World Kindness Day 2022: Here's how being kind benefits one's mental health

Kindness never goes out of fashion and is always welcome, in any form or way! To have better relationships, improve self-esteem, gain confidence, happiness, success and even good mental or physical health, one must be kind, both to themselves and others. It's a virtue every religion encourages us to have. And, what better day than World Kindness Day to remember the same and also remind others?

November 13 marks World Kindness Day every year. It was first observed in 1998 and is celebrated annually to remind everyone that what matters the most is how kind, compassionate and humble you are and that even small acts of kindness can make a big difference.

Simple acts of kindness you can do every day

• Give someone a genuine compliment and don't hold back praises
• Buy a bunch of chocolates and give them to kids you meet on the streets
• Pay for a meal for someone in need
• Help someone carry their luggage or grocery bags
• Stop to assist someone with directions if they look lost
• Feed stray dogs and cats
• Leave leftover food for pigeons on your terrace
• Donate money to NGOs and elderly homes
• Volunteer in organisations that offer free services to underprivileged communities
• Offer your seat to an elderly or pregnant woman on a bus, metro or train

Benefits of being kind on one's mental health

Humans are biologically wired to be kind and one can develop this trait further through practice and self-awareness. But, one must also remember that it is very easy to lose this inherent ability due to outside influences or increased stress levels. If you keep the many physical, emotional and mental benefits of kindness in mind, you might feel more incentified to act a certain way, in future. So, here we have listed the science-backed benefits of being kind on mental health.

Did you know being kind can release feel-good hormones?

Giving someone a helping hand, making donations or simply putting a smile on someone's face with a compliment instantly makes one feel better. That's because being kind and doing nice things for people boosts serotonin and dopamine levels in the brain, which are basically just neurotransmitters that give you the feeling of satisfaction and cause the pleasure/reward centres of your brain to light up.

It can also ease anxiety & stress

Other than meditation, exercise and prescribed medications, being kind is a quality that helps reduce anxiety and stress. And, it won't be wrong to say that it is the most inexpensive way to keep stress and anxiety at bay.

According to a study conducted by the University of British Columbia on happiness, people who engage in kind acts display a significant increase in Positive Affect (PA), which is associated with social anxiety and stress. For those uninitiated, Positive Affect refers to an individual's experience of positive moods such as joy, interest, and alertness.

Kindness is also great for your heart

Several studies suggest that kindness strengthens one's heart physically and emotionally. Being kind to others helps your brain release the oxytocin hormone, which "causes the release of a chemical called nitric oxide in blood vessels, which dilates (expands) the blood vessels and reduces blood pressure".

According to Dr David Hamilton, oxytocin is also known as a "cardioprotective" hormone because it protects the heart by lowering blood pressure.

Want a longer life? Just be kind

Scientifically speaking, being kind to others helps you live longer and there's evidence that proves the same. According to a 2018 meta-analysis published by the Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, doing good things for people is an "effective way of improving well-being".

Furthermore, a 2017 study published by Evolution and Human Behavior study stated that people who werevoluntary caregivers to others lived longer than individuals who were not.