Finding Your Smile in Life

There are important reasons to smile.

Researchers say that when our smiling muscles contract, a signal is sent back to the brain that increases those happy hormones (endorphins) plus serotonin, that neurotransmitter that modulates mood and affects cognition, learning, and memory.

When our brains are happy, life is good. We live longer, our moods are better, we feel less stress, and we are drawn more to people who smile and they to us.

There is a picture of my mother’s family — 13 children and her mom and dad — that lived in a small…