Arthur Brooks, who writes a popular happiness column for the New York Times, and teaches an online class called “Managing Happiness,” talks about how we can feel happier just by smiling. As evidence he points to the neurologist Duchenne who in the 1860s identified muscles just to the side of our eyes called the orbicularis oculi that if activated, create what Duchenne called a “a smile of joy.”
To engage those muscles, and thereby feel happier, Brooks invites students to try this trick – to put a pencil in their mouth crossways and hold it for 60-90 seconds. This will prompt our face to smile and we will likely feel happier.
In an Atlantic Monthly article, Eric Finzi points to studies that prove the impact of smiling. For example, one study of yearbook photos found women who smiled had “happier lives, marriages and fewer personal setbacks in the following 30 years. Another study finds a correlation between how big a smile you made for a baseball card photo and how long you will live. Those baseball players who had the broadest smiles lived, on average, seven years longer than those who smiled the least.”
Why does smiling lead to happiness? Studies show it reduces the release of stress hormones that can negatively impact our health.
So, go ahead, smile! And if it doesn’t come naturally, try the Brooks trick. Get a pencil and engage your orbicularis oculi.
On Emotions 