SMILE IS CONTAGIOUS

By Rehman Asif

rehmanaseef@yahoo.com

What is the significance of makeup when a genuine smile pops on your face? A smile makes you much more beautiful than you can ever imagine.

When you beam at someone, a lot happens during that interaction without you knowing it.It turns out that not just our smiles, but all of our facial expressions are contagious. We are inclined to mimic the smiles or frowns of others because it helps us better to understand what other people are feeling, letting us to respond aptly.

A research in the discipline of psychology states that “sensorimotor simulation” in our brains is what causes this bizarre mimicry to occur without us even realizing it.When you see a facial expression and you want to know what it means, you recreate that expression in your brain. In daily life, you rarely observe facial expressions in a vacuum, and we believe that you combine information from sensorimotor simulation with your understanding of the situation in order to fully comprehend other people’s feelings. Based on their review, the researchers concluded that when we mimic someone else’s facial expression, we trigger that same emotional state in ourselves, which then allows us to formulate an appropriate social response. This is the scientific explanation of the concept that smile is contagious.

Factually speaking, a warm, friendly smile can go a long way and is also part of the healing process. A smile is generally an expression of positive emotions, which can uplift a soul, who in turn passes that energy to another. This positive energy does not consume much time and zero cost rather it not only disseminates constructive vibes but alsostrengthen communion between individuals. It is all about body language. It is a means of understanding something unspoken which can be as simple as a friendly greeting. Laughter is a related healing tool and is also contagious as it is a high frequency emotion.

Some researchers have found a strong link between good health, longevity, and smiling. Most importantly smile is just an act of smiling (making the physical facial shapes and movements), whether in result of real joy or an act, can have both short- and long-term benefits on people’s health and wellbeing.

Smile has always have been a very interesting topic for me. I had this strange experience and that is what left me thinking and researching. Smile is an expression; physically and genetically we are wired to act in a certain manner. In fact, most of the time- we do not even realize that we are returning a smile and this is its beauty!

Human body follows the Simulation Process. This means whenever a human sees any action done by another person, he unconsciously tries to infuse it into their minds. For example, when you see a sad person, the brain views the face, then associates that sad face with your past memories that are associated with that emotion.

Today, we are living a life of stress. All the time we are exposed to multiple pressures and anxieties to meet up at home, offices etc. The question is as what to choose for the life? A continuous stress or just a simple smile!It takes no time to pass a smile rather to frown on my subordinate, driver or any other relation. This little action shall give him a little room to breathe and a corner of satisfaction to your heart as well. It’s a natural automotive action. Yes, it is natural and I know that goes on without saying. Like for example, hunger is natural, sleep is natural. But you don’t just chomp on a plate of food or go into slumber by seeing other people do it. Right?So, there is something extra special about a smile. Unconsciously, we exchange a smile. Evidences show that brain waves move from person to person making everyone happy on seeing a smile. No practice needed whatsoever, so very raw, invisible and unstoppable!

Since it is the empathy wave that acts faster on our minds rather than the socio- economic lessons- the human face cracks into a smile – the moment the smile is viewed. Whether rich, poor, different castes, cultures, religions, and countries- the human body reads none of these. It only reciprocates to the expression seen.

Why smile? Why not smile? It’s free, it’s easy, it lifts your mood, and creates happiness – whether you know it or not. Finally one good thing that is contagious that you actually want! As a part of human nature, we want to connect with others, so we will actually mimic and mirror the facial expressions of others because we feel it helps us better understand that person’s feelings and emotions. We are then able to respond in a more connected way because we feel we understand it more. So the next time you smile, know that others who see you, will in turn, likely smile back.