Tuesday

The hidden power of smiling


One smile can generate the same level of brain stimulation as two thousand bars of chocolate, according to CEO of HealthTap, Ron Gutman.  As one of many who derive instant happiness from cocoa products in many forms (Tim Tams, Lindt balls and Cadbury blocks are all effective therapies which spring to mind), understanding the power of a smile provides a calorie neutral alternative.

In his TED talk ‘The Hidden Power of Smiling’, Gutman says that not only does a smile portray you as likeable and courteous – you also come across as more competent.  He refers to Charles Darwin’s ‘facial feedback response’ theory which suggests that the act of smiling itself actually makes us feel better, stimulating our brain reward mechanism.

As a child, Gutman decided he wanted to be a superhero when he grew up, and went searching for the first requirement – a superpower.  Resorting to science and research when magic wouldn’t suffice, he claims the smile to be the unrecognised superpower within all of us.  For those still searching for magic beans, OD'ing on Tim Tams or resorting to retail therapy for a pick me up, consider whether you're meeting your adult daily smiling quota of twenty times per day.

Watch Ron Gutman's TED talk;


Need a (scientifically supported) reason to smile?
  •          Reduce stress
  •           Live longer and happier lives
  •           Have positive impressions on others

7 comments:

  1. Love the post and the TED talk. It reminded me of a quote from the Dalai Lama at one of his happiness conferences (taken from a friend's notes from the event):

    The Dalai Lama said 'when I engage in a compassionate act, it benefits me more than the person receiving the compassion'. The example he gave (in all seriousness) is that if he smiles at a pretty young woman in the street, he feels really happy..... however often her body language and facial expression says she is thinking 'who is that weird man smiling at me. creep'

    ReplyDelete
  2. you are the best at this danzi - positivity. although my smile is toothier and goofier than yours. :)

    ReplyDelete
  3. Daniel JonesSeptember 14, 2011

    Oh I love watching all the TED talks!

    ReplyDelete
  4. AnonymousJune 18, 2014

    I'm really enjoying the theme/design of your weblog.

    Do you ever run into any web browser compatibility problems?
    A couple of my blog visitors have complained about my site not operating correctly in Explorer but looks great in Opera.

    Do you have any ideas to help fix this issue?

    ReplyDelete
  5. After looking at a few of the articles on your site, I honestly appreciate your technique of blogging.
    I book-marked it to my bookmark webpage list and will be checking
    back in the near future. Please check out my website as well and
    tell me how you feel.

    my web page: how to make money using amazon

    ReplyDelete
  6. Economical Marlboro Free Transporting

    Child support collection is known as a financial obstacle which will haunts many U . s citizens households. With that increasing divorce speed, many parents can be forced into nasty custody battles and even property disputes Buy Cheap Newport Menthol Cigarettes Online. Nearly all this issues are resolved at a court and result in child support premiums and visitation proper rights.

    Unfortunately, many times the healthiness of the infant is overlooked additionally, the judge's decision unnoticed. Child support proceeds unpaid and visitation rights typically are not enforced. While these requires are independent of merely one another they commonly occur simultaneously.

    And not adding to a powerful already astounding fact of $92. 3 billion per annum in uncollected infant support Newport Coupons For Cartons, enlist the aid of experts. These people focus on tracking down irresponsible dads and moms and forcing them how to pay overdue infant support. Many worth mentioning firms work for the contingency basis meaning it's not necessary to pay them unless this money is retrieved Cheap Marlboro 100'S Cigarettes Online.

    ReplyDelete