August 2022--What the world needs now is love, sweet love, according to Jackie DeShannon’s hit song from 1965. While I think that’s true—I think we need something else before we get to love.
In my opinion, what the world needs now is a smile. If you were around in the late 70s/early 80s you are probably thinking about a Coke commercial from that era about having a Coke and a smile or Mean Joe Green and a little boy. Either way, it was all about a smile and the good it can do.
If you think about it, though, there’s a certain irony when it comes to a smile.
It’s free but it can feel like a million bucks to you and to others.
You can give one away over and over, and yet you never run out.
A good one can make you seem trustworthy, but too much or too many can make you seem shallow or dishonest.
The value is priceless—which to many means it’s expensive. But a smile is the cheapest, easiest, and most rewarding and sincere gift you can give to someone you know and someone you don’t know.
When you talk about something being infectious, that’s usually not a good thing and something you don’t want. But an infectious smile is highly sought after and accepted with open arms.
You’re happy to get it and you’re also happy to give it back.
According to an article I read, smiles originated 30 million years ago.
If a child or an adult smiles, it’s because they’re happy. But when a baby smiles, it’s because they have gas.
I read on a medical site often newborns will smile in their sleep. Sometimes a smile in the early weeks of life is simply a sign that your little bundle is passing gas. But starting between 6 and 8 weeks of life, babies develop a "social smile" -- an intentional gesture of warmth meant just for you.
Then I read a mommy blog and she said these early smiles are not emotional but a subcortical response from their brain. They do not smile because of gas, which is a myth. By six weeks to two months of age your baby will smile purposefully at you and others around her. This is called a “social smile” as opposed to the spontaneous smiles the baby did earlier.
So there you have it. Two sites. Two different responses. I’d prefer to think new babies are smiling because they’re happy to be in your arms, happy their bellies are full and happy they can stretch and fall right back asleep.
I’m sure you’ve heard that smiling keeps you healthy. Honestly, a positive attitude overall can do wonders for your health. But did you know why?
It’s because smiling increases mood-enhancing hormones while decreasing stress-enhancing hormones, including cortisol, and adrenaline.
It also reduces overall blood pressure. And because you typically smile when you're happy, the muscles used trigger your brain to produce more endorphins—the chemical that naturally relieves pain and stress.
The more you smile, the happier and more relaxed you get. Surprisingly, this also works when faking a smile or laugh, as the brain can't differentiate between real or fake smiles.
Other studies have shown the average adult only cracks a smile about 20 times in a day. Compare that to infants who smile an average of 400 times a day. This shows me there's a lot we can learn from babies.
Take it one day at a time...
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