Science Shows Smiling is Helpful When You're Stressed - Even if You Don't Mean it

Feeling good usually makes us smile, but does it work the other way around? Can smiling actually make us feel better? In a study to be published by the journal of the Association for Psychological Science, scientists Tara Kraft and Sarah Pressman of the University of Kansas investigated the potential benefits of smiling by looking at how different types of smiling, and the awareness of smiling, affects individuals' ability to recover from episodes of stress. It shows that smiling can have real health-relevant benefits.