{
  "id": 16509910,
  "title": "Cracking a smile regularly may be good not just for your mood but for your health",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/25/cracking-a-smile-regularly-may-be-good-not-just-for-your-mood-but-for-16509910",
  "topic": "science",
  "section": "Science",
  "published": "2026-10-25T18:40:01.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Medical Xpress",
    "slug": "medical-xpress",
    "url": "https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-10-regularly-good-mood-health.html"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Regularly smiling can benefit both your mood and health, according to experts. Smiling can help you form friendships and improve emotional well-being. It doesn't matter when you smile, as simply making the physical change of smiling can impact emotions. Research supports the facial feedback hypothesis, which suggests that facial expressions influence emotions. In a classic study from the late 1980s, subjects who smiled while watching a positive movie clip felt more amusement and amusement than those who frowned. A smile can also help regulate stress hormones like cortisol and positively affect brain chemicals associated with positive feelings, such as endorphins, dopamine, and serotonin. However, how smiles are perceived varies across cultures. While American culture values positive emotions, East Asian cultures tend to view emotions more in balance. In Thailand, known as \"The Land of Smiles,\" smiling is deeply embedded in the culture and considered a sign of respect, good manners, and calmness. Despite the benefits, some argue that smiling in the workplace can feel like a Catch-22 for certain groups, such as women and people of color, who may be perceived as unapproachable or cold if they don't smile enough. The key to smiles' effectiveness seems to be authenticity and voluntary action.",
  "summary": "Reminding yourself to smile often can not only help you form more friendships but also make you feel better.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 4,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "CityNews",
        "title": "Cracking a smile regularly may be good not just for your mood but for your health",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/24/cracking-a-smile-regularly-may-be-good-not-just-for-your-mood-but-for-16334034",
        "published": "2026-10-24T12:39:40.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "Winnipeg Free Press",
        "title": "Cracking a smile regularly may be good not just for your mood but for your health",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/24/cracking-a-smile-regularly-may-be-good-not-just-for-your-mood-but-for",
        "published": "2026-10-24T12:39:40.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "The Mainichi",
        "title": "Cracking a smile regularly may be good not just for your mood but for your health",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/25/cracking-a-smile-regularly-may-be-good-not-just-for-your-mood-but-for",
        "published": "2026-10-25T07:00:11.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}