Perfect, white teeth aren’t the only thing about a smile that affects your self-esteem. Smiling more often regardless of how you feel can improve your health, confidence levels, and relationships. While smiling seems like a natural reaction, it only takes a brief period of time to experience the full benefits. It is not only a quick and easy solution to add more positivity in your life, but it also encourages positive-thinking patterns in ourselves and others. People with imperfect teeth may find themselves uncomfortable in social situations, but this doesn’t have to be the case. Here are six reasons to smile even when you don’t necessarily feel like it.
- Smiling makes you seem more attractive, likable, and intelligent
Facial attractiveness plays a crucial role in social interaction, often influencing success, employment opportunities and performance evaluations. Since smiling creates a pleasant experience when talking and interacting with others, doing so will make you seem more enjoyable to be around. It’s contagious and uplifting, which help you appear more appealing and attractive without putting in a whole lot of effort.
- Smiling elevates your mood
Research has shown that smiling can trick your brain into thinking that you are happy whether or not your smile is authentic. Every time you smile, your brain releases happy hormones such as dopamine, endorphins, and serotonin that can alter your emotional state. Benefits include relaxing the body while lowering your heart rate, stress, and blood pressure.
- A beautiful smile boosts self-confidence
You can project confidence even when you don’t feel like it. When you smile at others, it communicates to them that you are happy to be in their presence, thereby imbuing an optimistic feeling in them. As a result, they’ll see you as an approachable and competent person. The feedback you get when people want to spend more and more time with you will help you feel more confident and secure in yourself. Smiling also adds a positive note to your tone of voice and conversation, which only adds to your advantage.
- Smiling leads to positive social interactions
Understanding how your smile correlates to self-esteem is important so that you can understand how it affects you in social situations. Studies have shown that people who smile are more likeable than those who do not. This can be beneficial in the workplace or any other setting where building relationships is crucial. This is especially true for challenging situations such as job interviews, presentations, or sales meetings. Since smiling is a symbol of confidence, you’ll be taken for someone who can work well in stressful situations and build healthy relationships with colleagues.
- Smiling increases productivity
Happiness has a great impact on productivity in the workplace. Since smiling can cause us to experience happy emotions, this naturally helps improve our mindset and boost our productivity levels. Similarly, smiling at your coworkers can also create connections that lead to increased productivity and teamwork. All it takes is for you to make a decision to smile.
- Smiling can impact your success
It’s no secret that your physical attributes can impact your career. Since humans are naturally appearance driven and conscious, you will most likely be judged by potential employers, supervisors, and peers on your first impression. Studies have shown that those with a great smile come off as amicable and honest versus those who have problematic teeth – or anyone who chooses not to smile. As a result, a smiling faces is more memorable and can vastly influence your promotions, pay raises, and employment opportunities over the long haul.
- Smiling makes you look more youthful
People tend to look healthier when they’re smiling whether they’re male or female – and part of that is because the muscles we use to smile help lift the face. We also tend to rate smiling faces as more attractive, so we naturally associate them with positives effects like youth, positivity, and vibrance. As a result, when you smile more, others will most likely judge you as looking younger than you actually are.
