What Happens To Your Body If You Smile Everyday

Smiles are infectious. Whether you're smiling from a hilarious rom-com, a dad joke, or grinning because someone else is smiling — this involuntary response you can't always control is powerful. It's been widely accepted that a smile can go a long way, but how much does this action affect you? While smiling isn't typically associated with being intentional, Verywell Mind shares that a smile (authentic or not) can positively impact the body, mind, and spirit.

The sheer activity of lifting the corners of your mouth seems like a simple antidote to overall better health. Smiling not only radiates through your facial muscles, but it shows up in body language, too. Take body posture for an example. When you focus on negative feelings such as disappointment or self-doubt, the body may naturally slump (via Forbes). This is important because body posture echoes and contributes to how you feel since there's a strong mind-body connection.

However, the opposite holds true. One study published by the American Psychological Association found that facial action affects two things: facial expressions and the expression of the body. With this in mind, if you were to smile every day, here are five ways smiling would positively impact your body.

Another profound way a big grin impacts your bodily health is by strengthening the immune system. Smiling helps the function of your immune system by helping it run more efficiently, which may leave you better prepared to fight a cold (via Verywell Mind). When negative thoughts or feelings arise they can set off various chemical reactions in the body that simultaneously can add stress and decrease immunity, per Mayo Clinic. Alternatively, embracing a smile or using some "pick-me-up" laughter triggers the release of neuropeptides, which ward off stress and strengthen the immune system.

The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine published a 2015 study researching the role laughter plays on the immune system, particularly in postpartum women. Researchers selected 76 participants, then exposed them to laughter therapy twice a week for 60 minutes. The findings indicated laughter therapy overall improved the immune system in postpartum women because of the neurotransmitters released.

When these specific neurotransmitters are released, it causes the body to relax. This relaxed state (triggered by smiling) encourages your immune system to function more effectively, as 2014 research published in Biochemical Pharmacology attests. Thus the famous saying "it's in my blood" may have some truth to it, as research shows smiling can affect the immune response system.

Research has shown the positive role smiling has on stress, but did you know a smile can also help with pain? According to a 2021 study published in Emotion, the act of smiling or grimacing releases endorphins or natural painkillers such as serotonin to help you relax. The mixture of this brain chemical cocktail works to both elevate your mood while reducing the pain and tension, per Verywell Mind. Thus, one smile can trigger your body's natural painkillers to kick in and help alleviate pain all over your body.

To take smiling a step further, pain relief can also be found through laughter, shares Mayo Clinic. Whether you turn on your favorite sit-com rerun or spend all day laughing with a friend, the phrase "laughter is medicine" is science-backed.

Furthermore, both smiling and laughing can also help you better cope with very difficult situations that may or may not be associated with pain (via Mayo Clinic). PLOS One published the results of one controlled study that specifically tested the effects of laughter therapy on cancer patients to examine their quality of life. These findings indicated that laughing was very beneficial and could be a complementary element of treatment. However, further research is needed to understand the effects of smiling and laughing on cancer patients.