Once upon a time in the 70s, researchers were testing groups of rabbits to study the connection between high cholesterol and heart health…when something weird happened. Even though they were feeding every test group the same high-fat diet, one group of rabbits showed 60% fewer fatty deposits than the others. After searching for variables and scratching their heads, they finally discovered the difference: The healthy rabbits were cared for daily by a really nurturing and affectionate researcher. Unlike the others, she didn’t just feed the rabbits; she also held them, cuddled them, and talked to them.
In other words, she showed them kindness. And that kindness literally became the difference between health and a heart attack.
Since then, scientists have learned a lot about how our social world affects our health. “As a medical doctor, I was shocked to learn that medical care, while critical, only accounts for about 10-20% of our overall health status,” says Dr. Kelli Harding, assistant clinical professor of psychiatry at Columbia University. “Instead, much of good health depends on creating supportive relationships in our homes, neighborhoods, schools, workplaces, and communities. This means every person’s kind or unkind choices in their daily lives makes a difference in the health of others.”
And research proves that kindness helps our own health, too. A recent study at Ohio State University asked one group of people suffering from depression and anxiety to incorporate daily acts of kindness into their routines, in addition to therapy and other treatment. At the end of the study, the group who had been performing regular acts of kindness – holding the door open for strangers, leaving encouraging notes for their roommates, baking cookies for loved ones – showed the greatest improvements in life satisfaction and the greatest reduction in symptoms of depression and anxiety.
“There’s something specific about performing acts of kindness that makes people feel connected to others,” the researchers say. And that connection goes above and beyond other treatments to help people heal.
ut it’s not just mental health that benefits from being kind. Loads of research shows a myriad of benefits for both our minds and our bodies:
For instance, the mere act of witnessing acts of kindness increases our levels of oxytocin, which helps lower blood pressure and improve heart-health. It also helps us be more hopeful and self-confident. Helping others also increases lifespan. One study showed that people 55 and older who volunteered for at least two organizations had a whopping 44% lower likelihood of dying early – which means kindness is more effective than exercising four times a week! And performing acts of kindness stimulates the production of serotonin, which is what most medical antidepressants do. Serotonin doesn’t just calm you down and make you feel happier, it also improves bone health and helps wounds heal faster.
“The kindness data shows that your actions matter,” says Dr. Harding. “Kindness is incredible because it costs nothing and benefits the doer, receiver, and anyone watching.”
As we teach in our anti-bullying and peace-building curriculum and live programming, a single act of kindness can make a critical difference in someone’s day, including our own. And the ripple effect of practicing kindness collectively over time can go a long way toward creating positive, lasting culture change in schools, neighborhoods, and entire communities.