Smile Your Way To Performance

Have you ever found yourself faking a smile and ended up genuinely smiling? Have you noticed that when you smile, you start feeling happier and more at peace? 

Thích Nhất Hạnh, a Vietnamese monk once said, “Sometimes your joy is the source of your smile, but sometimes, your smile is the source of your joy”. This was meant to reflect the relation between body and mind. As ultrarunners, we know that there is no crossing that finish-line if our mind gives out. Our body gave up a long time ago; we’ve already emptied the tank and, everything hurts. And yet, here we are, 10-hours in, plodding along, alone with our thoughts. We find multiple ways to trick our minds to keep going and here exactly lies my point. 

In the early 2000’s a research group showed that facial expressions have a modulating effect on our perceived emotions, and more importantly, that they can initiate emotional experiences even in the absence of an emotional stimuli. In other words, you can gaslight yourself into happiness, with the simple act of smiling. You don’t even have to mean it; your brain won’t know! (1,2)

A few years later, research groups in the UK and the Netherlands investigated whether smiling would have an impact on endurance performance. They found that smiling vs. frowning significantly decreased perceived exertion (3) as well as oxygen consumption, and increased running economy in 58% of participants. (4). This means that smiling will literally trick your body and brain into thinking “this effort feels easier”, “this is manageable”. 

Would you like to know why? When you smile, you activate your zygomaticus muscles (the muscles around your mouth), which in turn activates your amygdala (a part of your brain responsible for emotional and behavioral responses, like the “fight or flight” response). Your amygdala sends alerts to your hypothalamus (another region of your brain, responsible for hormonal responses), which then, will generate the release of a cascade of happy chemicals. You body will secrete endorphins -a natural painkiller, serotonin – your happy hormone and dopamine – which generates motivation. The release of serotonin and dopamine also improve the body’s overall physiological processes (5). 

What about exterior factors? I remember running my ultramarathon in Wales and feeling elated whenever I met someone on the course or met the crew at aid stations. Being surrounded with these cheery people, even for a minute, was all I needed to keep me going.

Did you know that 90% of the human capacity to process non-conscious information is occupied by the visual system?

This means that external visual cues (seeing cheery faces vs. angry faces) can significantly impact your performance.

In 2014, a British research group conducted a trial during which participants were asked to cycle to exhaustion, while being exposed to happy faces vs. sad faces (6). Researchers found that participants cycled 12% longer, when exposed to happy faces, which also resulted in lower perceived exertion and higher cycling cadence.

Another group, in 2016, found that when beginner runners shifted their focus and looked around, their running economy increased (7).

This shows just how powerful a smile can be. 

I find these results particularly interesting as it has me reflecting on the differences between road racing and ultrarunning.

During a road race, such as marathons or half-marathons, you have a plethora of visual cues, people cheering you on throughout the entire course, meaning you can rely on exterior factors (the public) as your source of motivation.

In an ultramarathon, you’re on your own, kid. 

You can be by yourself for hours on, without seeing another soul. That’s okay, though...

You just have to remember to smile. 

References

1. Flack Jr. WF. Peripheral feedback effects of facial expressions, bodily postures, and vocal expressions on emotional feelings. Cogn Emot. 2006;20(2):177–95.
2. Kraft TL, Pressman SD. Grin and bear it: the influence of manipulated facial expression on the stress response. Psychol Sci. 2012;23(11):1372–8.
3. Philippen PB, Bakker FC, Oudejans RRD, Canal-Bruland R. The effects of smiling and frowning on perceived affect and exertion while physically active. J Sport Behav. 2012;35(3):337–53.
4. Brick NE, McElhinney MJ, Metcalfe RS. The effects of facial expression and relaxation cues on movement economy, physiological, and perceptual responses during running. Psychol Sport Exerc. 2018 Jan 1;34:20–8.
5. Dfarhud D, Malmir M, Khanahmadi M. Happiness & Health: The Biological Factors- Systematic Review Article. Iran J Public Health. 2014 Nov;43(11):1468–77.
6. Blanchfield A, Hardy J, Marcora S. Non-conscious visual cues related to affect and action alter perception of effort and endurance performance. Front Hum Neurosci [Internet]. 2014 [cited 2024 Feb 4];8. Available from: https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fnhum.2014.00967
7. Schücker L, Schmeing L, Hagemann N. “Look around while running!” Attentional focus effects in inexperienced runners. Psychol Sport Exerc. 2016 Nov 1;27:205–12.