By TITOS MAKONDO
HAVE you ever thought of Kindness as therapeutic for keeping us happier, healthier and livelier?
If your answer to the question is no, then you are in for a surprise of yourself as Dr David Hamilton, in his book, ” Why Kindness is good for you,” divulges all the “takeaways” of being nice to others.
Kindness, like compassion comes from one’s heart and does benefit the heart, writes Hamilton, bottom-lining selfishness people are much happier than the self-centered.
In a 2008 Canadian study, 632 people were asked to keep a record of how they spent their monies each day. Those who spent the most money on others were the happiest, while those who spent the least on others were least happy.
In, “Why Kindness is good for you”, Hamilton outlines that when we shower kindness to one another, [give or receive a hug or have emotional contact with someone] both people’s heart produce oxytocin.
He says this oxytocin produced when we are kind is “cardio-protective”, meaning it protects your heat from diseases [BP and cancer] and counteracts major culprits to ageing process.
“Scientists have discovered that the presence of oxytocin slows the process of hardening of arteries
“lt acts like a sponge and soaks up harmful agents in your arteries and also cause blood cells to dilate and relax and thereby reducing blood pressure”.
The author delves deeper, mentioning it is also very important to show kindness and tenderness towards children because of oxytocin.
“Children need warm contact so they produce oxytocin, which is required for the building of muscles. “If kids are deprived from a loving contact, they can’t produce oxytocin and therefore, the growth of heart muscles is slackened”, he explains.
Some studies has revealed that kindness is as good as pain-killing drug responsible for interrupting the transmission of pain signals through the brain. “It also reduces anger, anxiety, pain and stress,” he states.
