According to a study, putting on a fake smile can actually make you feel better.

Photo by Nicholas Kusuma on Unsplash





















  • Putting on a happy face even if it's not genuine can make a person feel better.
  • A fake smile can trick the brain into feeling happy when you really aren't.
  • Researchers analysed data from 3,878 persons hailing from 19 different nations.

A new study, this one conducted by experts at Stanford University, has demonstrated that faking a grin can in fact enhance a person's mood, even if the smile isn't genuine.

Alterations in physiology are said to "fool the brain" into thinking that changes in mood and emotions are occurring, according to one of the hypotheses that attempt to explain human behaviour. A grin has the potential to trick the brain into believing that the wearer is happy, similar to how a racing heartbeat might be interpreted as fear or excitement.

The "conscious experience" of an emotion can lead to the experience of the emotion itself, the primary author of the study noted in a release issued by the institution.

According to Dr. Nicholas Coles, a furrowed brow can make a person feel angry, whereas a smile has the opposite effect and can make a person feel happier.

Dr. Coles and his team conducted an analysis of previous research and discovered a wealth of evidence in support of the concept that smiling artificially can lead to genuine happiness.

Therefore, researchers came up with a whole new experiment that they called "The Many Smiles Collaboration." In it, they observed 3,878 people hailing from 19 distinct nations.

The other half of the participants were instructed to put pens in their lips as they viewed uplifting pictures of cute animals and beautiful flowers. Others were given the instruction to lift their lips and cheeks in an imitation of a smile while still holding a pen in their mouths.

People were instructed to do so so that the muscles in their faces might be moved in a manner analogous to what occurs when we smile.

The findings of the researchers, which were published in the journal Nature Human Behaviour, indicated that it was beneficial to be able to feign a smile when necessary.

It was discovered that the method of putting a pen in one's mouth does not work. Coles stated that they did not know why the procedure was not as reliable, but they speculated that it could be because of the strain that is placed on the teeth while engaging in this activity. When someone is smiling from the heart, their teeth aren't clenching or grinding against each other in any way.

Over the course of the past few years, scientific research has made some progress while also making some setbacks. "However, at this point in time, we are closer than we have ever been to understanding a fundamental component of the human condition, and that component is emotion," Coles added.