How Random Acts of Kindness Can Benefit Your Health

Doing good for others can make socially-anxious people feel better and have a more positive mood, according to researchers at the University of British Columbia. In fact, doing good deeds for others can make you happier, lower your blood pressure, allow you to have more life satisfaction and may even help you to live longer. “When you are kind to others, you feel good as a person—more moral, optimistic, and positive,” says Sonja Lyubomirsky, a professor of psychology at the University of California, Riverside, who has studied happiness for more than 20 years. It’s easy to hold the door open for someone or help out with household chores, so why wouldn’t you want to make yourself and someone else happier and healthier at the same time?

Huffington Post, 6/11/13