H A P P Y F A C E S Faces look healthier when they are smiling, compared to a neutral expression, and that it doesn’t matter whether the faces are male or female, this effect increased with the age of the face: while younger adults look healthier when they smile, older adults look much healthier. A smile was a more important cue than how old the face appeared to be, and more recent research has shown a happy expression is even more important than cues like adiposity or skin colouration. Scientific proof that a smile really is the best accessory. Smiling faces are healthier. The answer may be due to a genuine link between smiles and actual, underlying health. Incredibly, the length of people’s lives have been predicted from photographs of them in their youth. Those photographed with genuine smiles lived longer than those photographed with polite smiles or none at all. New university students who were smiling in their social networks photos report better social lives and satisfaction upon graduating, and smiling during a stressful experience can calm rising heart rates. These amazing associations are linked to an aspect of our psychology known as “positive affect”. This is a highly desirable trait to have: it means you live a longer and healthier life by virtue of being optimistic and cheerful. People with greater positive affect look happier and smile more often too, and we think our perceptual systems are on the lookout for individuals with this kind of appearance. There is a simple message here: looking good costs nothing, and need not be dangerous. All it takes is a smile to look healthier, and the more you do it, the healthier you’ll likely be. #😀 #happyfaces #smiley #humanoid #popular #culture #behappy #style #love #health #happypeople #happymonday #happylife #happybarcelona #happyflowerofbarcelona #instahappy #instasmiley #instagram @colisevmhouse