When I walked into the bagel shop in my neighborhood today, I was having a rough morning. Well, this wasn’t out of the ordinary. I am dramatically not a morning person. My feet shuffled across the floor in a zombie-like manner. Miserable, I looked up to see the girl smiling at me from behind the counter as she took my order. I returned the smile, which is extraordinary. I can probably count the number of times I’ve ever smiled before 12:00 pm on one hand. Then, as I stepped back to let the man behind me order, I exchanged smiles with him too. It was amazing how one small act of kindness could connect three people who were previously total strangers to each other - in less than 5 seconds.

According to experts at Wayne State University in Michigan, showing off your pearly whites can help you live longer. Examining 230 photographs of Major League Baseball players printed in the 1932 baseball register, the researchers categorized them depending on the intensity of their grins.

The baseball register also included the baseball players’ lifespans. The photographs were compared with how long each individual player lived, and the results were astonishing.

Of the 184 players that had since passed away, the men that weren’t smiling had an average lifespan of 72.9 years. Those in the photographs that were “partially smiling” averaged out at a 75 year lifespan. The fully smiling baseball players had the most surprising results of all. The men who wore a toothy grin lived an average of seven years longer than their straight-faced coworkers with a lifespan of 79.9 years.

Maybe the best way to get over a cold isn’t chicken noodle soup and cough drops. It could be a smile that does the trick. According to SHoRT (Smiling Hospital Research Team) blood samples were taken of sick children in a hospital. 30 minutes later, storytellers and puppeteers visited the patients. Bloodwork was done on the children after the visitors left. The patients who were visited by the comedians had a much higher white blood cell count than those who weren’t visited. Because the sick children were laughing and smiling, their bodies could get healthier than those who weren’t.

Even when you’re unhappy, smiling - both forced and natural - is proven to improve your mood. Using the 44 muscles in your face that allow you to smile, feel-good endorphins are released into your body. This reaction has been studied for over 30 years. The journal Science published an article in 1984 on this topic. When people make various facial expressions, physiological changes occur in their bodies such as change in heart rate and breathing rate.

Did you ever look at yourself in the mirror and realize something was missing? It wasn’t socks. It wasn’t earrings. It wasn’t that you forgot to put on mascara. It probably was your smile. People tend to look their best- and happiest - when they’re smiling. It’s why our moms always made us squeal “cheese!” before they snapped a photo. The American Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry claims that 96% of American adults think a person who smiles is more attractive to the opposite sex. Instead of a cheesy pickup line, try smiling to win over a possible date.
In a University of Pittsburgh study, researchers investigated the correlation between a model’s attractiveness, depth of her smile, and her perceived level of trustworthiness. Participants ranked 45 models on this criteria, revealing that the bigger the ladies smiled, the more trustworthy they seemed. Next time you want to persuade someone to do something, just beam ear- to -ear.

You’ve now learned that smiling isn’t just another facial expression humans can have. It’s a feeling. It’s an unspoken word. It’s an intangible feeling of happiness. Next time you want to get over a cold, live longer, share happiness, look more attractive, get people to trust you more or just be happier, try smiling.