How Smiling Can Affect The Immune System

You might not know this, but a smile can have a great – physical – effect on your health.

A smile does not just make you look pretty but can elevate the overall health of your body.

It slows the heart rate, lowers blood pressure, improves mood, and yes can improve your immune system.

To find out how smiling can affect the immune system, we’ll first have to understand the mechanics of smiling and what effects it has on the body. Find out the incredible effects of smiling when you read our blog.

How Does Smiling Affect Your Health?

When you smile, your brain releases a number of chemicals known as endorphins, as well as dopamine and serotonin. All these chemicals combine to create a beautiful euphoric effect. This “happy cocktail” has a lot of amazing effects on the brain and the body such as:

• Mood improvement:

  The first effect of the happy cocktail is turning your frown upside down. The chemicals released in the brain immediately dilute the chemicals responsible for your bad mood, and so you immediately start feeling happier and more optimistic.

• Lowering blood pressure:

  the exact mechanism is not yet understood, but it is a proven scientific fact. When you smile or laugh, this is accompanied by an initial increase in heart rate and an increase of oxygen flow to the tissues, followed by a period of relaxation and lowering of the heart rate. The blood pressure goes down along with the heart rate.

• Stress reduction:

  Equivalent to taking some antidepressants. The main stress hormone of the body is Cortisol, whose level decreases dramatically when you smile. Pair that with the release of the happy chemicals, and you find your stress has ebbed significantly.

• Slows down aging:

  Smiling is truly the best anti-aging medication there is. In addition to the chemicals that lower the heart rate and boost the immune system, the physical act of smiling pulls the muscles of the face and keeps them taut and strong. This is also accompanied by a decrease in wrinkle formation, and the forever young appearance we all desperately seek.

• Pain Relief:

  Smiling can lower physical – not to mention emotional – pain. Shocking isn’t it? It was proven that when you smile, the happy chemicals can actually control physical pain. You might have caught a glimpse of that with fighters and boxers smiling in the middle of a fight.

• Boosting the immune system:

  stay tuned to find out how smiling can affect the immune system.

Do These Effects Happen Even When You Fake Smile?

Amazingly, yes. It doesn’t matter if you are smiling because you are genuinely happy, as these effects are related to the physical act of smiling rather than what you’re feeling when you smile. There are more than 10 types of smiles like the shy smile, the embarrassed smile, and the superiority smile. And even though only one is considered genuine – the Duchenne smile – the amazing effects of smiling happen with all types of smiles.

So fake it till you make it.

How Smiling Can Affect The Immune System

As we mentioned before, smiling initially elevates the heart rate and increases blood flow to all body organs. This increased blood flow carries a lot of oxygen and nutrients to the body’s cells. Oxygen can kill most germs in our body, and so the increased blood flow can help take out the germs causing various diseases. In addition, the blood can wash away all the harmful chemicals to be filtered and disposed of by the kidney.

Not only that but there is a more direct way to explain how smiling can affect the immune system. Scientists are still not sure why, but the release of Dopamine in the brain when you smile is also accompanied by increased production of White Blood Cells (WBCs). These are the main defenders and sentries of the body. They bind to all sorts of microbes and germs, and either kill them directly or neutralize their effects until they are washed out by the body. Combining these 2 effects may explain the effect of smiling on the immune system.

If Smiling Is So Beneficial, Why Don’t People Smile More Often?

Most people know how powerful a smile can be. Not only physically, but on an emotional level as well. Smiling not only boost the immune system relieves pain and reduces stress, but it can have an amazing social effect too. People with amazing smiles are generally deemed more trustworthy, so more likely to be married, have better relationships, and get the job of their dreams.

That being said, it is sad that people don’t smile more often. Life is hard and stressful, and there is often no desire to smile. In addition, some people don’t smile simply because they are embarrassed by how their teeth look, and that’s where we come in.

Here is how we can help you achieve your perfect smile:

• Cosmetic Dentistry:

  After realizing how powerful a smile is, most people seek to perfect their smiles. This quest can be achieved through one of the many cosmetic dental procedures such as:

  • Teeth Whitening:

    1 hour to turn the clock on years of staining, coffee, and smoking.

  • Veneers:

    Cover the outer surface of the teeth correcting shape, color, spaces, and much more.

  • Gum reshaping:

    A smile is half white and half pink. The shape of the gums is just as important as the shape and color of teeth. Gum reshaping is usually done by lasers.

• Braces:

  Braces are one of the most sought-after procedures in modern dentistry. The effects of braces on correcting smiles are incredible. They can fix crooked teeth, crowded teeth, gapped teeth, and every other problem related to teeth arrangement.
  Modern braces are also focused on appearance, and so more suitable for adults who won’t tolerate the appearance of metal braces. Today, you can choose one of the esthetic options such as clear braces, lingual braces, and Invisalign.

So there you go. The effect of smiling on the body is incredible, and now that you know how smiling can affect the immune system, we are sure you will be seeking to improve your smile.

We can help determine the best treatment plan for your case. Contact Dr. Sophia Scantlebury and her amazing team at Scantlebury orthodontics. You can reach us on (718) 962-0637 or visit us at 10 Plaza St. E., Suite 1H Brooklyn, NY 11238.