The Journal of Psychological Science recently posted a study in which scientists reported a connection between smiling and decreased stress. In fact, a smile can make you feel better even if it is forced. As reported in The Atlantic,
The participants who were instructed to smile recovered from the stressful activities with lower hear rates than participants who held neutral expressions, and those with Duchenne smiles were the most relaxed of all, with the most positive affect. Those with forced smiles held only by the chopsticks also reported more positive feelings than those who didn’t smile at all.
As we covered in our article this morning, stress and weight loss are connected very closely. This study could mean that smiling more often, even if you don’t feel too happy, can improve your mood enough to decrease your stress and prevent the connected weight gain.
Read the article and see the link to the original study here.
Give it a try and let us know how smiling affected your mood (or didn’t) in the comments!
