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Fuzzy feeling -

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.

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Health benefits -

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.

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Volunteering -

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.

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Volunteering -

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.

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Correlation vs. causation -

Correlation does not necessarily mean causation, of course, and it is also true that people who are healthy are more likely to volunteer.

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Control -

However, scientists are aware of that bias and they control for that when conducting experiments to explore the impact of volunteering on health.

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Tutoring experiment -

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.

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Tutoring experiment -

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.

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Results -

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.

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Results -

Interleukin 6 is an important predictor of cardiovascular health, as well as an important player when it comes to combating viral infections.

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Random acts of kindness -

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.

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California experiment -

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.

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California experiment -

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.

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Money -

There are also studies showing that spending money on someone else can contribute to improved hearing, better sleep, and lower blood pressure.

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Charity donations -

There was even one experiment that showed that writing a cheque for charity can increase your muscular strength!

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How it works -

According to neuroscientist Tristen Inagaki, it is thanks to evolution that being kind to others can do wonders for our own health.

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Reward regions -

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.

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Reward regions -

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.

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Fear center -

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.

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Fear center -

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.

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Nervous system -

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.

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Cardiovascular health -

It is because of this connection that caring for others can in turn help to improve our cardiovascular health.

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Empathy -

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.

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Empathy -

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.

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Potential -

To quote Konrath, “No matter where we start, and research shows this, all of us can improve in empathy.”

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Tips -

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

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