5 Really good reasons to smile (right now!)

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Friday, February 03, 2012

You’ll feel sexier: Your smile might be your top asset. In a study by the American Association of Orthodontists, people rated faces (regardless of physical characteristics) with beaming smiles as more attractive than those with not so big grins. You’ll have healthier relationships: Reams of research proves that smilers have an easier time making friends and more important keeping them. You’ll be in a cheery mood: A truly joyful smile is when your sygomatic muscles, which raise the corners of your mouth as well as your orbicularis oculi muscles, which lift your cheeks and form cros feet, contract simultaneously. And it’s the only one with major mood-boosting benefits You’ll live longer: Those who had the biggest smiles lived, on average, seven years longer than their stoic counterparts did, a study in Psychological Science shows. You’ll look fitter: Want to appear toned without the agony of squats? People with “perfect” smiles (white, aligned teeth) are considered more athletic than those with bad teeth. Laugh your way skinny: You burn 40 calories laughing for 15 minutes (not easy but more fun than crunches)! (self.com)