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SMILES PER HOUR
In National Smile Week (15 – 21), research for the RAC Foundation has discovered the secret to getting the maximum Smiles per Hour (SPH) out of motoring. But according to the RAC Foundation, a smile can also be the driver’s number one tool in avoiding road rage and confrontation on the highway. Conrad King, the Foundation’s consultant psychologist said: ''A smile is a perfect non-verbal appeasement gesture that one motorist can give to another when they have made a mistake. Hand gestures can be misinterpreted but a smile is always a smile'' ''As well as a way of calming other motorists down or apologising for a driving error, when we smile we release endorphins, which are the body’s naturally produced opiate, into our system - giving a feeling of calmness, happiness and well being. Three qualities that are often in short supply in modern hectic living.'' Research* from an on-going study into driver behaviour conducted for the Foundation found: Sitting comfortably? The less seats and doors in a car…the more smiles. Good news for sports car and smart car owners, bad news for people carriers and big 4x4s. This could be because the fewer the seats, the more likely that drivers are to be alone – allowing them the ability to express their emotions freely and do what they enjoy in the car. Colour me Wonderful Colour makes a massive difference in SPH figures, with green cars being the most ''smile-itious'' - followed by red, metallic blue and silver. Yellow and lilac produced the worst SPH figures with normally depressive black battling it out with white for occupation of the middle smile ground. Earlier RAC Foundation research showed that drivers of green cars are one of the least likely groups to suffer depression. Happy Songs for Happy People Music plays a big part in smile economy on the road, with reggae, 60 oldies tracks and 70’s ''west coast rock'' making for the some of best SPH figures and rap/heavy rock music making miseries out of drivers. This is probably because nostalgic, feel good music makes people smile, and puts them in a good mood. Rap and rock tend to pump listeners up and make them put on a serious face because heart rate and blood pressure have gone up. Generally, the higher the heart rate and blood pressure, the less people smile. Sad songs, or those that evoke sad recollections, while dropping blood pressure and heart rate levels - can also cause a drop in serotonin levels thus making listeners want to cry and making them feel down. Smilers top ten – Feelgood music Three Little Birds (Don’t Worry ‘Bout a Thing) - Bob Marley Frown about town: Feelbad Music: Stan - Eminem Cars with smile power on the bonnet. All of these cars appear to have ''happy'' faces on their bonnets. They also evoke a similar nostalgia to oldies tracks, but enhance the sense of freedom and adventure that can come with driving. VW Beetle (old and new) Cars that make you frown. These cars could all be seen as ''stern'' looking – the ability of onlookers to ''read'' faces and expressions may lead to a personification in interpretation and the perception that these vehicles are authoritarian and functional rather than fun. Renault Espace The Gender and Age Divide: Smiles per Hour Men Aged 17-24 Women Aged 17-24 Young women are the group with the fastest SPH figures, with those under 24 smiling, on average once every two minutes. Young men smile a lot more than older or middle aged men, but nothing like as much as most women – probably because they like to be perceived as cool and have higher amounts of testosterone than the other groups. The most miserable group are drivers over the age of 66, who seem to find little to smile about, only managing to ''crack their faces'' every six to seven minutes. Middle-aged people with kids don’t smile as much as their younger or older counterparts. Travelling to a happy place, journeys that made people smile: Home on a Friday night The driver with the worst SPH figure is a 67 year old female driving a yellow Fiat Doblo on the way to work in the rain, drinking a fizzy sports drink and listening to Motorhead! Sue Nicholson, Head of Campaigns for the RAC Foundation said: ''Research has shown that around 15 minutes of laughter a day can set you on the road to good health, helping to reduce the risk of heart disease, stress and depression. ''Next time you feel like throttling another driver, smile instead, it could well diffuse a difficult situation. Having a giggle in a traffic jam can also be a great de-stresser so keep an upbeat CD, comedy tape or something that makes you feel ''grin-tastic'' in the car. When you’re smiling, the whole world smiles with you – especially when you are also driving a car.'' National Smile Week, the UK’s biggest annual oral health event, takes place between May 15-21. Organised by the British Dental Health Foundation, it aims to give simple, practical oral health advice. The RAC Foundation’s auto teeth tips include: Limit sugary foods, acidic and fizzy drinks. Not only are they detrimental to teeth, they can also make you sluggish and thirsty while travelling. Drink plenty of water to keep you hydrated when you break your journey - at least every two hours. Chew sugar free gum – this will produce more saliva to help cancel out the acid in the mouth. Carry a toothbrush and fluoride toothpaste in the car. Handy for freshening up when you stop and good for the teeth and gums. Drive to your dentist regularly. *A group of 900 drivers were studied, half of the sample group ''self recorded'' their smile frequency over a ten minute period and half were observed to obtain a range of ''smile scores'' for each age group. Other variables were also documented in each case…make, model, number of seats, colour of car etc. Interviews were conducted during April 2005.
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