World Smile Day - How many times did you smile today?
How many times did you smile today? May 8th is World Smile Day. It is the only holiday established by the World Health Organization in 1948 to celebrate human facial expressions. The aim is to promote physical and mental health through smiles, as well as to spread joy and kindness between individuals and to enhance social harmony.
Laughter is an innate human instinct. In 2003, The Guardian reported that British scientists discovered through a 4D ultrasound imaging system that babies can start laughing a few weeks before they’re born. According to statistics, children laugh about 300-400 times a day, while adults only laugh about 14 times a day! What causes adults to forget to laugh? Perhaps it's because life is often full of challenges and setbacks. However, happiness is a choice in life. After all, carrying a painful mood can lead the day, or putting on a smile is also a choice. Therefore, it might be worthwhile to consider "thinking positively" and "smiling more" in life, to make our lives happier and more fulfilling.
"Laughter is the shortest distance between two people." - Victor Borge
Humans are social animals, and it is inevitable to have conflict when interacting with others. When others has acknowledged their mistake, taken the initiative to apologize and make amends with a smile, continuing to hold a grudge against them would make oneself appear less forgiving and magnanimous. As the saying goes "never hit someone who has a smiley face" embodies this meaning.
Smiling is also the most beautiful language. Despite differences in national borders, race, gender, and age, it is certain that a smiling face is a language that anyone can read. It conveys goodwill, happiness, empathy, and love. Psychology research has found that when meeting someone for the first time, a smiling face can unconsciously bring people closer together.
A smile is effective in turning hostility into friendship. It is said that when former US President Eisenhower served as a military officer, there were two soldiers in his unit who often argued and whenever they met, they either glared at each other or clenched their fists. Eisenhower felt that this was not a good situation. One day, he ordered the two soldiers to clean the same piece of glass together, with one cleaning the inside and the other cleaning the outside. At first, the two who couldn't stand each other and looked at each other with anger as they cleaned the glass. Both sides had a tense expression, with no one smiling, and it looked ridiculous to watch them through the glass. Later on, as the two soldiers looked at each other's faces, which were actually quite comical through the glass, they started to laugh. This laughter instantly dissolved their animosity towards each other, and they became good friends instead.
Smile is the best medicine - Shakespeare
Laughing is really good for health. The saying goes: "Laughter will keep you young." It encourages people to keep a happy mood, which is not only beneficial to health but also makes people look younger. British scientist Sophie Scott confirmed that a smiling face makes a person look younger. That's because when we smile, we use almost all the muscles in our face, so training facial muscles can slow down facial skin relaxation.
Did you know that laughing is also a high-intensity aerobic exercise? German researchers found that laughing for one minute is equivalent to 45 minutes of exercise. Studies have also shown that laughing for 10-15 minutes can burn 40 calories. This is because when we laugh, our whole body trembles, our heart rate and blood flow accelerate, and many muscles in our body move along, promoting metabolism and thus having a fat-reducing effect.
In addition, medical research has found that laughter can increase blood flow, boost immunity, expand the inner width of blood vessels, and increase good cholesterol... A study by Wayne State University in the United States found that people who love to laugh live seven years longer than the average person. This is because people who love to laugh are more likely to establish positive interpersonal relationships, which is beneficial to physical and mental harmony. Furthermore, Professor Sakurada of Yamagata University School of Medicine in Japan has found through research that the death rate for "the least likely to smile" compared to "the most likely to smile" is 1.95 times higher, and the likelihood that the former will experience cardiovascular diseases (such as a stroke, heart attack, angina, etc.) is as much as 1.62 times higher than the latter. It seems that if you want to live a long and healthy life, it's hard to find a better way than "smiling"!
Smiling can be said to be the most positive expression in the world! Therefore, from today onwards, let us embrace life with a smile and make the world more colorful.
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