4 Major Things Your Smile Can Predict About Your Future

We all know that smiling is a strategy to looking more attractive, and it can even tell an athlete's brain that it's go-time.

But is there more to those pearly whites than we think (you know, other than those ridiculously high orthodontist bills)?

Scientists studied smiles in all sorts of situations — yearbook photos, boxing matches, and everyday life — to determine what they mean for your future.

Your Love Life

If you want a happy marriage, it's time to cheese it up. Researchers studied college yearbook pictures of women, looking for Duchenne smiles, which are large smiles with elevated cheeks, raised corners of the mouth, and crinkled corners of the eye that express genuine happiness.

The scientists contacted women who showed these expressive smiles 30 years after the they were taken, and the women reported greater happiness in their marriages than their peers who didn't flash big smiles.

Your Health

That same study also found that flashing those pearly whites leads to a healthier life — the women reported higher life satisfaction and better health than those with less animated smiles.

Related - 4 Scientifically Proven Reasons To Laugh Regularly.

Your Winning Potential

When it comes to competition, ditch the "grin and bear it" motto. Researchers analyzed the smiles of boxers before matches and found that the athletes who flashed wider smiles before the match began were more likely to lose. Looks like the intimidation factor is a real thing, so give your opponent a fierce face before your next game of tennis.

Your Happiness

"Fake it 'til you make it" won't help you here. Turns out a genuine smile can lead to greater feelings of happiness, but only if your smile is for real. Researchers studied two groups of bus drivers in this experiment: One that showed fake smiles, to appear polite to passengers, and one that were told to think about happy things and smile in reaction to those thoughts.

Only the second group experienced better moods and increased productivity levels, proving an authentic smile wins out.


While it seems like some smiles are better than others, we think you should go on and cheese it up all the time. Just like those pesky colds your child is always bringing home from daycare, smiles are super contagious and the easiest way to make others happy.

From: Redbook