30 Day Kindness Challenge - Day Eleven

Kindness Can Help to Retrain Neural Pathways in The Brain

Welcome to Day 11 of our 30-Day Kindness Challenge. Today, we're talking about how kindness can help to retrain neural pathways in the brain. If you're just joining us or listening for the first time, let me tell you what we've been doing. Every day in November, I'm doing a short podcast about kindness. I will talk about some kindness facts and give you a kindness challenge.

November 13th is World Kindness Day, so this mini-series is in honor of World Kindness Day 2023. It has been said that kindness is its own reward. But new research suggests that there may be another benefit to being kind: it can help retrain neural pathways in the brain.

4 Tips For Training Your Brain To Act With Kindness

Ever notice that being kind to someone makes you feel good too? It’s because altruism promotes a chemical reaction in your brain, releasing serotonin, oxytocin, and dopamine. These chemicals not only make you feel good but also work to reinforce positive social behavior. By laying down new neural pathways, you set yourself up for living a positive, kinder life.

https://bit.ly/gregscloud4tips

In another study, participants were asked to perform acts of kindness for others on a daily basis. The results showed that after just six weeks, the participants had developed new neural pathways in the brain that were associated with positive emotions.

Journal Frontiers in Psychology

And a study, which was published in the journal Frontiers in Psychology, found that participants who did acts of kindness had increased levels of activity in the hippocampus – a region of the brain associated with memory and learning.

The study involved 40 adults aged 60-77 years old who were split into two groups.

One group completed eight weeks of training in mindfulness and compassion, while the other group did not receive any training. So next time you're feeling down, or like you're in a rut, try being kind to others. It just might help to retrain your brain and put you on the path to a happier, more fulfilling life.

Our findings suggest that engaging in acts of kindness may help to improve hippocampus function, which is important for memory and learning," said lead author Dr. Oliver Robinson, from the University of Birmingham. "This could have implications for interventions aimed at improving cognitive function in older adults.

Happy People Become Happier Through Kindness: A Counting Kindnesses Intervention

In Study 1, researchers examined the relationship between kindness and happiness in Japanese undergraduate students.

Study 1 findings:

• Happy people reported more frequent and intense positive experiences in daily life.
• Happy people had more happy memories, primarily related to social relationships and kindness from others.
• Happy people scored higher on motivation, recognition, and behavior related to kindness.
• The study suggests that subjective happiness is associated with kindness and positive experiences.

In Study 2, researchers conducted a "counting kindnesses" intervention to assess its impact on subjective happiness.

Study 2 findings:

• The counting kindness intervention significantly increased subjective happiness.
• Participants who showed large increases in happiness also reported more kind behaviors and higher levels of grateful experiences during the intervention.
• The study indicates that consciously practicing and recognizing kind behaviors can lead to increased happiness.

The studies highlight the importance of kindness and gratitude in subjective happiness and suggest that focusing on kind actions can enhance well-being.

https://bit.ly/gregscloudretrain

Another study, which was published in The National Library of Medicine (NLM) corroborates the findings that participants who did acts of kindness had increased levels of activity in the hippocampus – a region of the brain associated with memory and learning.

The National Library of Medicine (NLM)

Social influences on neuroplasticity: Stress and interventions to promote well-being

• The study focuses on brain structures, particularly the hippocampus and caudate.
• Modern techniques like MRI and fMRI are used to measure structural and functional brain changes.
• The environment and social interactions can affect brain development and behavior.
• Early experiences and social support play a significant role in mental and physical health.
• Stressful environments can impact brain development, and interventions like exercise and therapy...