Can Kindness Impact our Wellbeing?
First, let’s define each of these terms. Kindness means being nice or offering the best of yourself to someone whether it be a minute, second, or longer.
Wellbeing is a bit trickier to define but in the simplest terms, it means “the state of being comfortable, healthy, or happy” (Google Dictionary). If we look at the research side of things, the CDC has a definition of wellbeing that is all-inclusive (CDC, n.d.).
In the most general sense, wellbeing is a positive outcome that is a determinant for people throughout all societies of how their lives are going (Frey & Stutzer, 2002; Andrews & Withey, 1976; Diener, 2000; Ryff & Keyes, 1995; Diener, Suh & Oishi, 1997; Veenhoven, 2008).
At a minimum, the fundamentals for wellbeing are adequate living conditions (e.g., housing, employment) (Frey & Stutzer, 2002; Andrews & Withey, 1976; Diener, 2000; Ryff & Keyes, 1995; Diener, Suh & Oishi, 1997; Veenhoven, 2008).
As the term “wellbeing” is used across disciplines, there is no consensus on the definition of wellbeing. At a minimum, there is an agreement across disciplines that wellbeing includes
- the presence of positive emotions and moods (e.g., contentment, happiness);
- the absence of negative emotions (e.g., depression, anxiety);
- satisfaction with life;
- fulfillment and,
- positive functioning.
(Frey & Stutzer, 2002; Andrews & Withey, 1976; Diener, 2000; Ryff & Keyes, 1995; Diener, Suh, Oishi, 1997; Veenhoven, 2008)
14 Proven Benefits
The wonderful part of random acts of kindness is that there are not only benefits to the receiver but also to the giver. When we break down the benefits, we need to first look at the emotions that are associated with random acts of kindness. An important note is that emotional responses are based on whether they are normative or non-normative distinction (Exline, Lisan, & Lisan, 2012).
- Recipients of kindness can feel loved.
- Recipients and givers of kindness can experience a sense of awe when they think about profound acts of love or virtue.
- Whether you are recipient or giver or merely just a witness you can feel the benefits of an increase in oxytocin. Oxytocin is commonly called the “love hormone” and this helps to lower blood pressure, improve overall heart health, increase self-esteem and optimism.
- Kindness can increase the feeling of strength and energy due to helping others.
- Kindness can also make one feel calmer.
- Less depressed.
- Increased feelings of self-worth.
- For those that volunteer their time or money for charitable causes, they often have fewer aches and pains.
- Kindness is most similar to a medical anti-depressant. Kindness pushes your body to produce serotonin, which is commonly known as the “feel-good” chemical that provides healing and calming feelings.
- Kindness decreases pain, by generating endorphins (the brain’s natural painkiller).
- Stress, it has been shown that people that are more kind have 23% less cortisol (the stress hormone) and age slower than the average population.
- Anxiety, the University of British Columbia did a study on a group of highly anxious individuals in which they performed at least 6 acts of kindness a week. After one month, there was a significant increase in positive moods, relationship satisfaction and a decrease in social avoidance in socially anxious individuals.
- Depression is reduced, mortality is delayed, and wellbeing and good fortune are improved when we give of ourselves.
- Lowering blood pressure from giving acts of kindness, creates emotional warmth, which releases a hormone known as oxytocin. Oxytocin causes the release of a chemical called nitric oxide, which dilates the blood vessels. This reduces blood pressure, and therefore, oxytocin is known as a “cardioprotective” hormone. It protects the heart by lowering blood pressure.
Sources: Cassidy & Shaver, 2008; Mikulincer & Shaver, 2007; Keltner & Haidt, 2003; The Random Acts of Kindness Foundation, n.d; Stephen Post, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine.
Research and Studies
Research is just at the precipice of trying to understand the positive effects that random acts of kindness can give.
I have highlighted two studies I have found while researching this topic. Hopefully, this will give you more insight into the current understanding of kindness as an intervention and the multiple modalities it can be used in.
Reflecting on acts of kindness toward the self: Emotions, generosity, and the role of social norms (Exline, Lisan, & Lisan, 2012)
Researchers, Exline, Morck Lisan, and Lisan, looked at how reflecting on acts of kindness toward the self could affect emotions, generosity, and the role of social norms. For example, they asked, “How do people respond, in terms of emotion and behavior, when prompted to recall an act of kindness from another person?”
By carrying out two studies, these researchers were able to gather responses based on whether kindness was seen as normative – meaning based on past experience, and what behavior does that act of kindness fall in line. Their results showed that normative kindnesses were linked with more positive emotion and less negative emotion than non-normative kindnesses.
On the whole, these findings suggest that recalling normative kindnesses will increase mood or generosity.
