Smile when they Say "cheese..!!"

I was having this conversation with some older women in the family about how they never smile when someone points a camera at their face and says Cheese. They came with explanations ranging from we are old, to we were tired, to in our days we were told not to by our in-laws , to we have forgotten how to smile having gone through the toils of life .

My point was simple when you smile into a camera you capture good emotions for life and generations to come vs a grouchy image..! Pictures are worth a 1000 words and you might as well write good words with that smile - even if its a fake smile..No one remembers how tired , sick , good or bad you were.. What everyone remembers is that you smiled (or you din't) .

Literally speaking a smile is a facial expression formed by flexing the muscles near both ends of the mouth. But that expression has many effects on the receiver ranging from a calming effect to a loving affectionate one. Children are seen attracted to ever-smiling people versus their grouchy counterparts as they can only relate to emotions not to words.

Scientifically, a laugh (the big brother of a smile), is known to improve health by suppressing stress hormones which is the major cause of most ailments. Having read of so many important reasons for flexing the Zygomaticus muscle, flexing them ever to often is a great idea, so go on and smile and flash those pearly whites :)