One is not amused: Why every other smile is a fake

By DAILY MAIL REPORTER
Updated:

We smile around half a million times in our lifetime - but almost half of  those smiles are false, according to  a survey.

We're either concealing the fact that we feel down - or else pretending to be amused when we're not.

A survey reveals that Britons smile 26 times a day on average - that's 9,490 smiles in a year and 446,030 smiles in adulthood from 18 to 65.

Real or fake? One in two smiles are said to conceal true feelings

Real or fake? One in two smiles are said to conceal true feelings

Those lucky enough to reach 100 will smile 778,000 times.

But 47 per cent of our smiles aren’t real, according to the national study of happiness, as we put on a happy front – perhaps to impress whoever it is we are talking to or put them at their ease.

In fact, the study also says that a quarter of adults (24 per cent) admit they feel down at least once a day or more.

It reveals that 31 per cent of us feel low at least once a week.

Another 36 per cent admit they feel the same way at least once a month.

'It's a smile but not a very sincere one...'

However, we are currently in the happiest period of the year in the UK.

A total of six out of ten Britons saying they feel most happy during the summer months, especially in the early evening.

The survey of 3,000 adults was carried out on behalf of toothpaste maker Biorepair.

Louise Fair, a spokesman for the company, said: ‘We wanted to reveal the UK’s genuine levels of happiness and the findings paint an unexpected picture, as many more respondents feel “down” much more regularly than anticipated.

‘Although a quarter of us admit we feel down once a day or more, we still smile almost half a million times in our adult years.

‘Shockingly, only just over half of those smiles are genuine, meaning we’re a nation of “fake smilers”.’

Miss Fair also pointed out that many Britons are reluctant to smile because they are worried about the appearance of their teeth.

 

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