Here’s something to grin about...

Yep, according to researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Human Development in Berlin, Germany, happy-looking people are more likely to be perceived as younger than their actual age.

After asking 154 people to estimate the age of more than 1000 faces (displaying different expressions, including anger, fear, disgust, happy, sad and neutral), the researchers found volunteers were more likely to underestimate the age of happy faces.

"Our study is the first to show that facial expression affects both accuracy and bias in age estimation," says lead author and research scientist, Manuel Voelkle.

What’s made you smile today?

The reason? Well, it’s pretty simple – happy people are generally viewed as more positive, more attractive, and younger, according to Voelkle.

And girls, you’re in luck. Researchers also found older female faces were judged to be more than three years younger compared with older male faces.

It’s time to embrace those crow’s feet, ladies.

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