Kindness May Keep You Healthy

Kindness May Keep You Healthy

If you are driving in the United States, you may see a common bumper¹ sticker on passing vehicles that reads: "Perform random² acts of kindness." The saying is meant to urge people to do kind things for others without thinking or planning ahead.

But several studies suggest there are some very good reasons to think about ways to be kind and actually plan out that type of behavior.

Research shows that acts of kindness can make us feel better and improve our health. Researchers also say kindness played an important part in how humans developed. In other words, they say scientific evidence suggests that we are designed to be kind.

The Associated Press spoke³ with several researchers who have studied the subject.

One of them is Michael McCullough, a psychologist at the University of California San Diego. Kindness, he said, is as much a part of us "as our anger or our lust⁴ or our grief or as our desire for revenge."

University of Oxford⁵ anthropologist⁶ Oliver Curry⁷ is the research director at Kindlab. Kindlab is a non-profit organization. Its goal is to educate and urge people to choose kindness.

Curry claims that "kindness is much older than religion." He adds that it "does seem to be universal," meaning it is something all humans share.

"The basic reason why people are kind, he explained, "is that we are social animals."

Other research has shown that many people prize kindness over other values.

University of London psychologist Anat Bardi studies value systems in people. In one study, researchers gave people a list of values – such as kindness, creativity, ambition, tradition, security, seeking social justice, and seeking power. When asked to pick the most important, kindness won.

Curry said there is another reason people want to be kind. Under the right conditions, "we all benefit from kindness."

When it comes to a species surviving, "kindness pays, friendliness⁸ pays," said Brian Hare, an anthropologist at Duke University in North Carolina. He wrote the book "Survival of the Friendliest."

Hare said kindness and working together can be good for many species -- whether it's bacteria, flowers or bonobos. He explained that the more friends you have, and the more individuals you help, the more successful you become.

As an example, he compared bonobos with chimpanzees. Chimps⁹ can attack those outside their group. Bonobos, on the other hand, do not kill but help outsiders. Male bonobos, Hare added, are far more successful at mating than male chimps.

McCullough says bonobos are the exception, not the rule. Most animals are only helpful to those in their close "family" groups but are not kind or helpful to strangers. This, he adds, separates us from other species. It shows our human ability to reason.

For example, humans realize that there is not much difference between those close to us and strangers. Strangers can help us if we are kind to them, McCullough said. He adds that this reasoning "is the secret ingredient." It is why we help strangers in need. In English we even have the expression: to rely on the kindness of strangers.

But research shows that our bodies can also reward us for being kind.

University of California Riverside psychology¹⁰ professor Sonja Lyubomirsky has tested this idea in many experiments over the past 20 years. She has found repeatedly that people feel better when they are kind to others, even more so than when they are kind to themselves.

"Acts of kindness," Lyubomirsky said, "are very powerful."

In one experiment, the AP reports, she asked people to perform three acts of kindness for other individuals each week. She asked a different group to do three acts of self-kindness. These acts could be small, like opening a door for someone. The people who were kind to others reported feeling happier and more connected to the world.

Curry, from Oxford, examined many different studies that were similar to Lyubomirsky's research. He found at least 27 studies showing the same result -- that being kind makes people feel better emotionally.

But it is not just emotional. It is also physical. Lyubomirsky studied a group of people with the disease multiple sclerosis. She found that they felt better physically¹¹ when helping¹² others.

Her research also showed that people who performed more acts of kindness had less inflammation, or harmful swelling¹³, in their bodies. And in other studies, Lyubomirsky said more antiviral genes¹⁴ were found in people who performed acts of kindness.

And that's the Health & Lifestyle report. I'm Anna Matteo.

