Medical Benefits of Kindness

“Kindness is the most effective way to improve your well-being and the well-being of another person at the same time.” -Pressman et al., 2015

Being kind is not just good for relationships and society. It is good for our health and well-being. The research on this topic isn’t good…its overwhelming and confirms that kindness is good for the human organism. We are built to be kind. Here are just a few of the medical benefits of kindness.

Kind for the Mind

  • Kindness reduces stress, decreases depression, and increases feelings of self-worth.
  • Kindness lowers stress hormones like cortisol and increases positive neurotransmitters like dopamine, serotonin, and oxytocin.
  • Focusing on kind acts for just seven days has been shown to improve happiness.
  • Research has shown that kindness helps make friends and improves one’s outlook on life.
    • In a study looking at Cognitive Behavioral Therapy through cognitive reappraisal, participating in social activities, and a focus on being kinder researchers found that all  of increase social connections and friendships, reduce distress, and increase life satisfaction. However, they found that “acts of kindness showed advantages over both cognitive reappraisal and social activities for social connection, which was our primary study outcome. Neither the social activities nor the cognitive reappraisal conditions resulted in significant change in social connection.” (Cregg & Cheavens, 2023)
  • Just seeing an act of kindness performed by another person can lower our stress levels and help you feel happier, calmer, more grateful, and more generous. So, surround yourself with kind people.
  • Kindness practiced by institutions, such as a school, increases one’s sense of belonging at that place and lowers stress related to that organization.

Kind for the Body

  • The stress reduction effects of kindness benefit cardiovascular health by lowering blood pressure and cortisol levels.
  • People who are kinder report less problems with chronic pain.
  • People who are kinder are perceived as more attractive.
  • After doing acts of kindness people report having more energy for other tasks.
  • Kindness increases longevity and has protective effects against aging.
  • Patients who perceived their physicians as kinder had reduced severity and duration of cold symptoms and increased immune response levels.
  • Practicing self-compassion can help with healthy weight loss and weight regulation.
  • Performing kind acts has led to statistically significant reduction of Conserved Transcriptional Response to Adversity (CTRA) gene expression.
    • CTRA genes are activated by our fight-or-flight stress response and are involved in inflammation and decreased transcription of genes used for antiviral defense. Reduced activation of these genes takes our body out of panic response.
“Exercise and good nutrition, for all their power to keep us healthy, are not enough. The next revolution in health care must be to bring to our awareness the health potential of helping others. The present headlined health revolution will not be completed until people realize that no matter how much they concentrate on themselves, they cannot achieve optimum health. They have to relate to others” -The Healing Power of Doing Good

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