A wide smile could add years to your life
The wider you grin and the deeper your laughter lines, the more likely you are to have a long existence.
Broader smiles and wrinkles around your eyes point to a positive outlook on life which translates to better long-term health.
It has long been thought that a happy disposition can impact on life expectancy, and the recent study by experts at Wayne University in Michigan, America, seems to back this.
They came to their conclusions by studying 230 pictures of major league baseball players printed in the 1952 baseball register. Each picture came with a listing of the player's vital statistics, including age, weight, height and marital status.
Researchers then ranked to players according to their smiles and laughter lines, spanning from none at all, to partial and then those with a full blown toothy grin and crinkled eyes. They then compared the chart to the lifespan of each player to reach their conclusions.
Of the 184 players who had since died, those in the "no smile" section lived an average of 72.9 years while the "partial smile" group lived to around the age of 75. Those with the widest grins lived an average of 79.9 years – a full seven more years than their glum colleagues.
The study also found that putting on a false smile did not work, as only those who looked genuinely happy had the extra life expectancy.
From: Telegraph.co.uk, Published: 7:33AM BST 13 Apr 2010: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/howaboutthat/7584633/Smiling-could-help-you-live-longer.html
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