Words in This Story

bumper sticker – n. a strip of paper or plastic that has a printed message and that is made to be stuck on the bumper of a car, truck, etc.

random – adj. without definite aim, direction, rule, or method

lust – n. a strong feeling of sexual desire

grief – n. a cause of deep sadness

revenge – n. the act of doing something to hurt someone because that person did something that hurt you

ambition – n. a particular goal or aim : something that a person hopes to do or achieve

obey – v. to do what someone tells you to do or what a rule, law, etc., says you must do : obedience¹⁵ – n. the act of obeying : willingness to obey

benefit – n. a good or helpful result or effect

ingredient – n. : one of the things that are used to make a food, product, etc. : a quality or characteristic that makes something possible

rely – v. to trust in or depend on

1 bumper   

n.(汽车上的)保险杠；adj.特大的，丰盛的

参考例句：

• The painting represents the scene of a bumper harvest.这幅画描绘了丰收的景象。
• This year we have a bumper harvest in grain.今年我们谷物丰收。

2 random   

adj.随机的；任意的；n.偶然的(或随便的)行动

参考例句：

• The list is arranged in a random order.名单排列不分先后。
• On random inspection the meat was found to be bad.经抽查，发现肉变质了。

3 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

4 lust   

n.性(淫)欲；渴(欲)望；vi.对…有强烈的欲望

参考例句：

• He was filled with lust for power.他内心充满了对权力的渴望。
• Sensing the explorer's lust for gold, the chief wisely presented gold ornaments as gifts.酋长觉察出探险者们垂涎黄金的欲念，就聪明地把金饰品作为礼物赠送给他们。

5 Oxford   

n.牛津（英国城市）

参考例句：

• At present he has become a Professor of Chemistry at Oxford.他现在已是牛津大学的化学教授了。
• This is where the road to Oxford joins the road to London.这是去牛津的路与去伦敦的路的汇合处。

6 anthropologist   

n.人类学家，人类学者

参考例句：

• The lecturer is an anthropologist.这位讲师是人类学家。
• The anthropologist unearthed the skull of an ancient human at the site.人类学家在这个遗址挖掘出那块古人类的颅骨。

7 curry   

n.咖哩粉，咖哩饭菜；v.用咖哩粉调味，用马栉梳，制革

参考例句：

• Rice makes an excellent complement to a curry dish.有咖喱的菜配米饭最棒。
• Add a teaspoonful of curry powder.加一茶匙咖喱粉。

8 friendliness   

n.友谊，亲切，亲密

参考例句：

• Behind the mask of friendliness,I know he really dislikes me.在友善的面具后面，我知道他其实并不喜欢我。
• His manner was a blend of friendliness and respect.他的态度友善且毕恭毕敬。

9 chimps   

（非洲）黑猩猩( chimp的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Chimps are too scarce, and too nearly human, to be routinely slaughtered for spare parts. 黑猩猩又太少，也太接近于人类，不可以作为人器官备用件说杀就杀。 来自英汉非文学 - 生命科学 - 医学的第四次革命
• And as nonprimates, they provoke fewer ethical and safety-related concerns than chimps or baboons. 而且作为非灵长类，就不会产生像用黑猩猩或狒狒那样的伦理和安全方面的顾虑。 来自英汉非文学 - 生命科学 - 医学的第四次革命

10 psychology   

n.心理，心理学，心理状态

参考例句：

• She has a background in child psychology.她受过儿童心理学的教育。
• He studied philosophy and psychology at Cambridge.他在剑桥大学学习哲学和心理学。

11 physically   

adj.物质上，体格上，身体上，按自然规律

参考例句：

• He was out of sorts physically,as well as disordered mentally.他浑身不舒服，心绪也很乱。
• Every time I think about it I feel physically sick.一想起那件事我就感到极恶心。

12 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

13 swelling   

n.肿胀

参考例句：

• Use ice to reduce the swelling. 用冰敷消肿。
• There is a marked swelling of the lymph nodes. 淋巴结处有明显的肿块。

14 genes   

n.基因( gene的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• You have good genes from your parents, so you should live a long time. 你从父母那儿获得优良的基因，所以能够活得很长。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Differences will help to reveal the functions of the genes. 它们间的差异将会帮助我们揭开基因多种功能。 来自英汉非文学 - 生命科学 - 生物技术的世纪

15 obedience   

n.服从，顺从

参考例句：

• Society has a right to expect obedience of the law.社会有权要求人人遵守法律。
• Soldiers act in obedience to the orders of their superior officers.士兵们遵照上级军官的命令行动。