Yes, kindness does help the heart in the spiritual sense. But did you know that kindness also benefits the physical, blood-pumping heart as well?
When you perform an act of kindness that fills you with emotional warmth, oxytocin, the "feel good hormone", is released by the pituitary gland. Along with helping to establish bonding, oxytocin also decreases cortisol, the stress hormone, in the body, and significantly increases the body's production of nitric oxide, which expands the blood vessels, allowing blood to flow more freely. The combination of both of these physical responses to the feel good hormone results in a lower blood pressure and healthier heart.
Kindness also has a strong effect on the brain, which comes with beautiful consequences. Doing something kind for someone can trigger the release of endogenous opioids, which attach to receptors in the brain, and trigger a reduction in pain, slowed breathing and a general feeling of calm. Additionally, these opioids trigger a dopamine response, which is the body's reward system that offers a natural high.
With the season of giving upon us, now is the perfect time to lend a bit of kindness or a helping hand to those around you. Not only will you improve your relationships and the lives of those around you - you'll also experience the real, physiological response that comes from helping. For the month of December, I'm issuing a challenge to look for opportunities to demonstrate kindness. If you need ideas, check out the list below. Feel free to work from it, or off of it. Along with the intrinsic reward, you can also collect a MyWellness point for each act of kindness. I would love to hear what experiences come out of this challenge. Please share any stories with me at lauren_almdale@fwymca.org or by calling me at ext. 2137.
Happy Helping!
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Random Acts of Kindness Ideas
- Call an aging relative or someone you’ve been meaning to catch up with for a while.
- Donate at Fort Wayne Metals’ holiday party to Toys for Tots.
- Surprise a family/friend/co-worker with a treat they enjoy.
- Tell someone in your life what you love and appreciate about them.
- Visit a nursing home. Sit and have a conversation with the residents or take some others and carol.
- Write thank you notes to the people that serve your community (mailman, fire station, police station, teacher, etc).
- Join NeighborLink and lend a helping hand to someone in need in the community.
- Clean out your closets and donate to a local organization.
- Offer help to someone with full hands.
- Prepare and deliver a meal to someone who is in need – someone that can’t afford it, someone who recently had a baby, is ill, or has dealt with a death in the family. Or simply someone that you know that is putting in some extra hours and would have some weight lifted off of them by not having to come home and cook.
- Tip well – leave a kind note along with it.
- Pay for a random stranger’s meal, coffee, gas, etc.
- Step in and do a chore your spouse is normally in charge of.
- Send cards/care packages to deployed soldiers.
- Smile at the people you pass. Greet them with a “Good morning/afternoon/evening.”
- Find a local organization to volunteer for. Check with food banks, churches, YMCAs, etc.
- Donate blood.
- Surprise someone in your life with a planned date.
- Give a hug or back rub to someone you know that feels love through physical touch.
- Invite someone to your home for a meal that doesn’t have family nearby.
- Offer to babysit/pet sit for free.
- Let someone into line ahead of you.
- Strike up a conversation in line with someone.
- Take time to notice others’ hard work and compliment it.
- 4:11 PM
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