More to Smile About

World Smile Day on October 2cnd was originally instituted to celebrate the universally recognizable ‘smiley face’ icon and what it means. This iconic yellow smiley face image was created by a commercial artist named Harvey Ball in 1963. It became so popular that Harvey worried that the commercialization of the symbol on tshirts, signs, notebooks, as an emoji, pins and more would lessen its impact. Instead, these little yellow faces are more than just a symbol, they’re a statement about the power of smiling.

A genuine smile is the same in every language, which is why it is World Smiling Day. On World Smile Day, people worldwide are encouraged to do an act of kindness and make at least one person smile. Sometimes the simplest way to make someone smile is just to smile yourself! Smiles are contagious. It turns out the benefits of smiling aren’t just limited to yourself — it can also affect those around you too and we are also rewarded when we see someone else smile too because the feel good and reward center of the brain is activated! A famous Swedish study suggests that we can’t help but react with a smile of our own when we see someone smiling — so it’s an all-out infectious loop of happiness.

At Private Home Care, we ensure our service with a smile (like Mary’s glowing smile on our social media presence!). We thoroughly enjoy working with seniors and the elderly, our caregivers say that it makes them smile every day. We also understand just how impactful a smile can be for our clients and their loved ones.

Loneliness and isolation is a major challenge for the elderly. However, smiling can provide solutions! Smiling is an attractive expression, which is more likely to draw people to you rather than push them away. This helps connect seniors to others. Smiling makes you appear more approachable. Interaction with others is easier and more enjoyable when smiles and laughs are shared, and these behaviors are contagious, making others feel better too, and make you a more appealing and attractive person to be around. Like mentioned above, smiling creates a loop of positivity, which may turn into a habit and have a positive effect on your well-being.

Also, when laughing and smiling, it can help you release emotions. This is especially so for those emotions that people may tend to bottle up inside. Everything looks that little bit better after a good laugh and life can be seen from a more positive perspective. Smiling can transform your life and is essential for physical, mental, emotional, social and spiritual health. It is simple, free, and is a rewarding habit that is easy to continue. Now that is truly something to smile about.