winning smile can lead to all sorts of benefits !!!

Whether you’re rolling out of bed for another day at your desk, or to play the role of alarm clock ahead of the school run, smiling is often the last thing on your mind. Unless you’re a morning person, that is (in which case please stop showing off). But here are five reasons why breaking into a smile as part of your morning dental routine can reveal all kinds of benefits to your health, job prospects – even your love life.

1.  Reduce stress
2. 
   Up early with kids? Juggling a never-ending to-do list? Burning the candle at both ends can send stress hormones skyrocketing and put your heart on course for palpitations. Sounds familiar? Head to the bathroom, look in the mirror and smile. Following your dental routine with a simple show of happiness can lead to a substantial reduction in your heart rate and a release of the feel good-hormone, dopamine, that results in a quicker recovery from stress than those who put a brave (but decidedly less smiley) face on the situation.
3. Make an impression
   
   The science says that smiling makes you much more memorable than your stoney-faced self. Now, this doesn’t mean sitting through an entire interview process with a plastic smile reminiscent of a bad Botox job, but flashing your pearly whites as you shake hands with the interviewer could make all the difference. Oh, and the same goes for selecting your dating profile picture. Swap sultry for smiley and you can switch the swipes in your favour.  
4. Grin and bear it
   
   Headache coming on strong as you open your eyes? Whether it’s an innocent affliction, or the aftermath of too many wines, we have the cure (and it’s better for you than two paracetamol, black coffee and a bacon sandwich). University of California researchers found a reason to smile when they reported it can reduce your perception of pain by up to as much as 40 per cent. And it doesn’t even have to be genuine. Really. The study also discovered a forced smile is equally effective.
5. Boost your immunity
   
   If you’ve woken up with a sore throat or blocked nose that is threatening to put your weekend plans at risk then it might be worth washing down your pre-emptive strike of probiotics and multivitamins with a smile. It turns out there is some truth in laughter being the best medicine after researchers discovered smiles can elevate the number of illness-fighting lymphocytes in your blood by eight per cent. Bolster your defences to keep colds at bay and that long-awaited Sunday with friends on schedule.
6. Get creative
   
   Being faced with an important meeting or presentation come 9am is – believe it or not – something to be happy about. Smiling as you prepare your speech in the mirror that morning rewards you with a comprehensive approach to problems, improving your ability to think of more solutions than your frowning co-workers. The neurotransmitter, dopamine, not only links to happiness and stress relief, but is also crucial to learning, processing and decision-making.