Kindness, as many define it, is being selfless, caring, and compassionate towards others. We share kindness with others through acts such as a smile, a nice word, an unexpected deed, or a planned surprise.
“Research shows that kindness can be cardioprotective. It can decrease blood pressure and cortisol, a stress hormone, which directly impacts stress levels. Oxytocin releases nitric oxide. Nitric oxide dilates your blood vessels and thereby reduces your blood pressure and improves heart health,” says Dr. Ballamudi, a SSM Health child psychiatrist.
Physiologically, kindness can positively change your brain because it boosts serotonin and dopamine, two neurotransmitters that give people feelings of satisfaction and can cause reward centers in the brain to light up. Endorphins, which are the body’s natural pain killers, can also be released. There is research to suggest that random acts of kindness release dopamine, a chemical in the brain that gives a feeling called “helper’s high.”
Scientists who study happiness have long known that being kind can improve a person’s overall well-being and mood from day to day. Everyday life has numerous opportunities to show kindness, yet many people do not take advantage of them.
Nicholas Epley, a behavioral scientist at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, and Amit Kumar, a writer for Scientific American, examined the possibility that people who perform random acts of kindness undervalue its effect on the other person.
A study was conducted across multiple trials involving about 1,000 participants where people performed various acts of kindness. Something was considered an act if the primary intention was to make someone feel good without expecting anything in return.
Depending on the trial, the specific act of kindness varies. One experiment involved participants writing notes to friends and family, while another involved giving cupcakes away. In order to track the data, Kumar and Epley asked the performer and recipient to fill out questionnaires. The performer was asked to report their own experience performing the kind act and to predict their recipient’s response. The idea was to determine how valuable people perceive their kind actions to be.
After reviewing the responses, several patterns emerged from the results. Both the performer and the recipients were in more positive moods than normal after the exchange. Additionally, there was a clear pattern that the performer, the person who did the act, undervalued the impact they had. Recipients felt significantly better than the person doing the act had thought. From the recipients’ responses, it was found that they rated each kind act as “bigger” than the person performing the act did.
The initial studies were done based on kindness from familiar people, such as friends and family. However, it was found that participants underestimated their positive impact on strangers as well. One experiment was performed at an ice rink in a public park, where participants gave away hot chocolate. The results showed that the recipient’s experience was more positive than the giver anticipated. While the participants giving away the warm drinks found their actions to be “no big deal,” the data found that the act really meant something to the recipients.
When people forget the importance of kindness, they are missing out on natural boosts to their oxytocin, dopamine, and serotonin levels. Being kinder in daily life has been shown to make the performer feel good, and also make the recipient feel appreciated and cared for. Acts of kindness can make the world a happier place for everyone. They can boost feelings of confidence and optimism. They may also encourage others to repeat the good deeds they’ve experienced themselves contributing to a more positive community. Dr. Ballamudi says it’s important to teach children, while they are young, how to be kind. She encourages parents to volunteer with their kids so they can have the experience of feeling good when doing things for other people. “It’s equally important,” she states, “to learn and practice self-kindness.”
