A 2010 study looked at baseball cards from the 1950s, and coded whether players were smiling or not…
The results?
Smiling predicted a longer lifespan.
(5-8 years no less!)
We’ve all heard about positive thinking… how it’s good for you… how it affects your body chemistry… and how it’s key to a long life.
But did you know “body language” (as well as positive thinking) can help you override a bad day?
Here’s why…
Your thoughts affect your mood…
…Which affects your body language…
…Which affects your body chemistry…
…Which (again) affects your mood…
In other words, your body language (smile, posture, expression) can affect your mood, thoughts and body chemistry.
If you want to test this out…
Fake a smile (non Duchenne) for 30 seconds and feel the little squirt of feel-good chemicals inside your brain.
Hold it…
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Now try this different one…
Put both your arms out in a “V” - and lift your chin slightly above the horizontal (like you just won a gold medal at the Olympic Games)
Now close your eyes and hold this posture for a minute or two…
See how your feeling of personal power increases? Try it again in your own time in private.
Anyway…
Back to the story.
In this study of Major League Baseball players from the 1952 season - the degree to which a player displayed a genuine “Duchenne smile” (upward contraction at the corners of the mouth and eyes) was coded.
From no smile, to partial (non-Duchenne) smile, to full (Duchenne) smile…
The percentages of players in each category were 42%, 43%, and 15%, respectively.
The study focused on the 150 players who had died as of June 2009, and measured lifespan.
Now GET this…
Players who weren't smiling (on average) lived for 72 years!
Those who smiled a bit (on average) lived for 75 years!
And those with Duchenne smiles (on average) lived for 80 years!
I’d call that a significant difference, wouldn't you?
If we take these results at face value (no pun intended)… A genuine SMILE is worth five to eight extra (happy) years of life!
~ Be. Do. Have ~
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