Kindness Is the Key to a Longer and Healthier Life
When it comes to kindness, it’s not just about putting a smile on your face and saying thank you. The compassion that it develops, as well as the cooperation and collaboration that it encourages, is one of the primary reasons why humans have been able to live in communities for tens of thousands of years. As Kelli Harding, M.D., M.P.H., an assistant clinical professor of psychiatry at Columbia University Irving Medical Center in New York City explains, “it will also be required to confront the enormous difficulties we’re experiencing now, from climate change to racial and economic inequality.” It may perhaps be the most important problem confronting our planet at the moment, according to her.
Dr. Harding, who wrote a book on the subject titled The Rabbit Effect: Live Longer, Happier, and Healthier With the Groundbreaking Science of Kindness, believes that kinder communities—those that allow for equitable access to things like housing, education, and health care—help us live longer, healthier lives. Disadvantaged populations have suffered much greater tolls from the deadly COVID-19 virus, as shown by the pandemic that occurred in 2018.
Furthermore, research has shown that when we live lives that are filled with empathy and compassion, our bodies perform better. As Dr. Harding argues, “kindness does not make us immune to the stresses and dangers that surround us,” but rather “it assists us in dealing with whatever disease or other misfortune comes our way.”
This is what being good to your body can do for you.
It seems to reason that when someone is good to us, we get the benefits of their kindness. Although compassion has been shown to have a positive impact on others, research reveals that it also has a positive impact on ourselves. Even after taking into account differences in factors such as age, gender, education, personality, and mental health, studies have found that being kinder is associated with having fewer health problems — such as heart disease, sleep disorders, and hearing loss — and living for a longer duration of time.
Researchers are accumulating an increasing amount of information. It has been shown that being nice may assist to decrease blood pressure and anxiety levels in certain individuals. People who had lost a spouse found that engaging in helpful acts helped to alleviate their sadness. Experiments have shown that doing something kind for someone else is more likely to improve your mood and reduce your stress levels than doing something nice for yourself, according to the results.
As an added bonus, according to the findings of an extensive assessment of data that included over 200,000 research participants, prosocial conduct (things like contributing money to charity and volunteering) was associated with improved physical and mental health. What is it about acts of kindness that has such an impact on others? In Dr. Harding’s words, “every tiny everyday decision we make either fosters or aggravates our emotional well-being, and that either helps or inhibits our physical health.” On the positive side of the equation, compassion is shown.
Psychiatrist Waguih IsHak, M.D., professor of psychiatry and behavioral neurosciences at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center and editor of The Handbook of Wellness Medicine, says that kindness causes a neurochemical reaction in the brain. Increased release of oxytocin and dopamine (two feel-good hormones), as well as decreased cortisol (a stress hormone).
Additionally, kindness seems to have genetic consequences. In our lifetimes, our cells duplicate and copy our DNA, which is encoded in our DNA at the time of our conception. How successfully a blueprint is translated into new cells—and whether genes associated to heart disease or cancer are activated—is influenced by factors such as diet, exercise, and smoking.
Dr. Harding points out that kindness and other social elements in our settings have an influence on this process as well. Things like feeling socially alienated, not having someone who expresses love to you, and feeling discriminated against (all types of unkindness) have been shown to have a negative impact on it, according to research.
What is the significance of compassion and empathy?
Although they are two distinct concepts, kindness and empathy are inextricably connected. When someone does something to aid another without expecting anything in return, this is known as kindness. Understanding what another person is going through is known as empathy.
It’s not always possible to be nice and feel empathetically at the same time, says Jamil Zaki, Ph.D., an associate professor in the department of psychology at Stanford University who studies the neurobiology of human connection and caring for one another. Sometimes we behave nicely out of duty (for example, contributing money to a niece’s school fundraising), while other times we feel empathy but do not act on it (for example, hearing a disturbing news broadcast but maintaining one’s daily schedule).
