“When your muscles say you’re happy, you’re more likely to see the world around you in a positive way,”

On this #nationalsmileday Did you know that you can smile yourself happier?

Research from the University of South Australia confirms that the act of smiling can trick your mind into being more positive, simply by moving your facial muscles.

The study evaluated the impact of a smile where a smile was ‘created’ by participants holding a pen between their teeth, forcing their facial muscles to replicate the movement of a smile.

Lead cognition expert, Dr. Fernando Marmolejo-Ramos says the finding has important insights for mental health.

In our research we found that when you forcefully practice smiling, it releases neurotransmitters to encourage an emotionally positive state. For mental health, this has interesting implications. If we can trick the brain into perceiving “stimuli as ‘happy’, then we can potentially use this mechanism to help boost mental health.”

So grab a pen a get smiling! Smile at a stranger, at yourself in the mirror and let’s create some happiness! 😃