1/ EMPATHY RELEASE OXYTOCIN
A study from Claremont Graduate University found that empathy towards strangers was associated with a 47% increase in oxytocin from baseline. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the empathy-oxytocin response was shown to be stronger in women than in men.
So what is oxytocin? It's a hormone that's responsible for all sorts of things, including bonding and trust, it's often called the 'love hormone'. Studies have found that this is the hormone surging round the brain when you take ecstasy.
Listening to someone else's problems seems like a much better way to get a hit...
2/ SHARING YOUR FOOD MAKES YOU FEEL GOOD
What's better than eating a slice of cake? Sharing it.
A study from the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology found that people don't feel such guilt eating something 'bad' when they're doing it with someone else.
Psychologist Edward Abramson explained: 'You get to feel virtuous that you are not having the whole thing on your own. And you’re doing a good deed for a friend.'
3/ IT REDUCES ANXIETY
University of British Columbia researchers found that people who had high levels of anxiety saw an increase in positive moods when they did random acts of kindness for others.
It also led to an increase in relationship satisfaction and a decrease in social avoidance.
4/ VARIETY KEEPS IT INTERESTING
Sonja Lyubomirsky, a professor of psychology at the University of California found that being kind once a week increased people's personal happiness.
She also found that the effects were increased when the acts were varied.
5/ SOCIAL SUPPORT HELPS YOU LOSE WEIGHT
A study from Northwestern University found that the less people in weight loss communities interact and support others, the less weight they lose themselves.
The research found that those who connected with more than 10 people lost the most weight (more than 8% of their body weight over six months).
Moral of the story? Be kind to each other, it's good for everyone involved.
Credit Womens Health
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