According to Zaki, who is also the author of The War on Kindness, empathy may be a potent incentive for kind conduct and can make nice gestures more impactful. According to Zaki’s study, individuals are more likely to feel happy and less stressed after they have done something kind for a friend—and the effects are highest on days when they also report empathizing with a friend who has done something nice for them. Another study discovered that when individuals make charitable contributions and believe their money has made a good difference, the emotional advantages of their expenditures rise as a result of their generosity.
Participating in volunteer activities seems to have a comparable impact. Volunteering has been shown in one research to help individuals live longer lives than those who do not volunteer—but only when the volunteers are motivated by “self-interest.”
To be kind requires a great deal of guts.
The ability to empathize might be beneficial when it is difficult to be compassionate (for example, when confronted with someone who has conflicting political beliefs). The ability to comprehend where another person is coming from rather of leaping to conclusions and responding may help you connect with others while also making it simpler to be nice.
Keep in mind that being polite does not imply that you will never get frustrated or upset. It is being kind to people even when we disagree with them that we demonstrate kindness. Dr. Harding emphasizes that being kind does not imply being a pushover: “Kindness requires tremendous bravery.”
Enhance your ability to be nice.
Kindness, according to Zaki, is not a characteristic of the individual. The ability to do so is something that must be developed through time. As a last point, Dr. Harding points out that we all make mistakes when it comes to being nice. Nevertheless, if you adhere to these recommendations on a regular basis, you will be on the correct course.
Examine your ability to collaborate with others. Have you made a mistake by reacting too soon? Was it because they shouted that you screamed as well? It’s important to take note when something occurs.
They have a point of view
Assume that another person is in your shoes and observe the scenario from their perspective. What prompted them to act in the manner that they did or think in the manner that they do is unknown to me.
Make the other person feel like a human being once again
Think about who is speaking or typing the words in a digital connection.
Take a moment to reflect about the situation.
Rushing causes us to get agitated, which makes it harder to demonstrate empathy and compassion to other people.
Consistently do the task
Volunteer, contact a lonely friend, or offer a favor for someone else by scheduling time in your calendar.
Is it possible to be too generous with others?
Burnout occurs when kindness is not accompanied with self-care. It’s also frequent among those who work in caring professions, such as physicians and nurses, who are constantly exposed to the emotional stress of others. Dr. Harding says that burnout does not occur as a result of using up all of your empathy or compassion chips. In most cases, individuals burn out because they don’t have enough time to engage in self-care activities that allow them to recharge and concentrate on their mental well-being. Five things that are really beneficial but which we often overlook include:
Allow for rest periods. Nap
Vacation days should be planned (and truly disconnect)
Exercize your body in the fresh air
Make time for health-promoting activities such as meditation, exercise, or a recreational activity of interest to you
A Lifetime of Kindness Isn't Just a Nice Idea
When it comes to kindness, it’s not just about putting a smile on your face and saying thank you. The compassion that it develops, as well as the cooperation and collaboration that it encourages, is one of the primary reasons why humans have been able to live in communities for tens of thousands of years. As Kelli Harding, M.D., M.P.H., an assistant clinical professor of psychiatry at Columbia University Irving Medical Center in New York City explains, “it will also be required to confront the enormous difficulties we’re experiencing now, from climate change to racial and economic inequality.”
It may perhaps be the most important problem confronting our planet at the moment, according to her.
Dr. Harding, who wrote a book on the subject titled The Rabbit Effect: Live Longer, Happier, and Healthier With the Groundbreaking Science of Kindness, believes that kinder communities—those that allow for equitable access to things like housing, education, and health care—help us live longer, healthier lives. Disadvantaged populations have suffered much greater tolls from the deadly COVID-19 virus, as shown by the pandemic that occurred in 2018.
Furthermore, research has shown that when we live lives that are filled with empathy and compassion, our bodies perform better. As Dr. Harding argues, “kindness does not make us immune to the stresses and dangers that surround us,” but rather “it assists us in dealing with whatever disease or other misfortune comes our way.”
6 Scientific Ways Kindness Benefits Your Health
Humans are all familiar with the golden rule: treat people the way you would want to be treated. Despite the fact that this is an ancient adage that we learn from a young age, there are a lot of real-life advantages related with the way we treat others. According to science, we are naturally programmed to be nice as children, and we may further cultivate this attribute via practice and repetition. We may, however, lose this natural capacity from time to time as a result of extraneous pressures and the stress of our daily life.
