Take a moment right now if you haven't already and just smile.
Did you feel it?
When we smile, there is an undeniable feel-good emotion that begins. This is because "smiling activates the release of neuropeptides that work toward fighting off stress. Neuropeptides are tiny molecules that allow neurons to communicate. They facilitate messaging to the whole body when we are happy, sad, angry, depressed, or excited. The feel-good neurotransmitters—dopamine, endorphins and serotonin—are all released when a smile flashes across your face as well." (Psychology Today)
As a result our cortisol level drops! This is a huge benefit for me personally because my body tends to have higher cortisol levels.
Benefits of lowering cortisol:
"Research shows that children smile an average of 400 times per day, compared to the average happy adult who smiles 40-50 times per day and the typical adult who smiles only 20 times per day."
First of all, how do they even estimate things like this?? Haha!
Second, adults in general naturally have more stress because of our higher responsibility load. So it is understandable why we are smiling less, but how much more important is it for us to smile!
So, please, smile!
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