When you smile at a random stranger how do you feel? When you pay for the person in line behind you at the drive through, how do you feel? When you send a random text message to a friend, how does it make you feel? These are all acts of kindness that increase our happiness.
According to a study at Dartmouth college, Kindness increases the love hormone, energy, happiness, lifespan, pleasure, and serotonin. Kindness decreases Pain, Stress, Anxiety, Depression and Blood Pressure.
When you witness or perform acts of kindness, it produces oxytocin. Which increases self esteen and optimism, which is especially helpful in social situations. Have you ever been in an uncomfortable situation and complimented a complete stranger? This one act of kindness can releive anxiety and boost your confidence in an uncomfortable situation.
More than half the people in the happiness study stated they feel more energetic after any act of kindness. They also reported feeling less depressed and calm with increased feelings of confidence. Pay attention to how you feel the next time you just smile at someone!
People that have a sense of gratitude either emotionally or financially were happier overall. Try paying for the person in line at the drive through the next time and see how you feel.
Try volunteering your time on a consistent basis and one of the side effects is overall health. People 55 or older that volunteer for two or more organizations have a 44% higher rate of life extension. That is after deducting every contributing factor like physical health, exercise, gender, habits like drinking and smoking, marital status and many others. Volunteering has a stronger effect on the physical and emotional than exercising 4 times per week or going to church.
When you are kind to another person, according to research at Emory University, your brains pleasure reward center lights up. This is known as the “Helpers High.”
Want to sleep better? Get out your phone or computer and send a random kind text message or email to someone. This will increase production of serotonin which is the feel good chemical in our brains. Try it!
The next time you have physical pain, send a note to someone thanking them for a kindness. I did this everyday after my reconstructive knee surgery and it made me so much better. When we are engaging in acts of kindness, it produces endorphins in the brain that is a natural pain killer.
People that are continuously kind and volunteer have an astounding 23% less cortisol, (the stress hormone) and age slower than others. The next time you are at the market, pick up some flowers for your significant other, or the neighbor and just leave on their door step.
According to a University of British Columbia study, people that performed 6 acts of kindness per week for a month had a significant decrease in anxiety. The same individuals also had happier consistent moods and a decrease in social avoidance.
If you really wish to have a consistent level of happiness, kindness is the key!~Shirene