UniSA study finds smiling can make you feel happier

Just like the lyrics from Bye Bye Birdie suggest, feeling a bit brighter can come just from smiling - and there is science to prove it.

A study, led by Stanford University, and conducted with the Florida State University and the University of South Australia, found that by posing facial muscles in a smile, people can feel happier.

Data from 3878 participants across 19 countries was collected. The study found a noticeable increase in happiness from people who mimicked smiling photographs or pulled their mouth toward their ears.

UniSA researcher, Dr Fernando Marmolejo-Ramos said the concept of being able to influence our emotions by simply moving facial muscles has debated by researchers for a long time, but there had not been any tests or theories to prove it that people agreed upon globally.

The researchers assembled a team of sceptics and a team of believers (called the 'Many Smiles Collaboration') to test a mutually agreed methodology.

The study tested three well-known techniques:

"Two out of three of these conditions generated noticeable increases in happiness, providing a compelling argument that human emotions are linked to muscle movements," Dr Marmolejo-Ramos said.

"But as the pen-in-mouth technique didn't achieve the same mood changes (possibly because the simulated mouth shape wasn't as representative of a smile as we thought) we can't say with absolute certainty that one always causes the other.

"Still, the evidence is strong, and knowing that we can somewhat 'fake it 'til we make it', is definitely a reassuring proposal."

Dr Marmolejo-Ramos said it's a timely finding as the world heads toward a fourth year of the COVID-19 pandemic.

"There's no doubt that the world's been struggling amid the current pandemic. While individuals naturally respond differently to adverse situations, it's encouraging to think that we can sway our emotions by simply putting on a happy face."

The study was published in Nature Human Behaviour and can be sourced here.