50 Years of Data Suggests Facial Expressions Can Affect Your Mood
Looks like turning that frown upside down isn't empty advice.
Have you even been told to smile when you're feeling blue? I used to think this was nothing more than the other person disregarding my feelings. As it turns out, they were trying to boost my mood.
And there's science to back it up.
Recently researchers from the University of Tennessee and Texas A&M University looked at 138 studies that had been conducted over the past 50 years in regards to facial expressions and mood. They found that the expression on your face has a directly effect on how you feel. Of course, we know that how your feeling is displayed on your face, but it turns out that the reverse is true too. Smiling can make you happy, frowning can make you sad, scowling can make you angry, etc.
This means that if you're stressed, smiling can help you relieve that stress. Go ahead, try it out now! Just slap a big ol' grin on your face. Are you feeling better? Now, for those of us that have RBF (resting b**** face) this may be a little more difficult to accomplish, but definitely worth the effort.