Mental Health Epidemic
Science of Kindness
There are scientifically proven benefits to being kind! It is contagious, teachable, and makes you feel all fuzzy inside.
What is Kindness
Kindness is a form of love that manifests as an action marked by generosity, consideration, rendering assistance or concern for others, without expecting praise or reward in return.
Kindness is chemical
Most research on the science behind why kindness makes us feel better has centered around oxytocin.
Sometimes called "the love hormone," oxytocin plays a role in forming social bonds and trusting other people. It's the hormone mothers produce when they breastfeed, cementing their bond with their babies.
Oxytocin is also released when we're physically intimate. It's tied to making us more trusting, more generous, and friendlier, while also lowering our blood pressure.
Acts of kindness can also give our love hormone levels a boost, research suggests. Dr. IsHak says studies have also linked random acts of kindness to releasing dopamine, a chemical messenger in the brain that can give us a feeling of euphoria. This feel-good brain chemical is credited with causing what's known as a "helper's high."
In addition to boosting oxytocin and dopamine, being kind can also increase serotonin, a neurotransmitter that helps regulate mood.
Kindness Increases
The Love Hormone
Witnessing acts of kindness produces oxytocin, occasionally referred to as the โlove hormoneโ which aids in lowering blood pressure and improving our overall heart-health. Oxytocin also increases our self-esteem and optimism, which is extra helpful when weโre anxious or shy in a social situation. Natalie Angier, The New York Times
Energy
โAbout half of participants in one study reported that they feel stronger and more energetic after helping others; many also reported feeling calmer and less depressed, with increased feelings of self-worthโ Christine Carter, UC Berkeley, Greater Good Science Cente
Happiness
A 2010 Harvard Business School survey of happiness in 136 countries found that people who are altruisticโin this case, people who were generous financially, such as with charitable donationsโwere happiest overall.
Lifespan
โPeople who volunteer tend to experience fewer aches and pains. Giving help to others protects overall health twice as much as aspirin protects against heart disease. People 55 and older who volunteer for two or more organizations have an impressive 44% lower likelihood of dying early, and thatโs after sifting out every other contributing factor, including physical health, exercise, gender, habits like smoking, marital status and many more. This is a stronger effect than exercising four times a week or going to church.โ Christine Carter, Author, โRaising Happiness; In Pursuit of Joyful Kids and Happier Parentsโ\
Pleasure
According to research from Emory University, when you are kind to another person, your brainโs pleasure and reward centers light up, as if you were the recipient of the good deedโnot the giver. This phenomenon is called the โhelperโs high.โ
Serotonin
Like most medical antidepressants, kindness stimulates the production of serotonin. This feel-good chemical heals your wounds, calms you down, and makes you happy! Talya Steinberg, Psy.D for Psychology Today
Kindness Decreases
Pain
Engaging in acts of kindness produces endorphinsโthe brainโs natural painkiller and boosts your mood. Lizette Borreli, Medical Daily
Stress
Perpetually kind people have 23% less cortisol (the stress hormone) and age slower than the average population!
Anxiety
A group of highly anxious individuals performed at least six cts of kindness a week. After one month, there was a significant increase in positive moods, relationship satisfaction and a decrease in social avoidance in socially anxious individuals. University of British Columbia Study
Depression
Stephen Post of Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine found that when we give of ourselves, everything from life satisfaction to self-realization and physical health is significantly improved. Mortality is delayed, depression is reduced and well-being and good fortune are increased. Dr. Stephen Post, Ph.D. bioethics professor, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine
Blood Pressure
Committing acts of kindness lowers blood pressure. According to Dr. David R. Hamilton, acts of kindness create emotional warmth, which releases a hormone known as oxytocin. Oxytocin causes the release of a chemical called nitric oxide, which dilates the blood vessels. This reduces blood pressure and, therefore, oxytocin is known as a โcardioprotectiveโ hormone. It protects the heart by lowering blood pressure.
Kindness is healing
The practice is so effective it's being formally incorporated into some types of psychotherapy.
Studies are investigating if oxytocin can be beneficial in treating some conditions. The hormone is a protein and cannot simply be taken as a pill. It's being studied in injection and nasal spray forms.
Mindfulness-based therapy is becoming increasingly popular for treating depression, anxiety, and other mental health conditions. The therapy is built on mindfulness meditation, documenting your gratitude, and acts of kindness. People being treated in a mindfulness-based therapy program incorporate acts of kindness into their daily routines.
Helping others is also believed to increase levels of an endorphin-like chemical in the body called substance P, which can relieve pain, Dr. IsHak says.
Kindness is teachable
โItโs kind of like weight training, we found that people can actually build up their compassion โmuscleโ and respond to othersโ suffering with care and a desire to help.โ Dr. Ritchie Davidson, University of Wisconsin
Kindness is contagious
The positive effects of kindness are experienced in the brain of everyone who witnessed the act, improving their mood and making them significantly more likely to โpay it forward.โ This means one good deed in a crowded area can create a domino effect and improve the day of dozens of people! Jamil Zaki, Assistant Professor of Psychology at Stanford University for Scientific American, July 26, 2016
It appears that even small acts of kindness generate just as much happiness as do lofty acts. In an interesting set of studies, participants were either given $5 or $20 as part of an experiment. Participants in both groups were then asked to either spend the money on themselves or on others. Those who spent the money on others, it turned out, grew happier than those who spent it on themselves. More interestingly, the amount of money spent on others didnโt make a difference to happiness levels: those who spent $5 derived just as much happiness as those who spent $20. Michael Norton, one of the study co-authors summarizes the deep-seated and universal nature of the need to love in his excellent TED talk.
Kindness requires practice
The good news is that a simple act of kindness can reward our bodies and minds with feel-good chemical substances. However, the effect isn't lasting. Acts of kindness have to be repeated.
Science of Love
people in secure realtionships
are healthier overall
see less memory decline
maintain sharper and mroe active minds in old age
people who are lonely
are less healthy and begin to decline earlier
have shorter lifespans
see an earlier decline in braind and memory function
are not as happy as those in secure realtionships
The Science of Compassion
https://www.lionsroar.com/love-its-what-really-makes-us-happy/
https://www.lionsroar.com/how-meditation-changes-your-brain-and-your-life/
https://www.lionsroar.com/two-sciences-of-mind/
References
Science of Kindness
https://www.randomactsofkindness.org/the-science-of-kindness
https://www.cedars-sinai.org/blog/science-of-kindness.html#:~:text=Science says%3A Random acts of,your mood and overall wellbeing.
https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/the-heart-and-science-of-kindness-2019041816447
https://schoolofkindness.org/science-of-kindnesshttps://www.news-medical.net/health/The-Science-of-Kindness.aspx
Science of Love
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