Smiling is really healthy!

For the past year, I have been studying the power of the brain because I have discovered that the brain is actually a very central factor in our physical and emotional health. Concepts about the interaction between our senses, thoughts, physical postures, the various nervous systems and the brain are explained from different perspectives. And it turns out that everyone comes to the conclusion that smiling has a huge impact. I can certainly confirm this from my own experience.

An anecdote as a starting point for the theory

Around 2010, I lived with Abuelo and two other people. It was a very intense period for me, with a lot of pain. One morning, I came into the kitchen, having hardly slept, and the weeks of pain became too much for me. Abuelo looked at me and said with tears in his eyes: ‘Chicca, I know what I’m about to say is incredibly hard in your situation, but it’s important that you smile, when you’re alone and when you’re in company. Otherwise, you’ll end up alone and bitter.’

I knew he was right, even though it frustrated me enormously that because the others had to take my disability into acount it was too much for them when I occasionally walked around the house in a ‘bad mood’ or when one of my little quirks came out. Very human from their point of view, of course, but a hard reality for me to accept at the time.

Fortunately, I had the example of Abuelo, who was also in a lot of pain himself, but indeed smiled most of the time.

Smiling activates the parasympathetic nervous system.

The autonomic nervous system consists of the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems. To stay healthy, it is necessary that neither of them is active for too long at a time. As a result of the hectic society in which we live, with its high demands, work pressure, fast rhythm, in short, many stressful factors, the sympathetic nervous system remains active for far too long in many people. This can lead to serious health problems such as burnout, physical complaints due to stress and psychological problems such as anxiety disorders.

Why do I dare to say that smiling activates the parasympathetic nervous system? Isn’t it part of the autonomic nervous system?

It has now been demonstrated that we do indeed have an impact on the interaction between the two, for example through breathing. But more importantly, it is the brain that decides which nervous system to activate. Put simply, the brain activates the sympathetic nervous system in response to danger or the need for action. If the brain concludes, based on the information it processes, that there is a constant danger, the sympathetic nervous system remains active for far too long.

On the other hand, if the brain concludes that we are safe, it activates the parasympathetic nervous system. And smiling is one of the signals that the brain picks up as “it’s safe”.

Especially when we combine this with conscious, calm breathing, we send a strong signal of safety to the brain. Even if the smile is not genuine. How is that possible?

The vagus nerve: an important link to the brain

The vagus nerve is a nerve that runs across a large part of the body, left and right. It is divided into three parts:

the dorsal vagus
the sympathetic vagus
the ventral vagus

The dorsal vagus is located at the back of the spine and paralyses your entire system when you are overwhelmed. All you want to do then is lie down and sleep. You go into freeze mode when you sense “danger”.

The sympathetic vagus is the one that corresponds in function to the sympathetic nervous system. It ensures that you become inactive and can fight or flee in case of danger.

The ventral vagus is involved in your heart rhythm, your breathing, and runs through your face, more specifically the jaw, mouth, cheeks and eyes. This nerve is therefore strongly involved in smiling. The smile is transmitted by this nerve to the brain, which then interprets it as ‘safe’.

Even more interesting is that this last part of the vagus is relatively young in our development and is especially important in the aspect of ‘connecting’ with others. This nerve helps us with facial expressions and intonations, timbre, etc. These are all aspects of non-verbal communication that give us a lot of information about whether someone is open to contact or not.

Abuelo’s observation was therefore correct: If I didn’t learn to smile in company, I would end up alone. People were often inhibited when first meeting me because of my disability. A smile could make that first contact much easier. Of course, my company was also more pleasant, which compensated for the inconveniences of my disability. Moreover, smiling is contagious, and my smile also brought a smile to their faces, giving them a real psychological boost.

What happens chemically when we smile?

A smile activates certain molecules in the brain that facilitate communication between neurons and defend you against stress. What’s more, smiling releases dopamine, endorphins and serotonin. These neurotransmitters make us feel good about ourselves.

So from this perspective too, it is highly recommended to smile. Even when we are alone and feeling down. By forcing yourself to smile, you trigger a chemical process that makes you feel better, and you can smile with all your heart.

Thanks to Abuelo’s advice, I forced myself to smile even when I was alone. On his recommendation, I often performed the exercise of the Buddha who smiled as he observed the waves of the sea. And yes, I am sure that this helped enormously in my recovery process. Because with TMS, the basic problem is that your brain incorrectly interprets situations as dangerous. By smiling very consciously and receiving Abuelo’s smile, my brain received a strong signal of safety each time, and the TMS symptoms decreased.