Change

 “Let your smile change the world, but don’t let the world change your smile.” (Anonymous)

Mother Teresa said, “We shall never know all the good that a simple smile can do.” A smile can make one seem more approachable as well as drastically affect your mental state. Smiling is a major non-verbal communication tool. You can smile in greeting, in thanking, in communicating your thoughts, as a way to disguise feelings and in expressing complicated emotions. Smiling is one of our most powerful gestures. It can mean a whole host of different things, and deciphering those clues is essential.

The common element in most smiles is the change in someone’s appearance that happens as a result of the zygomatic major muscle. This muscle reaches from the cheekbones down and across the face and attaching to the corners of the lips. With a strong action, this muscle stretches the lips, pulls the cheeks upward, bags the skin below the eyes, and produces crow’s feet wrinkles beyond the eye corners.

In some individuals, this muscle also pulls down slightly the tip of their nose. In others, there will be a slight tug at the skin near their ears. The simple action of the zygomatic major muscles produces the smile shown for genuine, uncontrolled, positive emotions. With that said, below are 10 of the most common types of smiles.

Dominant Smile: The dominant smile is otherwise known as a sneer. It often includes a curl of the lip or a raise of the eyebrow and they are associated with feelings of superiority, pride, and contempt. Dominant smiles are meant to spark negative feelings in observers and it works. Those on the receiving end of a dominant smile experience higher levels of cortisol, the stress hormone, for up to 30 minutes after the encounter.

Duchenne Smile: The Duchenne Smile is a true smile of happiness. This smile includes not only upturned corners of the mouth, but happy crinkled eyes that leave little wrinkles or crow’s feet. The Duchenne smile is genuine, associated with real feelings of pleasure or overexcitement. It makes people seem more trustworthy, friendly, and approachable.

Embarrassed Smile: Embarrassed smiles are often coupled with a downward tilt of the head, a touch of the face, or a shifting of the gaze to the left. Sometimes this is coupled with a red tint to the cheeks, neck, or the tips of the ears.

Forced Smile: The Pan Am smile is the forced smile named after Pan Am flight attendants who were required to continue to smile in spite of frustrations or disgruntled customers. Forced, fake, and characterized by overly exposed teeth, this smile can be detrimental to your health. This smile doesn’t quite reach the eyes and is typically the smile that we display when we’re told to “say cheese.”

Ingenuine Smile: It’s been shown that facial muscle contractions that accompany a smile were fired in high stakes situations like police questioning or polygraph tests. This suggests that often lies and ingenuity result in what’s called a duping smile that includes the smile with raised eyebrows. A duping smile is often displayed as a result of the excitement of getting away with manipulation.

Polite Smile: Polite smiles are great for instances that call for friendliness without emotional intimacy. A polite smile is usually tight-lipped and with low intensity, signaling the desire to appease without being overly friendly. People often use this smile with acquaintances and strangers as a way to say “hello.”

Regretful Smile: While you like to think that smiles only show happiness, it’s true that you also smile in moments of grief and during physical pain. This is more often than not for the sake of protecting one’s emotions or reassuring others. These bittersweet smiles are filled with longing and at times can be tinged with regret or fondness. While they have an upturned mouth, you can often find sadness peeking through the eyes.

Sarcastic Smile: The sarcastic smile suggests a positive emotion, but the eyes give it away with a look of disdain. Crooked and with conflicting emotions, this small smile often comes with narrowed eyes and could be considered a smirk.

Seductive Smile: Depending on the culture, there are different variations of a flirtatious or seductive smile. A slight smile accompanied by direct eye contact can be a marker of seduction. Or this kind of smile can be accompanied with submissive behavior (tilting the head downwards) or dominant behavior (slowly glancing away).

Uncomfortable Smile: Often, people smile when they’re uncomfortable because someone has said something inappropriate. They attempt to hide their feelings of discomfort for the sake of covering up their true emotions. Women tend to overcompensate for their unease more than men. Most men who tend to sexually harass interpret this smile as flirtatious. This smile doesn’t quite reach the eyes.

Smiling can help you in these 5 ways:

Smiling can boost your mood: When you smile, endorphins are naturally released from your brain to trigger happiness and joyfulness. As endorphins flow throughout your body, they will naturally help improve your mood and turn a bad day around. Even a fake smile can bring positivity into your life.

Smiling can help you get promoted: Smiling makes you appear confident, sociable, and more attractive. Statistics have shown that these are qualities that can help with moving up in your company. In addition, smiling can also enhance creativity and productivity, two important components for achieving success in your profession.

Smiling can improve your health: People who smile and laugh regularly tend to have healthier bodies and live up to seven years longer. Why? Smiling has been known to:

·       Lowers your heart rate, which minimizes your risk for heart disease and high blood pressure

·       Reduces pain with the release of endorphins, which acts as a natural painkiller

·       Relaxes your body, which in turn boosts your immune system and lowers your risk for sickness

·       Retrains your brain so that you think more positively

·       Strengthens the cellular level in your body by reducing your risk for cancer and other serious health issues

Smiling makes you more approachable: A simple smile can make you seem trustworthy and friendly. These two qualities will make you approachable and easier to converse with. People who smile frequently and confidently have healthier social and professional lives.

Smiling relieves stress: Stress and anxiety are common in today’s society. Both have been linked to serious health concerns. As stated above, when you smile, endorphins are released. These endorphins not only improve your mood, but can reduce stress hormones.

“Life is short. Smile while you still have teeth.” (Lifehack)[i]

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[i] Adapted from:

·    "10 Types of Smiles “by the Art of Dentistry and Spa

·     "5 Ways Your Smile Can Improve Your Happiness” by Jack W. Haney

·     "The Science of Smiling” by the Paul Ekman Group