In a newly published review, researchers analyzing the results of 126 studies involving nearly 200,000 people found that people who are kind to others tend to have healthier happier lives themselves.
In Greater Good Magazine, Jill Suttie reports several other interesting findings:
“People who performed random, informal acts of kindness, like bringing a meal to a grieving friend, tended to be happier than people who performed more formal acts of kindness, like volunteering in a soup kitchen.
“People who were kind tended to be higher in ‘eudaimonic happiness’ (a sense of meaning and purpose in life) more than ‘hedonic happiness’ (a sense of pleasure and comfort).
“People who were kind tended to have higher self-esteem and a sense of self-efficacy. To a lesser degree, they also experienced less depression and anxiety and improved physical health—with the links to health being strongest in older adults.”
Discover the report’s other conclusions here.
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