{"id":10129,"date":"2016-02-18T13:26:28","date_gmt":"2016-02-18T21:26:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.westgatedentalcare.net\/?p=10129"},"modified":"2026-01-08T19:38:16","modified_gmt":"2026-01-08T19:38:16","slug":"our-hidden-superpower-smiling-arlington-heights-dentist","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.westgatedentalcare.net\/blog\/2016\/02\/18\/our-hidden-superpower-smiling-arlington-heights-dentist\/","title":{"rendered":"Our Hidden Superpower: Smiling!"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"alignleft\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.westgatedentalcare.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/superman-kid-300x300.jpg\" alt=\"superman kid\" class=\"wp-image-10130\"\/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p><strong>SMILING AT SOMEONE<\/strong> can turn their whole day around. But have you ever thought about the impact the act of smiling has on YOU? Smiling is a hidden superpower that can change our lives for the better if we let it!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<!--more-->\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Smiling Has Numerous Health Benefits<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Did you know that frequent smiling can actually make us healthier? Smiling reduces stress and increases health and mood enhancing hormone levels, such as endorphins. Smiling also helps to lower our blood pressure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Perhaps even more surprising, smiling can extend our lifespan! A study conducted at Wayne State University in 2010 found that baseball players who smiled in their pictures lived seven years longer on average than those who weren\u2019t smiling in their photos.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"10 Facts About Smiling\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/f2POGnesCgA?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Smiling Makes Us Happy<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>While we generally think of smiling as the result of feeling happy, smiling, even when we don\u2019t feel like it, can actually improve our mood and emotional disposition. In other words, pasting a smile on your face, even if you\u2019re faking it, can make you feel happier!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Here\u2019s why:<\/strong> when we cause our facial muscles to form a smile, our brain\u2019s circuitry of emotion and happiness is activated\u2014whether the smile is genuine or not! A study conducted in the UK found that one smile can provide the same level of brain stimulation as up to <strong>2,000 chocolate bars.<\/strong> What\u2019s more, a smile can be as neurologically stimulating to your brain as <strong>receiving $25,000!<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Smiling Helps Us Connect With People<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>One of our most primal instincts as human beings is to smile. Part of the joy of being around a newborn child is seeing them smile! Before they start smiling in the waking hours, they smile involuntarily in their sleep. <a href=\"http:\/\/news.bbc.co.uk\/2\/hi\/health\/3105580.stm\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">3-D ultrasounds<\/a> show that developing babies even smile in the womb. Simply put, we\u2019ve been smiling since before we were born!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And as it turns out, smiling is absolutely contagious! When we see another smile, it\u2019s pretty hard not to smile ourselves. If you or I observe another person\u2019s smile, mirror neurons will fire in our brain, giving us the sensation that we ourselves are smiling. So, smiling not only makes you feel good, but everyone around you as well!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>We Love Your Smile!<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Smiling has the power to get you through the good times and the bad! As your trusted dental professionals, we\u2019re here to help you maintain a healthy, beautiful smile so that it can brighten your life and the lives of others. <strong>Remember, when in doubt, smile!<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Thank you to our wonderful patients! We appreciate you!<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Image by Flickr user <a href=\"https:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/iz4aks\/20221457422\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Giorgio Minguzzi<\/a> used under<a href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-sa\/4.0\/deed.en\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license<\/a>. Image cropped and modified from original.&nbsp;The content on this blog is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of qualified health providers with questions you may have regarding medical conditions.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>SMILING AT SOMEONE can turn their whole day around. But have you ever thought about the impact the act of smiling has on YOU? Smiling is a hidden superpower that can change our lives for the better if we let it!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-10129","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Our Hidden Superpower: Smiling!<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Smiling is a hidden superpower that can change our lives for the better if we let it!\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.westgatedentalcare.net\/blog\/2016\/02\/18\/our-hidden-superpower-smiling-arlington-heights-dentist\/\" \/>\n<meta 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