The more you smile the longer you live. I ran across an article by Shari Road for the Los Angeles Times in which she summarized the results of a Wayne State study of 1950s baseball cards of major league players that found that the span of each player’s smile could actually predict the span of his life. Players who didn’t smile in their pictures lived an average of only 72.9 years. Players with beaming smiles lived an average of almost 80 years. The authors explained that smiles reflect positive emotion. Positive emotion has been linked to both physical and mental well-being. They added a caveat to their study: “The data source provided no information as to whether expressions were spontaneous or in response to a photographer’s request to smile.” Still, big smiles are more likely to reflect true happiness than partial.
How much of the time are you smiling? What does it say about how you’re living – and showing up with the people you work with, sell to and live with? Think about it. Maybe it’s time to enjoy and smile more. Have you come across other such interesting studies? Share them with us. Remember, we’re committed, as Mr. Spock said, to everyone’s ability to “live long and prosper”!