It might sound like stating the obvious to point out that, when your mood is low, your posture slumps and your head hangs. Even when you try to fight it, your impulse is to slouch. What is perhaps less obvious is that your posture can also perpetuate a mood or even cause you to feel a certain way and that changing your posture can change your mood and mind.<\/p>\n
Richard Petty, Professor of Psychology at Ohio State University, explains that the brain has areas that reflect feelings like confidence and when those areas are triggered, it is difficult to tell the difference between natural confidence and the temporary feeling that results from standing up straight. The brain responds in the same way to both, so confidence can make you stand upright and standing upright can create confidence. The same applies to smiling. Choosing to smile yields the same warm effects \u2013 such as increasing feel-good hormones like endorphins, serotonin and dopamine, reducing the stress hormone cortisol, increasing relaxation and increasing the sense of pleasure in doing a task \u2013 as smiling naturally. You can feel happy and smile naturally and you can smile to make you feel happier.<\/p>\n