Fake it 'till you feel it!
Jun 07, 2021
Smiling – even a fake smile – can have a positive impact on your mood. Activating facial muscles by smiling can trick your brain into happiness even when you are feeling down. Using your muscles to create a smile is a saved movement pattern that the brain associates with happiness. The incoming information of this muscle activation stimulates the amygdala, the area of the brain that processes emotions.
How to:
Option 1:
Create a full, true smile that involves your eyes as well as your mouth. Hold for a few seconds.
Option 2:
If you are feeling down and creating a smile seems hard. Smile by holding a pen/chopsticks between your teeth, which forced their facial muscles to replicate the movement of a smile. I know this may feel awkward but it works.
Benefit #1 More Happiness
Activating the facial muscles sends information to the amygdala, the brain area which processes emotions. The neurotransmitters dopamine and serotonin are released. Dopamine increases our feelings of happiness.
Benefit #2 Calming
The facial muscles are innervated by the facial nerve, cranial nerve 7. This nerve originates in the brainstem, which when activated stimulates the parasympathetic tone. Higher parasympathetic tone will help us “rest and digest” and calm down.
Benefit #3 Reduces Stress
As mentioned above, activating the amygdala with a smile releases the neurotransmitter serotonin which is associated with reduced stress.
Low levels of serotonin are associated with depression and aggression.
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