科学研究表明，我们一出生就会微笑。不经意间露出笑容时，我们在想些什么？虽然刚出生时还没有复杂的意识，但一个浅浅的微笑，仿佛已将我们和世间美好联系在一起。

 

在这个万物欣欣向荣的日子里，我们迎来了让人心情倍儿棒的世界微笑日（World Smile Day）。世界微笑日由世界精神卫生联盟（World Federation¹ for Mental Health）确立于1948年，它是唯一一个庆祝人类行为表情的节日。世界精神卫生联盟希望通过鼓励微笑来促进人类身心健康，同时在人与人之间传递愉悦与友善，增进社会和谐。

 

微笑是无声的问候，它能拉近彼此心灵的距离。或许握手、拥抱和鞠躬对于不同文化背景下的人有着不同的含义，但微笑却可以跨越所有文化，给人们带来幸福和美好的感觉。你有想过微笑会给我们的身心带来哪些变化吗？为何有时身边的人一笑你的心情也会跟着变好呢？今天我们就来一起探寻微笑的秘密吧！

 

Babies are born with the ability to smile.

婴儿天生就有微笑的能力。

 

Babies learn a lot of behaviors and sounds from watching the people around them, but scientists believe that all babies are born with the ability, since even blind babies smile.

婴儿会通过观察周围的人来学习各种行为和声音，但科学家们认为所有婴儿天生就有微笑的能力，因为即使是失明的婴儿也会微笑。

 

Babies smile in sleep, from birth, but it takes around four to six weeks, before they start smiling when they are awake.

婴儿从出生开始就会在睡梦中微笑，但需要大约4到6周的时间才会开始在醒着的时候微笑。

 

Smiling releases endorphins and relieves stress.

微笑可以释放内啡肽，缓解压力。

 

Feeling stressed out and over-loaded? Try smiling. According to recent studies, smiling has the power to reduce stress and increase our ability to deal with trying situations. This is largely owing to the fact that smiling boosts endorphin output and forces us to breathe deeper, resulting in a calmer outlook and increased coping ability.

感到压力太大、负担过重吗？试着微笑吧！最新研究表明，微笑具有减轻压力和提升我们处理困难的能力的作用。这在很大程度上是因为微笑可以增加内啡肽的分泌，迫使我们深呼吸，从而使我们更加平静，应对能力更强。

 

When you smile, even when you force it, your body releases the "feel good" hormones² and endorphins, which will put you in a much better mood and relieve stress.

当你微笑的时候，即使你是在强迫自己微笑，你的身体也会释放让你“感觉良好”的荷尔蒙和内啡肽，这会让你心情更好，也能缓解压力。

 

Smiling boosts the immune system.

微笑可以增强免疫系统。

 

Smiling really can improve your physical health. Your body is more relaxed when you smile, which contributes to good health and a stronger immune system.

微笑确实可以改善你的身体健康。当你微笑时，身体会更放松，这有助于保持身体健康和增强免疫系统。

 

In addition to making you look more attractive, successful and approachable, smiling may also protect you from the common cold. According to recent data, smiling can help boost the immune system by decreasing stress levels, which in turn increases white blood cell count and releases beneficial antibodies that help fight infection and disease.

微笑不仅能让你看起来更有吸引力、更成功、更平易近人，还能让你免受感冒的困扰。根据最新数据，微笑可以通过缓解压力来增强免疫系统，增加白细胞数量，释放有益抗体，帮助你对抗各类感染和疾病。

 

Smiling is contagious³.

微笑是会传染的。

 

It is rare to smile when reading a funny passage from a book on our own, but when that same passage is read out loud to us, or even if other people are in the room, most people are likely to smile then. Have you ever been around someone who seemed to be smiling all the time? Chances are, you found yourself smiling as well. This is because smiling is incredibly contagious. Research suggests that happy people influence the people closest to them and provide a boost of good energy. So, next time you're feeling down, seek out your happiest friend and let the smiles begin.

当我们独自读到书中有趣的段落时很少会笑，但如果有人对我们大声朗读相同的段落，或者有其他人也在房间里，大多数人可能都会笑出来。你周围是否有总是面带微笑的人？你很可能会发现自己也在微笑。这是因为微笑具有不可思议的传染性。研究表明，快乐的人会影响最亲近的人，给他们带来满满的活力。所以，下次当你情绪低落的时候，找一个最快乐的朋友一起微笑吧。

 

According to science, neurons in the brain have a synchronizing⁴ feature that keeps you in sync with people you're talking to. If they smile, you'll smile. In a study that was conducted in Sweden, researchers found that people found it really difficult to frown, when they were looking at other people who were smiling and they couldn't help smiling themselves.

据科学研究，大脑中的神经元有同步功能，可以让你与你的谈话对象保持同步。如果他们微笑，你也会微笑。在瑞典进行的一项研究中，研究人员发现，当人们看到其他人在微笑时，他们很难皱起眉头，并且自己也会忍不住要笑。

 

Women smile more often than men.

女性比男性更常微笑。

 

Studies have found that women smile more often than men but the difference disappears when men and women occupy similar social or business roles. Many scientists interpret these results to indicate that gender⁵ roles are fluid and that both men and women act differently depending upon their social or business environment.

研究发现，女性比男性更常微笑，但当他们担任相似的社会或商业角色时，这种差异就消失了。很多科学家将这样的结果解释为性别角色是可变的，男性和女性的行为取决于他们所在的社会或商业环境。

 

* 社会文化模型中性别角色（Gender Roles）是一个很重要的概念，性别角色指一个特定社会中被认为恰当的男性和女性的行为模式，这些模式表现出最基本的男性和女性差异。

 

Boy babies, though, do smile less than girl babies, who also make more eye contact.

然而，男婴比女婴笑得少，女婴也会有更多的眼神交流。

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