Exploring the science behind pain perception
Furthermore, volunteering has been linked to a lower risk of high blood glucose, and a lower risk of the inflammation levels that can lead to heart disease.
It's a truth universally acknowledged that doing something nice for someone else makes us feel good about ourselves. Like it or not, that’s often why people do altruistic things.
Correlation does not necessarily mean causation, of course, and it is also true that people who are healthy are more likely to volunteer.
But it is a lesser known fact that being kind to others is actually beneficial for our health. There is evidence for this welcome truth in a number of studies from across the globe.
Some studies show, for example, that volunteering correlates with a 24% lower risk of early death. That’s the same effect as eating six or more portions of fruit and veggies every day.
In one randomized experiment in Canada, one group of high school students began tutoring younger children while another group was put on a waiting list to do the same.
One study in California showed that individuals tasked with conducting random acts of kindness had lower activity of leukocyte genes that are linked with inflammation.
Interleukin 6 is an important predictor of cardiovascular health, as well as an important player when it comes to combating viral infections.
Four months later, once the high school students had finished their tutoring, there were clear differences in the blood of the students in both groups.
Those students who had been involved in the tutoring not only had lower levels of cholesterol, but they also had lower inflammatory markers such as interleukin 6.
Studies also show that it’s not just volunteering that can have a positive effect on our health, but that random acts of kindness can have a similar impact.
That can only be seen as a positive thing since chronic inflammation has been linked with conditions such as diabetes, heart disease, cancer, and rheumatoid arthritis.
On the one hand, our brains have evolved to connect caregiving with pleasure. When we do something nice for others, the reward regions of the brain are triggered.
This can be linked to raising children: if there were to be no pleasure incentive associated with helping others, parents may run from or abandon their children.
Again, this can be linked to raising children: if we were to be overwhelmed with fear at the prospect of helping others, we may never be able to come to the aid of our children.
There was even one experiment that showed that writing a cheque for charity can increase your muscular strength!
On the other hand, our brains have evolved to connect caregiving with reduced stress. When we do something nice for others, activity in the brain’s fear center decreases.
Our brains’ reward regions and fear centers are directly linked with our sympathetic nervous systems, which are responsible for regulating blood pressure and inflammatory responses.
Of course, doing something nice for others depends on the levels of empathy we’re capable of, and empathy is to a large extent hereditary.
However, according to Sara Konrath, a researcher at Indiana University, empathy should be thought of as a muscle that we can all work to build.
Tips to improve empathy levels include trying to view the world from someone else’s point of view, practicing mindfulness, or taking care of pets.
Sources: (BBC)
See also: Everyday things you didn't realize are harming your mental health
It is because of this connection that caring for others can in turn help to improve our cardiovascular health.
To quote Konrath, “No matter where we start, and research shows this, all of us can improve in empathy.”
There are also studies showing that spending money on someone else can contribute to improved hearing, better sleep, and lower blood pressure.
According to neuroscientist Tristen Inagaki, it is thanks to evolution that being kind to others can do wonders for our own health.
However, scientists are aware of that bias and they control for that when conducting experiments to explore the impact of volunteering on health.
If the COVID-19 pandemic has taught us anything, it's the importance of being kind to others–of reaching out to loved ones to check that they're alright, of offering a helping hand to a stranger in need.
Being kind to others has the added benefit of making us feel good about ourselves. But there are also studies that show kindness is great for our well-being. There really is no downside!
Check out this gallery to learn how being kind is good for our health.
How being kind is good for our health
Studies worldwide demonstrated the validity of this fact
HEALTH Help
If the COVID-19 pandemic has taught us anything, it's the importance of being kind to others–of reaching out to loved ones to check that they're alright, of offering a helping hand to a stranger in need.
Being kind to others has the added benefit of making us feel good about ourselves. But there are also studies that show kindness is great for our well-being. There really is no downside!
Check out this gallery to learn how being kind is good for our health.