Don’t let life wipe the smile off your face

2:36pm Tuesday 27th May 2008

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By Helen Mead »

When I asked a colleague why he was grinning from ear to ear, he replied: 'More people should smile.' He'd just heard some complimentary feedback from a group of women he'd worked with, and was clearly pleased as punch.

It's nice when you hear good things about yourself,' he said. We should all compliment each other more then we would have more reasons to smile.' In National Smile Month, we should all be making an effort to look happy. But, as some of my friends moaned glumly: What have I got to smile about?' Let's face it, most of us get more bad news than good. Take a typical day in my life. Even before I've got up I'll be clawed on the face by our cat - only gently, but sometimes he oversteps the mark - wanting his breakfast. If the children don't annoy me first thing in the morning with constant bickering, my husband definitely will by leaving wet towels on the floor.

The post is generally made up of bills, the fridge is usually empty - having been stocked only two days previously - the beds unmade, toothpaste all over the washbasin, and used breakfast pots dotted around the house.

And that's before I've got dressed.

I won't go on, but in our house Good News - the sort of news that brings a smile to the face - is in short supply.

The children don't seem to do too badly. My eldest daughter has been smiling all week after a birthday sleepover with friends, getting a place at a local summer school and learning how to cartwheel (although, in my opinion, that's a work in progress), while her sister grinned for a week after finding out about a school trip, which isn't until autumn.

Come to think of it, children don't need good news to set them off.

They smile watching TV, they smile walking to school, they smile going to bed. They don't smile all the time, but, unlike adults, they don't need a reason to do it.

Adults have responsibilities, which bring grimaces, not smiles.

We really should try harder. The phrase 'Smile and the world smiles with you' has a ring of truth about it. If someone smiles as they let you out traffic, or at the supermarket checkout, it genuinely brightens your mood, albeit momentarily.

Although it does depend on who, where and when. If a creepy-looking bloke pops out from behind a shrub and flashes you a leery grin, it's probably unwise to smile too cheerily.

If you don't have a reason to smile, you could do it for health reasons. Smiling can, apparently, make you feel happier.

The action uses 15 facial muscles and 240 in the body, increasing circulation and reducing stress hormones.

Smiling can trick the body into improving your mood.

I tried this, but because my smile wasn't genuine -- more a Tony Blair-style smirk - it just made my face ache.

I have since been disappointed to learn that National Smile Month isn't about happiness.

It aims to raise awareness of the importance of oral health, so its more about the look of your teeth than how jolly you are.

I can't tick boxes on either count, so if you see me scowling you'll know why.