Laughter can make you look two years older than putting on a poker face. And if you've reacted to this statement with a look of astonishment - this expression may have taken years off your face. That's according to a new study. "We associate laughter with positive values and youth," said the study's co-author. But this study – in which researchers showed images of people with smiling, neutral and surprised expressions – showed the opposite:the participants with the surprised faces were seen as the youngest and the smiling faces as the oldest.
The researcher said the aging effect of a smile stems from people's inability to ignore the wrinkles that form around the eyes when smiling. A look of surprise, on the other hand, softens the wrinkles.
