Kindness Is Good For Your Health

by Katherine Hafizuddin-Jones on November 13, 2025

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Research has shown that showing altruism has more health benefits that you would expect, and it starts with the simple act of being kind…

Last year, during Children’s Mental Health week, my daughter came home with the specific homework of performing three random acts of kindness. 

‘What’s a random act of kindness?’ she asked.

‘Random acts of kindness, are unplanned things that you do for other people, in order to make them happy’, I replied.

However, following the completion of her homework, what my 6 year old daughter went onto discover was that she also felt happy.  Through this, she’d learned that when we perform what is seemingly a selfless random act of kindness, we too are also being rewarded.  In fact, there are many other health benefits to being kind.

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What is kindness?

It seems like a simple question but can be difficult to define.  Kindness is ‘choosing to do something that helps others, motivated by genuine warm feelings’ (Mental Health Foundation, 2025).  It is characterised by generosity and consideration for others without expecting anything in return and it is these genuine feelings of kindness and compassion that can lead to have clear benefits to our health. 

Kindness creates happiness

We know that there is a connection between being kind and being happy but does kindness actually cause happiness?  The answer is yes. 

A recent review of scientific studies revealed that kindness in fact DOES cause happiness (Curry et al., 2018).  Moreover, there is a relationship between the number of kind acts carried out and the level of happiness (Rowland & and Curry, 2019), suggesting the more you do, the happier you’ll be. 

Chronic stress is a common issue into today’s societies, affecting many people worldwide.  The direct impact of stress causes inflammation within the body, impacts our immune system so that we get sick more often (and take longer to recover) and also produces stress hormones that have been implicated in a range of disorders, from the development of asthma to cardiovascular issues  (Cohen et al., 2016). 

A recent trend in research has suggested that kindness could be used as a feasible, stress reduction intervention.  That is because kindness creates positive social connections which in turn reduces this stress response in the body.  Feeling connected to the world around us through acts of altruism makes us feel supported and these are innate needs for our health and longevity (Fryburg, 2022). 

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Kindness reduces social isolation and loneliness

Loneliness and social isolation are as much bad news for our health and wellbeing as hypertension, obesity and smoking  (Holt-Lunstad, 2018).  However, a recent study showed that carrying out at least one act of kindness per week within a four-week period resulted in significantly reduced social isolation, social anxiety levels and reduced stress. 

Moreover, the activity was also shown to increase the number of neighbourhood contacts and social relationships, suggesting a great starting point if you are experiencing loneliness or feelings of isolation (Lim et al., 2025).

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Kindness is good for the heart

Oxytocin, also known as the ‘love hormone’, is well known for its role in helping mothers to bond with their infants.  When we share warm emotional contact of any type (or even when we just think about an experience of kindness or warm connection), we release oxytocin into our bodies (Crockford et al., 2014). 

However, oxytocin is also incredibly important for our cardiovascular system (Daminovich, 2025).  When produced in the heart, it causes our artery walls to relax, which has a number of effects;

  • Allows for more blood to flow through the arteries
  • Allows for more blood to be delivered to the heart and other organs
  • Lowers blood pressure – thus protecting us against heart attack and stroke.

Moreover, the presence of oxytocin can also lower LDL (bad) cholesterol levels in the blood preventing the build-up of plaque in our arteries and can even stimulate regeneration of cardiac muscle.  (Wasserman et al., 2022). 

Therefore, any form of altruism, such as comforting someone, giving hugs or feeling elevated through performing an act of kindness, can be very beneficial to your cardiovascular health.

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Kindness slows the ageing process

In 2025, the global market for anti-ageing products was valued at around 78 billion US dollars (Pandey, 2025).  As a society, we are obsessed with trying to slow down the ageing process and reduce those fine wrinkles in any way we can. 

Wrinkle formation in our skin is a natural process of ageing. The loss of tone and strength in our muscles and the density of our bones also generally diminishes with age.  Of course, addressing stress and exercise levels, and maintaining a healthy diet, can go a long way to slowing these processes.  However being kind could also help, and it is all down to that wonderful love hormone, oxytocin.

Negative emotions felt during emotional conflict, stress or anger not only reduce oxytocin in our bodies (which is essential for the health and regeneration of our skin), but also cause damage to our cells through a process called ‘oxidative stress’.  All of which speeds up ageing.  

Oxytocin however, is a natural ‘anti-oxidant’; it not only promotes the development of new skin but also halts the processes behind oxidative stress, thus helping to slow the formation of those fine wrinkles (Benameur et al., 2021). 

Furthermore, the simple presence of oxytocin encourages new muscle cells to be produced, maintaining our strength and tone.  It also helps with the maintenance of our bones, reducing the risk of many age related issues such as osteoporosis. (Pampanella et al., 2024; Wang et al., 2024). 

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Where do I start?

Although acts of kinds are good for our health, it’s important to remember why we’re doing them – it’s a selfless act to benefit other people, not ours.  In fact, the aforementioned physical effects would only occur if the kindness demonstrated is genuine.

