It has been ages since I last smiled at an unknown stranger when our eyes met. Social media, news, movies, has made us so uptight and alert that our natural reflex has shifted from smiling to suspecting them.
We no longer enjoy food as we did
Snapchat and Instagram have made people forget the value of here and now. Instead of being happily in the present moment, we are often more focused on portraying a happy life which may be far from the reality. The satisfaction of the first sip of the morning tea or the first bite of the domino’s pizza doesn’t feel the same as it did a decade ago. The first thought that we have when we see a delicious food now is to click a perfect picture to show other’s how wonderful our life is.
We no longer see Bollywood as we did before
A decade back movie stars were famous for their work and that was enough in itself. Acting was seen as a profession and a job. However, the current Bollywood seems more like a political party than a show business. It is not the work but the lives of the celebrities that we are most interested in. Political leaders are supposed to have opinions and that is what is to be taken seriously by the people. However, now it is the opinions of our favourite celebrities that we are more into.
We no longer have real meaningful bond
The friendship and relationship trends have changed since the last decade. There were more meaningful bonds between link minded people who were true to one another (even behind their back). However, now the long evening chai meets have turned to Starbucks coffee meets. Where though we are physically together, but mentally and emotionally far into two different worlds in our mobile phones.
Ever had someone tell you to cheer up and smile? It’s probably not the most welcomed advice, especially when you’re feeling sick, tired or just plain down in the dumps. But there’s actually good reason to turn that frown upside down, corny as it sounds. Science has shown that the mere act of smiling can lift your mood, lower stress, boost your immune system and possibly even prolong your life. It’s a pretty backwards idea, isn’t it? Happiness is what makes us smile; how can the reverse also be true? The fact is, as Dr. Isha Gupta a neurologist from IGEA Brain and Spine explains, a smile spurs a chemical reaction in the brain, releasing certain hormones including dopamine and serotonin. “Dopamine increases our feelings of happiness. Serotonin release is associated with reduced stress. Low levels of serotonin are associated with depression and aggression,” says Dr. Gupta. “Low levels of dopamine are also associated with depression.” Fake It Till You Make It In other words, smiling can trick your brain into believing you’re happy which can then spur actual feelings of happiness. But it doesn’t end there. Dr. Murray Grossan, an ENT-otolaryngologist in Los Angeles points to the science of psychoneuroimmunology (the study of how the brain is connected to the immune system), asserting that it has been shown “over and over again” that depression weakens your immune system, while happiness on the other hand has been shown to boost our body’s resistance. “What’s crazy is that just the physical act of smiling can make a difference in building your immunity,” says Dr. Grossan. “When you smile, the brain sees the muscle [activity] and assumes that humor is happening.” In a sense, the brain is a sucker for a grin. It doesn’t bother to sort out whether you’re smiling because you’re genuinely joyous, or because you’re just pretending. “Even forcing a fake smile can legitimately reduce stress and lower your heart rate,” adds Dr. Sivan Finkel, a cosmetic dentist at NYC’s The Dental Parlour. “A study performed by a group at the University of Cardiff in Wales found that people who could not frown due to botox injections were happier on average than those who could frown.” And there are plenty more studies out there to make you smile (or at least, serve as reference for why you should). Researchers at the University of Kansas published findings that smiling helps reduce the body’s response to stress and lower heart rate in tense situations; another study linked smiling to lower blood pressure, while yet another suggests that smiling leads to longevity. Studies aside, there are plenty of living, breathing, smiling humans who can testify to the fact that looking the part of happy helps them get through the day.
“Smiling absolutely changes the way I think and feel,” says Jaime Pfeffer, a success coach and meditation instructor based in Florida. “My husband and I purposely spend 60 seconds every morning smiling to supercharge our mood. It’s part of our morning routine. If something goes awry during the day, I usually use smiling to quickly shift my mood. It only take 10 to 15 seconds for it to make a difference for me now. It helps me to feel less stressed, transform my mood quickly and put things in a different perspective.” Pfeffer adds that she recommends smiling to all her clients, particularly when they’re dealing with long days or tedious work. “One of my clients last week told me smiling for 30 seconds at a time a few times per day helps him stay upbeat when doing sales calls. He said the task can get old after a while, but the smiling helps him stay more energized and avoid burnout.” A smile’s contagion is so potent, that we may even be able to catch one from ourselves. Dr. Ritzo recommends smiling at yourself in the mirror, an act she says not only triggers our mirror neurons, but can also help us calm down and re-center if we’re feeling low or anxious.
It turns out there’s solid evidence that smiling can do us a world of good. Since researching this piece I’ve been conducting my own little smile experiments. I tried smiling when I tensed up in traffic yesterday, and again during a rigorous workout and then today when I woke up with a headache. I found that it feels completely incongruous to smile when I’m tense or tired, and there’s a strange sense of departing a comfort zone. But I have to admit, instantly I was calmer, less upset and, maybe just ever so slightly for a second, smiling made me feel happy.
Eduindex News 
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