3 Reasons Why Kindness Is Good For Your Health
There’s this poster from one of my elementary school classrooms that still hangs in my head. It was just paper, a golden yellow color and designed to look like a plaque, and it had this written on it:
“Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.”
We all probably know the golden rule. It’s something most people teach to their children or students, even if they don’t read the Bible. (The golden rule actually comes from Scripture—Matthew 7:12!)
This verse isn’t teaching that we should be kind or helpful only if we’re going to receive it in return. It appeals to our empathy and gets us thinking about how we ought to actually treat people. It’s also teaching that we can extend kindness and service to others, no matter our circumstances.
But, acts of kindness and service do also have benefits for the giver!
Serving others can improve mental health. According to a study published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, participants who volunteered at least 100 hours a year (that’s roughly two hours per week) were more optimistic and felt more purpose in their lives. Participants also experienced fewer symptoms of depression, loneliness and hopelessness.
Laura Kubranzky, a professor of social and behavioral sciences at Harvard, also noted that giving time or resources to others “may help to give you more perspective on what your own problems are.”
While serving others won’t get rid of our problems, it can take our minds off of them or even give us a fresh perspective: sometimes our problems aren’t as big as we think they are.
Sharing kindness can also help us to better appreciate what we do have. If you remember our chat about gratitude from last week, then you know that being thankful offers a host of health benefits in and of itself—reduced levels of anxiety and depression, improved heart health, and better sleep quality.
It also improves physical health! Partly as a result of improved mental health, we also experience better physical health (and vice versa) when we give time, resources or services to other people.
Research shows that people who volunteer regularly might live longer and move better as they age. In research conducted by Kubzansky, results showed that people who donate time and money experience improved balance and lower levels of physical pain. These can be especially important as we age!
Volunteering boosts connection. I had a college professor who volunteered with his daughter at the animal shelter every week. Not only was he caring for the sweet pups by playing with and petting them, but he was also connecting with his daughter and other volunteers over a shared love for animals.
(He also ended up adopting two beagles and often featured pictures of them on his powerpoint slides during class. They didn’t have anything to do with Arabic grammar, but I certainly didn’t mind!)
Like we mentioned earlier, volunteering—and therefore connecting with other volunteers and those we serve—lowers symptoms of loneliness. Experiencing connection is so important for our health and is linked to better health at any age, which is especially helpful as we get older.
Serving can also help us to better understand others and expand our perception of the world. Sometimes we can look around and flippantly remark that the world needs Jesus, when the reality is that we also need Jesus.
And, as Christians, we’re called to be His hands and feet to the world.
So, now that you know just a few of the benefits of serving others, what's your next step? Maybe you're not sure! Here are a few suggestions:
You can sign up to volunteer at your local food bank, homeless shelter, or refugee center. Consider volunteering to read at your library, or help out at an after-school program or nursing home.
If those seem daunting right now, you can also start smaller! Even something as simple as complimenting someone’s outfit or helping a stranger pick up something they’ve dropped can make a difference. Random acts of kindness count!
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