the wall in front of them, in totally imperceptible 16-millisecond bursts. When they were shown smiling faces, they lasted 12 percent longer on the test.
Author and journalist Alex Hutchinson observed it best when he said, “Exactly why smiling faces boost your endurance is still up for debate, but if seeing smiling faces changes your physical limits, that means it was your brain calling the shots all along—especially if you’re not even aware you saw the smiling faces, which rules out a placebo effect.”
These results are powerful. This means that just the expression of your face, whether it’s your own or one that you're seeing, affects the physiology of your performance and the perceived stress of your day. Like WHAT!!!?? This wowed me.
Photo by Clay Banks
So, whether you are pedaling a bicycle in a workout like in this experiment, or you’re living your daily life and literally taking your frown and turning it upside down, you are making your own life easier and the lives of others who are seeing that smile, too.
Your brain plays a big role in your ability to move through stressful times, hard work, hard days, and even hard workouts. If you want to stay on the happy wagon (or during any stressful time of your year) make sure you’re smiling, and the world will smile back at you. :)
Jen Widerstrom, Founder
P.S. Remember that no matter what you're going through right now, you don't have to do it alone! There are others like you in our community, where we interact on a daily basis, fight our demons, share our victories, and watch over each other as friends and accountability partners.
Together we are FÖRENA - a health & fitness community for women like you where we focus not only on our physical health but also mind, soul, relationships, and overall well-being. Become one of us now with FREE 1-month membership, and let us witness your growth! 🌱
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