Giving presents or money is not a requirement for kindness. Look up, smile, and intentionally make eye contact with someone. Then, watch what occurs. Maybe they’ll just smile back. Furthermore, it enhances your health and positions you for more beneficial interactions—though neither of you is likely to notice much of it. Smiling may have a number of health-relevant benefits including beneficially impacting our physiology during acute stress, improved stress recovery, and reduced illness over time. It has been demonstrated that kindness elevates mood and fosters empathy and compassion as well as self-esteem. It can lower cortisol and blood pressure. Individuals who balance their self-giving tend to live longer and in better health. Being kind to others can make you feel more connected to them, less alone, fight depression, and strengthen your bonds with them. It may also spread, inspiring others to follow suit with their own acts of kindness. The stress-relieving hormone called oxytocin is in charge of the benefits that compassion brings. When we are kind to someone or receive kindness, it is released in our brains. Apart from lowering cortisol and blood pressure, it is also believed to lessen inflammation within the body and could offer protection against cancer and obesity.
