The old adage ‘fake it till you make it’ really does work, and smiling more really can make exercise feel easier and more enjoyable.

“Smiling is a free and effective exercise improvement tool,” Dr Perry says. “Research has found that smiling in competition can reduce your perception of effort and increase positive thoughts. You can build this into a mantra to help you remember: ‘Smile every mile.’”

Seeing others smile can also help us to perform better, Dr Perry adds. “One study saw cyclists on lab bikes doing time-to-exhaustion tests and found that those who were subliminally primed with happy faces were able to cycle 12% longer than those who saw grumpy faces and their perception of effort level was lower.”

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