Members in the Media
From: The Wall Street Journal

Is It True Smiling Improves Your Mood?


The Wall Street Journal:

Is it true smiling improves your mood?

We tackled that question as part of our “Is It True?” video series here at the Health Blog — you can see the video below.

We found a wealth of information on smiling and how it can boost positive emotions. Neuropsychologist Jodi Deluca gives us a brief overview of how the body responds to smiling and laughter, while George Bonanno, author of “The Other Side of Sadness,” talks about the benefits of a spontaneous joy-filled smile.

Researchers who have studied the “facial-feedback hypothesis,”  which originated with Charles Darwin, say smiling can intensify a person’s pleasure. The idea is that the act of making a facial expression influences our feelings in a way that is consistent with that expression — as with a smile and joy, according to Paula Niedenthal, professor of psychology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, who studies emotion.

Read the full story: The Wall Street Journal

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