Joe Shmmoe
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Sharing a smile makes others feel good and benefits you, too
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Updated May 8, 2024
Spreading positivity not only makes the people around you happier, it supports your brain health, too. It's a quick win-win!
Would you like to feel happier right now? Try making someone else happy. Both giving and receiving compliments can activate the brain's reward system, according to an fMRI study of 43 heterosexual couples in Germany with an average age of 24 published in Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience in 2023. And simply sharing a smile with another person can be transformative. Smiling has been linked to a number of potential health benefits, including lower blood pressure and a greater ability to rebound from stress, according to a scientific review published in Health Psychology Review in 2022.
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