Health Benefits of Kindness

Have you ever noticed that “feel good” sensation after doing something selfless like holding the door for someone or sharing your lunch? Well, you are not imagining it! Kindness has positive health effects, which can help nourish your physical, spiritual and social wellness.
1) Kindness makes you “high”
The good feeling evoked from altruistic behaviors is due to elevated levels of chemicals in the brain called endorphins and dopamine, which contribute to a natural “Helper’s High”.
2) Kindness boosts heart health
Feelings of emotional warmth, along with “Helper’s High,” induce the release of a hormone called oxytocin in the brain and throughout the body. Oxytocin is considered to be a “cardio-protective” hormone because it stimulates the release of nitric oxide in blood vessels, which reduces blood pressure by dilating the blood vessels.
3) Kindness fights aging
Free radical and inflammation are two culprits that speed the process of aging and play a major role in heart disease. The good news is that oxytocin also contributes to the reduction of free radicals and inflammation in the cardiovascular system—the source of aging.
4) Kindness is contagious
A scientific report in the New England Journal of Medicine analyzed a case in which an anonymous person walked into a clinic and donated a kidney. This philanthropic behavior set a “pay it forward” effect where family members of kidney recipients donated one of theirs to someone else. Start your own ripple effect of kindness by finding ways you can touch others’ lives, whether big or small!

Source: www.huffingtonpost.com