Researchers from Ulster University and Swansea University in the U.K. conducted experiments on twenty-four men and women whose hobbies were running. It was an experiment to see what look of face and state of mind bring the best running economy. Running economy means how less energy you consume while running at a constant speed. The less energy you consume, the better running economy you have.
Participants ran in four different ways: running on the treadmill while smiling; running with a frown; running without tension, imagining that you are holding French fries between your fingers; and running with the mind to finish the race quickly. The experiment results suggest that smiling is the most beneficial strategy to improve running economy.
“Smiling relaxes muscles and improves running economy. When you get close to the finish line, smiling boosts efficiency,” said Dr. Noel Brick, who led the experiment. Eliud Kipchoge, a Kenyan long-distance runner, is well known for frequent smiling to perform better and make it easier to run.
When you do a hard work like long-distance running, you frown naturally. But if you keep smiling, you can easily make it.