Kindness and empathy help us connect to others and have more good interactions with our friends, family, and even complete strangers we come into contact with on a daily basis. Kindness, on the other hand, has the additional benefit of enhancing your health.
Kindness triggers the production of feel-good chemicals.
Have you ever observed that when you do something good for someone else, it helps you feel better as well? This isn’t simply something that occurs at random; it has everything to do with the pleasure centers in your brain.
Doing good things for others increases your serotonin levels, which is the neurotransmitter responsible for emotions of contentment and well-being. Altruism, like exercise, causes the production of endorphins, a phenomenon known as a “helper’s high.”
So go ahead and volunteer, lend a hand to someone in need, give someone a cup of coffee or lunch, or try one of these suggestions—it could just be the pick-me-up you need.
Anxiety may be alleviated by being kind.
Anxiety, whether in the form of slight anxiety or severe panic, is a very frequent human emotion. While there are a variety of methods for reducing anxiety, including meditation, exercise, prescription drugs, and natural cures, it turns out that being pleasant to others is one of the simplest and most cheap ways to keep worry at bay.
According to a research on happiness conducted by the University of British Columbia (UBC), “social anxiety is related with low positive affect (PA), a trait that may severely influence psychological well-being and adaptive functioning.” Positive affect is defined as an individual’s experience of positive emotions such as joy, curiosity, and attentiveness.
The researchers at the University of British Columbia discovered that individuals who performed good actions saw large increases in PA, which remained stable throughout the course of the study’s four weeks.
So, the next time you’re feeling a bit apprehensive, try to think of ways you might assist others. This might be anything from just smiling at someone or contacting a friend to volunteering or donating your time to a charitable organization. Even a modest gesture may make a significant effect.
Kindness is healthy for your heart.
Making others feel happy may certainly “warm” your heart—but being kind to others can also have an impact on the actual chemical balance of your heart.
Kindness causes the production of the hormone oxytocin. According to Dr. David Hamilton, “oxytocin induces the production of a molecule called nitric oxide in blood vessels, which dilates (expands) the blood vessels.” Because it lowers blood pressure, oxytocin is referred to as a ‘cardioprotective’ hormone, which means that it protects the heart (by decreasing blood pressure).”
Kindness helps to build your heart both physically and emotionally. Perhaps this is why it is said that individuals who are polite and compassionate have huge hearts?
It may help you live a longer life.
You may be shaking your head at this point, but we’re not simply stating it because science says so.
According to Health.com, if you don’t have a strong network of family and friends, you have a higher chance of developing heart disease. When you are nice to others, you are more likely to build deep, lasting connections and friendships.
So go ahead and make some new friends, or continue to show love and compassion to the ones you currently have.
It has a calming effect on the body.
In our hectic, always-on-the-go lifestyles, we’re always seeking for methods to relieve stress. It is possible that it is less difficult than we imagine.
Helping others allows you to step outside of yourself and take a vacation from the tensions in your own life, and this behavior may also prepare you to deal with difficult circumstances in the future.
Affiliative conduct refers to any activity that helps you strengthen your connections with others. According to a study on the effects of prosocial behavior on stress, “affiliative behavior may be an important component of coping with stress and indicates that engaging in prosocial behavior (action intended to help others) may be an effective strategy for reducing the impact of stress on emotional functioning.”
Kindness is a powerful preventative measure.
Inflammation in the body is linked to a wide range of health conditions, including diabetes, cancer, chronic pain, obesity, and migraines. According to the findings of a research conducted on persons aged 57 to 85, “volunteering had the greatest connection with reduced levels of inflammation.” Oxytocin also has anti-inflammatory properties, and even little acts of kindness may stimulate the production of oxytocin.
Kindness may be the key to living a long and happy life. But don’t just take my word for it. Share a smile, make a gift, volunteer, or assist others—then let me know how you’re feeling!
