There may be more to the song "Put on a Happy Face" than just a catchy tune - putting on a happy face is actually good for you, and those around you.

Research has shown health benefits of laughter ranging from strengthening the immune system to reducing food cravings to increasing one's threshold for pain. There's even an emerging therapeutic field known as humour therapy to help people heal more quickly, among other things. Humour also has several important stress relieving benefits.

Ever seen one of those poor souls who is perpetually miserable? Everything about them screams how lousy everything in their life is. We all know people like this. Gosh, if they ever smiled you'd expect their face to crack.

But it actually takes a lot less muscles to smile than to frown or scowl, so apart from creating misery for themselves they are also doing more work to achieve that result. So here are ten reasons why you should smile more often:
 

Laughter reduces the level of stress hormones like cortisol, epinephrine, adrenaline, dopamine and growth hormone. It also increases the level of health-enhancing hormones like endorphins, and neurotransmitters. Laughter increases the number of antibody-producing cells and enhances the effectiveness of T cells. All this means a stronger immune system, as well as fewer physical effects of stress.
 

2. Nice Internal Workout:

A good belly laugh exercises the diaphragm, contracts the abs and even works out the shoulders, leaving muscles more relaxed afterward. It even provides a good workout for the heart.

Have you ever felt like you "have to laugh or I'll cry"? Have you experienced the cleansed feeling after a good laugh? Laughter provides a physical and emotional release.
 

4. Positive Frame Of Mind:

Laughter brings the focus away from anger, guilt, stress and negative emotions to them alongside other 'mere distractions'. It will make you happy and put you in a positive frame of mind.
 

5. Change Your Perspective:

Studies show that our response to stressful events can be altered by whether we view something as a 'threat' or a 'challenge'. Humour can give us a more light hearted perspective and help us view events as 'challenges', thereby making them less threatening and more positive.
 

6. Social Benefits Of Laughter:

Laughter connects us with others. Also, laughter is contagious, so if you bring more laughter into your life, you can most likely help others around you to laugh more, and realize these benefits as well. By elevating the mood of those around you, you can reduce their stress levels, and perhaps improve the quality of social interaction you experience with them, reducing your stress level even more!

What's even better is that the more you smile, the more others will too. Says psychologist Dr. David Lewis, "Seeing a smile creates what is termed as a 'halo' effect, helping us to remember other happy events more vividly, feel more optimistic, more positive and more motivated."
 

7. Fight Illness Better:

People who are optimistic (and these are the people who are out there smiling!) have stronger immune systems and are actually able to fight off illness better than pessimists.

"The research is very clear," says Christopher Peterson, PhD, a University of Michigan professor who's been studying optimism's link to health for over two decades, "This is not some social science generalization. There is a link between optimistic attitudes and good health. It has been measured in a variety of ways. Overall, we have found that optimistic people are healthier. Their biological makeup is different. They have a more robust immune system."
 

8. Live Longer:

According to a study published in the November 2004 issue of the Archives of General Psychiatry, elderly optimistic people, those who expected good things to happen (rather than bad things), were less likely to die than pessimists.

In fact, among the 65- to 85-year-old study participants, those who were most optimistic were 55 percent less likely to die from all causes than the most pessimistic people. What's more, after researchers adjusted the results for age, smoking status, alcohol consumption, physical activity and other measures of health, the optimists were 71 percent less likely to die than the pessimists!

 
9. It Feels Like Eating 2,000 Chocolate Bars

That's right - according to The British Dental Health Foundation, a smile gives the same level of stimulation as eating 2,000 chocolate bars. The results were found after researchers measured brain and heart activity in volunteers as they were shown pictures of smiling people and given money and chocolate.

Dr. Nigel Carter, chief executive of the Foundation, pointed out, "We have long been drawing attention to the fact that smiling increases happiness both in yourself and those around you, so it is good to receive the backing of this scientific research … A healthy smile can improve your confidence, help you make friends and help you to succeed in your career …"
 

10. It Costs Absolutely Nothing

The ancient Chinese were a wise lot - wise in the ways of the world; and they had a proverb that you and I ought to cut out and paste inside our hats. It goes like this:

"A man without a smiling face must not open a shop."

Your smile is a messenger of your good will. Your smile brightens the lives of all who see it. To someone who has seen a dozen people frown, scowl or turn their faces away, your smile is like the sun breaking through the clouds. Especially when that someone is under pressure from his bosses, his customers, his teachers or parents or children, a smile can help him realize that all is not hopeless - that there is joy in the world.

So what are you waiting for? Go ahead … Smile! …and again!

Ririan is a student in Bucharest, Romania. He reads books, blogs and websites about productivity, personal development, health, nutrition, leadership and GTD. He hopes that by sharing his own personal experiences that it will help make steps towards creating a better life, day by day, for others. For more of his thoughts visit the Ririan Project on http://ririanproject.com

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