The Science Behind Being Kind

 Today we’re going to talk about kindness. That is, being kind to others. 

It’s one of the core tenets of civilization and one of the core tenets of most religions. In the Book of Proverbs, it says, “A person who is kind is beneficial for him or herself.” 

It turns out there’s a lot of scientific evidence to support that contention. Being kind lowers one’s levels of cortisol. The act of kindness actually improves inflammatory markers. 

I’m going to give two examples of studies. In one, people who were randomized to three acts of kindness a week had lower levels of anxiety and higher levels of self-esteem. In the other, they randomized two groups. One was to give a gift before and one didn’t give a gift before being put purposely in a stressful situation. The group that gave a gift to someone before being placed in that stressful situation had more rapid recovery of their elevated pulse and blood pressure than the group who didn’t give a gift. 

What do we do with that information? I’m not sure. Clearly, it’s important to be kind. How does this add to it? It’s good to know. 

I’m reminded of a poem by Philip Larkin. The poem ends with, “[We should] be kind while there’s still time.” For Medscape, I’m Dr Neil Skolnik.

https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/science-behind-being-kind-2026a1000ovc