The looming specter of incontrovertible science is invoked by the homily-spouter; this maxim is presented as an authoritative statement of provable fact that could hardly be argued with by those being remonstrated for their poor attitudes. One can almost see the white-coated scientists standing behind it, silently adding their unspoken chidings to those of the finger-wagger.
Whether it is physically less exhausting to smile than to glower, it is certainly beneficial, and thus there is something to this ancient exhortation to put aside negative emotions long enough to turn a frown upside down. In a study performed in Sweden, researchers confirmed what our grandmothers already knew: that people respond in kind to the facial expressions. Test subjects were shown photos of faces — some smiling and some frowning — and required to respond with their own smiles, frowns, and non-expressions as directed by those conducting the experiment.
Because we humans are wired to instinctively respond like for like, facial expressions are contagious. Yet smiling is not just good for the community in which the sad sack or grouch lives; it is also beneficial to the person doing the grinning. Facial expressions do not merely signal what one feels but actually contribute to that feeling. Likewise, faking a frown brings on a sense of not much liking the world that day. Indeed, this cart-before-the-horse effect has been studied and measured by numerous researchers.
It has been demonstrated that subjects who produced facial expressions of fear, anger, sadness, or disgust manifested the same bodily reactions that experiencing bouts of the actual emotions would have provoked e. At least in this chapter of the saga of the mind against the body, the body won.
Smiling makes us feel happier. Fact Checks. Muscles to Smile and Frown. It takes a greater number of facial muscles to frown than it does to smile. Song, Adams identified 12 principal muscles required for a Duchenne smile a smile that also causes crinkling of the skin around the eyes—a sign of genuine joy and only 11 for a frown.
Song maintained, however, that it takes less effort to smile; since people tend to smile more often, the muscles involved could perform the action easier. Furthermore, smiling affects not just yourself, but also the people around you. In a study, Swedish researchers found that people tend to mirror the facial expressions they see. Participants found it easier to smile when exposed to images of smiles; the same effect was observed for frowns.
Humans are wired to respond in kind because of mirror neurons, brain cells that fire both when we perform an action and observe the same action performed before us. This explains why smiles are indeed contagious. Research has also shown that just like how happiness can make you smile, smiling can make you happy. Sure, it might take a bit more effort to smile than to frown—but if it means making the world a bit brighter for everyone, that extra flex is a very small price to pay.
Still remember your 5th-grade science classes? Also, not everyone has the same number of facial muscles; some have more, enabling a wider range of expression, while some people actually have 40 percent fewer [source: Devlin]. The truth is that people smile -- and frown -- differently, even when presented with similar stimuli.
There is an even wider range of variety when one begins using different expressive muscles for the eyes, mouth, nose and forehead. While nobody could possibly tell you with accuracy exactly how many muscles you use when you smile 43?
If we analyze a smile that only raises the corners of the lips and the upper lip the smile you give when you bump into your former boss in the grocery store, perhaps , then there are five muscle pairs or 10 total muscles that accomplish this. Two muscle pairs primarily raise the upper lip, while three other muscle pairs are tasked mainly with raising the corners of the mouth.
If we reduce a frown only to the lowering of the corners of the mouth along with a slight downward pouting of the lower lip, we're dealing with only three muscle pairs one pair to drop the lower lip, and two pairs to lower the corners. Counted individually as you might count your biceps to be two different muscles, instead of one muscle pair , we reach a tally that very well may turn our understanding of the universe completely on end: 10 muscles to smile, and six muscles to frown.
But before you abandon your smile for a look of mild disappointment in order to conserve energy, consider that we can reduce both a smile and a frown even further, so that each is produced merely by raising or lowering the corners of the mouth into a robotic expression. In this case, we have a tie: two muscle pairs for a total of four to "smile," and the same number to "frown. While such expressions would hardly be recognized as a proper smile or frown, the fact that the same amount of effort is used to produce one or the other means that the scientific minds of this generation and the next will have to continue searching for a good reason for humans to put a smile on their faces -- and not a frown of equal but opposing effort.
Want to know whether laughter's the best medicine and how smiling can change your mood? Try the links to the HowStuffWorks articles that follow. Humans don't have a monopoly on facial expressions. Many primates, especially apes, have many of the same expressive muscles that we do and use them to express similar emotional information.
Chimpanzees can hunt in groups using only nonverbal cues to transmit pertinent information and remain organized [source: Nicolay ]. Sign up for our Newsletter! Mobile Newsletter banner close. Mobile Newsletter chat close. Mobile Newsletter chat dots. Mobile Newsletter chat avatar.
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