"A smile is not only an indicator of the importance of non-verbal happiness but also as a panacea to overcome the stress of life. We wanted to test whether the smile could indeed have health benefits that are relevant, "said Tara Kraft, psychologists and researchers from the University of Kansas.
He then undertook the study of the students who were anxious about having to work on a number of tasks that create stress. It turns out when they are asked to perform therapeutic smile, that students admitted to a sense of distress experienced a slight decline.
The research was led by Tara Kraft and Sarah Pressman. In the study, 169 students involved in the study was commissioned to work on the task that caused the stress like a track star and soak their hands in ice water.
Students undergo work with three different conditions i.e. not smile; asked to smile, and while holding chopsticks in their mouths to force a smiling face.
Researchers using chopsticks because it wanted to gauge the effect of the original when smiling (which involves the muscles around the mouth and eyes), and the so-called standard smile, which only involves the muscles around the mouth (when using chopsticks).
Later, Kraft and Pressman using pedometer heart rate and every participant is asked to report their own stress levels to assess how in which participants during the task.
The study found that participants who use any aid to smile tend to have lower stress levels during the task compared with the facial expression neutral participant.
Researchers argue, results showed that even though someone forced smile during working on the task for them is not fun, but it really helps reduce stress levels, even if you're not feeling happy.
"Next time if you get stuck in traffic jams or having some kind of stress, you might be able to try to hold your face to smile for a moment. It not only helps alleviate you psychologically, but also help Your cardiovascular health, "Pressman said.
Source:
healthdaynews
