Watching your favorite films could be accelerating the signs of aging.
Experts believe the faces we pull while watching thrillers or horrors, as well as laughter during comedies, could be making contributing to the age lines on our faces.
I guess that’s why I look 80 at 31…
From SWNS:
A study of 2,000 Brits found that over the course of the average horror film, fans will contort their face in fear 11 times, while thrillers will see viewers pull a shocked, tense or surprised face nine times.
And the average comedy will involve 11 bouts of laughter.
According to Dr Harry Singh, from beauty and wellness brand FOREO, repeating these expressions could be adding to frown lines and crow’s feet.
He said: “When we express a shocked look we activate the evaluator muscles of the forehead, known as the frontalis.
“By repeating this expression and strengthening this muscle, we develop horizontal lines across the forehead.“Squinting is another common expression used as a coping mechanism during violent or distressing scenes, and requires the activation of a number of muscles, including both the eyes and depressor muscles.
“This double whammy of muscle over-activation might result in frown lines and crow’s feet around the eyes, which when repeated over a five-year period could again result in 50 per cent worse lines developing around the eye area.”
FOREO conducted a practical test to see how three popular films – Insidious, Bridget Jones’ Diary and BirdBox – affected the faces of viewers.
During Insidious, viewers were found to react with shocked facial expressions an average of 20 times over the 104 minute-long film.
According to Dr. Harry Singh, repeated viewings of Insidious over a five-year period could result in 50 per cent more lines on the forehead.
When reviewing the facial expressions of people watching hit comedy Bridget Jones’s Diary, participants laughed or smiled an average of 115 times throughout the film.
And Netflix film BirdBox saw on-edge viewers frowning up to 50 times during the tense 124 minute-long movie.
Nora Zukauskaite from www.foreo.com, said: “There’s nothing wrong with frown or laughter lines.
“But we also want to inform people that implementing an effective skincare regime is important when considering how best to care for the skin before and after a heavy movie marathon session.”
(image source: LiveAbout)