The Smile Diet Blog

The number one thing men notice instantly on a woman, according to a new study reported by Cosmopolitan.com, is her smile, followed by hair, cleavage, and skin.

1. Smile. Does it seem sweet and genuine? Does it seem awkward and forced? Does it seem like you ate a sesame-seed and parsley salad for lunch based on what’s lodged between every single one of your teeth? Steal these tips to glam up your grin.

Technorati Tags: smile, woman’s smile, genuine smile, relationships, Cosmopolitan.com

The Journal of Motivation and Emotion reports that whether or not a person is smiling in their college yearbook photos can be a strong indicator of marital satisfaction or divorce based on two studies conducted at DePauw University in Greencastle, Indiana.

In the first study 655 alumni had their college photos ranked by how big their smile was (2=no smile, 10=beaming grin).

In the second study 61 adults 55 years and older had 8 photos from the ages of 5-22 reviewed.

Both studies found that the bigger your smile, the more likely you are to be still be married compared to the non-smilers.

First of all, while it makes a great case for the importance of smiling, do we really need a study to know that smiles attract and sustain healthier relationships. Just look at two people in love or best friends walking down the street.

Second, has your mind wandered back to your own photos? Mine did. We didn’t sit for formal portraits for a yearbook, but I do have a candid photo of me beaming walking off the stage after accepting my diploma, and…I was divorced three years later. So many possible interpretations in hindsight, however, what’s most important for you and me is that we smile more often and show bigger smiles with our loved ones now.

Read the rest of the article at Rodale News and if you want more smiles and happier relationships, sign up for your free Smile Diet 7-Day eCourse from MySmileDiet.com. It works and it’s fun.

Keep smiling and let me know whether your college grad photo and marital status match the study.

Technorati Tags: Smile Diet, Journal of Motivation and Emotion, Smiling, Divorce, Smile Diet eCourse, MySmileDiet.com

A study led by Dr Erik J Giltay of the Psychiatric Center GGZ Delfland and published in The Archives of General Psychiatry, followed 941 Dutch subjects, ages 65 to 85, from 1991 to 2001.

Subjects were ranked as pessimistic or optimistic on the basis of their reactions to statements like, ‘I still have positive expectations concerning my future’ and, ‘I often feel that life is full of promises.’ Dr Giltay and his colleagues found that subjects with the highest level of optimism were 45 per cent less likely than those with the highest level of pessimism to die of all causes during the study…

Happiness will always win out over sadness; being optimistic will always make you feel better than being pessimistic, and whether you can train yourself to be happy or not, a smile always makes things seem just a little better. And for the optimists out there, if a smile happens to give you a longer life, that’s just an added benefit.

Smile - it might keep you alive

This is a great article on the power of happiness, longevity, and the pessimistic brain. And another reminder for the importance of a 16-second smile.

Sign up for your complimentary 7-Day Smile Diet eCourse.

Smiling because of you,

Mary

Eric Finzi, MD, PhD, says the injections prevented the patients from frowning, which, in turn, helped to lift their depression.”I think there is direct feedback between the facial frown muscles and the depression center of the brain,” Finzi tells WebMD. “If you can prevent the negative signals that occur when someone frowns, the brain interprets this as meaning that things are better.”

Treating Depression With Botox

This is very interesting research to me. It goes hand-in-hand with the research on smiling lifting depression.

While I haven’t had botox injections (yet :-)), the fact that a woman made a connection between her inability to frown for a few months because of botox injections and noticing that her depression lifted at the same time is great news for 16-Second Smilers.

Smile Dieters know that practicing smiling on an ongoing basis simply to feel better works and it helps ease depression and increase energy. When you’re smiling you’re not frowning and the message your brain gets is, “I feel good. Time to send feel-good hormones throughout this body.”

Practice holding your mouth in a smiling position as often as possible and see what kind of results you experience. Or get botox. Your choice.

technorati tags:botox, depression, smile, smiling, 16-second smile, smile diet

After meeting with a client for whom I’ll be presenting my Lead, Live, and Love with Enthusiasm seminar in January, I was driving through the art-filled city of Escondido, CA and drove past a sign that said “The Grape Day Park.”

At first, the humor in the name “Grape Day Park” was lost on me. I remembered they have several wineries on the outskirts of town. But then, as I slowed down, my eyes landed on something that made me smile and then laugh out loud. It is a great/grape day indeed! I drove around the block just to see it again and then parked the car to get an up close look. Made me want to go down the slide. Next time I visit, I will! Enjoy…

Research done at UC-Berkeley by Paul Eckman and Dachner Keltner shows that smiling releases endorphins into our body, which relieves stress naturally and quickly. No big news here, but research sure helps validate the importance of practicing natural feel-good activities that we often overlook throughout a demanding day.

In my program research with audiences around the world, I’ve discovered that when the smile is held for 16 seconds or longer, or even better, morphed into laughter, the positive effects last longer and are anchored into our cellular memory more easily and effectively.

So try the 16 Second Smile first thing when you wake up in the morning and aim for sharing your smile with at least 20 people today. Who knows what peace you might create on the planet and in yourself.

How Often Do People Smile?

It is reported that children laugh an average of 400 times a day and adults an average of 15 times a day. Since laughter is simply a big smile with sound, I estimate we can safely say that children smile more often than adults. Take a look at research on adults and smiling:

Number of smiles per day at home – all adults:

• Five to 20 times: 46 percent
• More than 20 times: 36 percent
• Less than five times: 14 percent

Number of smiles-per-day at work - all adults:

• Five to 20 times: 30 percent
• More than 20 times: 28 percent
• Less than five times: 13 percent

SOURCE: Opinion Research Corp. International, 1997

The curious element to me in this research is what it says about our American culture:

Two-thirds of our country smiles less than 20 times a day.

Gee, I wonder if there’s any correlation between the number of smiles and the amount of violence in the world?

Imagine what could happen if we went beyond National Smile Week, and created International Smile Month or, as the Chinese do with animals, named 2007 “Year of the Smile.”

Or why not DREAM BIG and like The Age of Aquarius, we could spin The Age of the Smile. Now that is BIG! Whoa, that might be just too much happiness for one planet to handle right now. So let’s just start where we are:

I hereby declare 2007 is the Year of the Smile. Spread the news!

You’re going to love this fascinating research from the UK’s RAC Foundation for Motoring on how smiling reduces road rage, the top ten songs and cars that create smiles and frowns while driving and much more. Here’s a sample:

Smiler’s Top 3 Songs

• Three Little Birds (Don’t Worry ‘Bout a Thing) - Bob Marley
• Don’t Worry, Be Happy - Bobby Fearon
• Music Sounds Better with You - Stardust

Smiles per Hour

“The most cheerful driver on the road is female, aged 24 or less, driving a green coloured VW Beetle on a sunny day, listening to Bob Marley while chewing sugar free gum and looking forward to a date.

“In National Smile Week (May 15 – 21), research for the RAC Foundation has discovered the secret to getting the maximum Smiles per Hour (SPH) out of motoring.

“But according to the RAC Foundation, a smile can also be the driver’s number one tool in avoiding road rage and confrontation on the highway.” >>>

Snapping the above photo put a big smile on my face. I was driving on Harbor Dr. to the San Diego airport one morning and saw this HUGE dog drive by enjoying the wind in a stunning Jaguar XK Convertible (list price $81,500). Research now proves that this driver is happier than most. Research from the RAC Foundation shows that people who drive 2-door cars smile more often than those with four doors and 6 passengers. >>>