Loving-kindness and compassion meditation: Potential for psychological interventions (Hofmann, Grossman & Hinton, 2011)
Contemporary psychology is researching more and more on the impact that mindfulness meditation can have on a person. In this study, Hoffman, Grossman, and Hinton look at loving-kindness and compassion meditations to see how impactful they would be as an intervention.
There is evidence to show that using LKM and CM have an associated effect of an increase in positive affect and a decrease in negative affect.
In neuroendocrine studies, preliminary results are showing that CM may decrease stress-induced subjective suffering and immune response. “Neuroimaging studies insinuate that LKM and CM may improve activation of brain areas that are involved in emotional processing and empathy” (Hofmann et al. 2011).
Interesting Statistics
The research and science on common outcomes, behaviors, emotions in positive psychology are increasing by the year. In 2010, the Harvard Business School conducted a survey on happiness in 136 countries. Through this study, they found evidence that people who were generous financially, like with charitable donations, were the happiest overall.
Christine Carter’s “Raising Happiness: In Pursuit of Joyful Kids and Happier Parents,” has found that giving of yourself to others can help protect your heart, literally. Giving can decrease your risk of heart disease.
In addition, it has been found that for people who are 55 years or older and volunteer, have their risk for dying early cut in half.
So, they have a “44% lower likelihood of dying early, and that’s after sifting out every other contributing factor, including physical health, exercise, gender, habits like smoking, marital status, and many more. This is a stronger effect than exercising four times a week or going to church” (Carter, 2011).
Positive Psychology and Kindness
An example of how, just by thinking, our body will react physically to these impulses is by the idea of moving our right arm. When you physically do so, new connections are created in a part of the brain called the motor cortex. Now, just thinking about moving your right arm, and imagining moving it over and over again can actually make the muscles in this same arm stronger.
Because of thoughts about the arm, cellular changes can happen. This reinforces the belief that no matter what one is thinking about, chemical reactions occur in the brain and can, therefore, lead to structural changes. We can create millions of new connections in our brains just by thinking compassionate thoughts.
The structure of our brains can be formed by our emotions. All your inspirations, motivations, loves, fears, hopes and dreams, and even your typical body language are wired into your brain in the form of connections between cells. These connections become so extensive over time that they even wire into 3-D networks, or circuits, as they are often called.
Acts of kindness, then, find their way into the chemistry and structure of our brain. If kindness becomes a habit, we can significantly alter the wiring of our brain. In fact, as we will examine later the brain is already wired for kindness. But we are always adding to and changing that wiring.
Throughout life, as we learn new things, grow, change our minds and even change our habits, new networks of new brain connections are laid down and old networks unravel.
This neuroplasticity occurs right up until the very last seconds of our lives. One of the benefits of it is that it actually allows the brain to get over injury and disease, as healthy brain cells compensate for damaged ones by sprouting new connections to take over some of their communications or pass the information through the brain by a slightly different route. (Hamilton, 2010).
Your brain is wired in the form of connections between cells where over time all of your feelings, emotions, and body language is wired extensively into these circuits. Therefore we can change the wiring of our brain through simple acts of kindness becoming a habit in our everyday lives.
Our brains seem to be initially set up for kindness, but we alter and change that wiring by learning, growing, and modifying our minds and habits over time. As this happens, new connections are made and the ones that were already there can be reformed. This actually allows for healthy brain cells to overcome the damaged ones by passing information throughout the brain in different ways when we are injured or fallen ill.
The phrase “random acts of kindness” (RAK) is relatively well known and has been shared all over the world.
What our readers think
This article helped me a lot! It changed my mind about a few people!
I love this, its sweet, and more people should be this kind because a lot of people are very bad and rude, we need to be more kind to others
Guys just less your depression. its simple <3
This is great
This is great
Dear friends,
Thanks a lot to make me reading this article in full.
1. What’s the based of kindness ?
2. What’s the power to take action of kindness?
Thanks.
Hi Suryadarma,
Thank you for your questions. I’m not sure I understand your second question — could you please phrase this differently? But regarding the first, which I assume is about drivers of kindness 🙂 there are a few theories about why we are motivated to be kind. The Wikipedia page on ‘Helping Behaviors’ actually offers a pretty good summary of these. Among the theories there are perspectives based in evolutionary perspectives, boosting our own egos, and social exchange. It’s an interesting read!
– Nicole | Community Manager
It is a great article for studying.
Hello,
I finally had a chance to read this article in full, and especially liked the the suggested acts of kindness for your readers.
At the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, I became part of a team that realised that kindness was going to be part of the recovery process and decided to build a web application. We are building Seekindness.org as a social engagement to encourage and recognise random acts of kindness on regular (daily) basis.
Not being medical people, we don’t understand the “stages of kindness” that an individual goes through to regularly recognise kindness. My thoughts that some RAK’s are very small, and yet provide the same benefits as larger, more publically recognisable ones. If you have the inclination, I would appreciate your views on that question.
Thanks.