The Mental Health Foundation (2025) recommends starting small;

  • Ring someone who is on their own
  • Hold the door for a stranger
  • Smile at someone on the street
  • Send flower to someone, out of the blue
  • Offer to help an elderly or vulnerable neighbour
  • Send someone a handwritten thank you note
  • Lend an ear to a colleague who is having  a bad day
  • Praise a colleague for something they have done well

When you’re feeling more confident, then you could;

  • Do something for a good cause – e.g. get involved in community projects
  • Raise some money for a charity
  • Volunteer for a local community organisation

Last words…

Whatever you choose to do, remember that kindness may well be a powerful natural healer for everyone. 

This simple but effective lifestyle intervention promises to boost both your health and wellbeing, as well as for those are fortunate enough to experience it.  They may even go on to do something kind for someone else, starting a chain reaction of wellbeing, if you will.   So, be the catalyst, start today…. what are you waiting for?

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References

Benameur, T., Panaro, M. A., & Porro, C. (2021). The antiaging role of oxytocin. Neural Regeneration Research, 16(12). https://journals.lww.com/nrronline/fulltext/2021/16120/the_antiaging_role_of_oxytocin.19.aspx

Cohen, S., Gianaros, P. J., & Manuck, S. B. (2016). A Stage Model of Stress and Disease. Perspect Psychol Sci, 11(4), 456-463. https://doi.org/10.1177/1745691616646305

Crockford, C., Deschner, T., Ziegler, T. E., & Wittig, R. M. (2014). Endogenous peripheral oxytocin measures can give insight into the dynamics of social relationships: a review [Review]. Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience, Volume 8 – 2014. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnbeh.2014.00068

Curry, O. S., Rowland, L. A., Van Lissa, C. J., Zlotowitz, S., McAlaney, J., & Whitehouse, H. (2018). Happy to help? A systematic review and meta-analysis of the effects of performing acts of kindness on the well-being of the actor. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 76, 320-329. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jesp.2018.02.014

Daminovich, M. A. (2025). OXYTOCIN AND THE CARDIOVASCULAR SYSTEM: ANATOMICAL AND PHYSIOLOGICAL CONCEPTS. Multidisciplinary Journal of Science and Technology, 5(2), 371-374. https://www.mjstjournal.com/index.php/mjst/article/view/2647

Fryburg, D. A. (2022). Kindness as a Stress Reduction–Health Promotion Intervention: A Review of the Psychobiology of Caring. American Journal of Lifestyle Medicine, 16(1), 89-100. https://doi.org/10.1177/1559827620988268

Holt-Lunstad, J. (2018). The Potential Public Health Relevance of Social Isolation and Loneliness: Prevalence, Epidemiology, and Risk Factors. Public Policy & Aging Report, 27(4), 127-130. https://doi.org/10.1093/ppar/prx030

Lim, M. H., Hennessey, A., Qualter, P., Smith, B. J., Thurston, L., Eres, R., & Holt-Lunstad, J. (2025). The KIND Challenge community intervention to reduce loneliness and social isolation, improve mental health, and neighbourhood relationships: an international randomized controlled trial. Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology, 60(4), 931-942. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00127-024-02740-z

Mental Health Foundation. (2025). Kindness Matters Guide. https://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/explore-mental-health/kindness/kindness-matters-guide

Pampanella, L., Petrocelli, G., Forcellini, F., Cruciani, S., Ventura, C., Abruzzo, P. M., Facchin, F., & Canaider, S. (2024). Oxytocin, the Love Hormone, in Stem Cell Differentiation. Curr Issues Mol Biol, 46(11), 12012-12036. https://doi.org/10.3390/cimb46110713

Pandey, D. (2025). Anti-aging Market Size and Forecast 2025 to 2034. https://www.precedenceresearch.com/anti-aging-market#:~:text=In%20terms%20of%20revenue%2C%20the%20market%20is%20valued,the%20largest%20market%20share%20of%2040%25%20in%202024.

Rowland, L., & and Curry, O. S. (2019). A range of kindness activities boost happiness. The Journal of Social Psychology, 159(3), 340-343. https://doi.org/10.1080/00224545.2018.1469461

Wang, T., Ye, J., Zhang, Y., Li, J., Yang, T., Wang, Y., Jiang, X., & Yao, Q. (2024). Role of oxytocin in bone [Review]. Frontiers in Endocrinology, Volume 15 – 2024. https://doi.org/10.3389/fendo.2024.1450007

Wasserman, A. H., Huang, A. R., Lewis-Israeli, Y. R., Dooley, M. D., Mitchell, A. L., Venkatesan, M., & Aguirre, A. (2022). Oxytocin promotes epicardial cell activation and heart regeneration after cardiac injury [Original Research]. Frontiers in Cell and Developmental Biology, Volume 10 – 2022. https://doi.org/10.3389/fcell.2022.985298

kindness, resilience, stress management, Wellbeing