New study
This quality makes us happy – and lets us live longer
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Is there an ultimate secret recipe to live long and happily? Not only the research, but also the rest of the population are still at odds. But a little something can certainly contribute to a more fulfilling life.
A friendly hello in the elevator or at the supermarket checkout – just hold the door open or thank the neighbor who always accepts the packages for us with delicious chocolate. What do these things have in common? It’s small moments that do something good for others and, as has been proven, for us too. According to a study from California, helping others increases their oxytocin levels. A hormone that improves mood and usually strengthens our couple bond, improves mother-child bonding and contributes to orgasms, among other things. According to experiments, it is also said to reduce anxiety and increase trust, empathy and generosity.
Helping others also helps us
In an experiment, the researchers showed the 103 subjects a video about a boy with cancer. The participants between the ages of 18 and 99 then had the choice of donating part of the money for participating in the study to a cancer organization. The scientists examined the oxytocin content in the blood of the test subjects – before and after watching the video. The result: Those who had donated had higher levels of the hormone. Most of them were also rather older. According to Paul J. Zad, one of the study’s authors, this is the first time the link and increase in oxytocin in the elderly has been demonstrated.
Strongest result in 20 years of research
“The strength of the association really surprised us,” explains Paul J. Zad in an interview with the online magazine Healthline. “It’s so strong in older people that for me it’s one of the biggest ‘wow’ effects and safest results is that I have seen in the laboratory in 20 years.” For a long time, research focused on younger people. There it was already found that pro-social activities stimulate the production of the hormone. What the researchers have now found is consistent with Our intuition, says Zad. After all, it has often been said that those who give something stay happier longer. “And by the way, people who are happy live the longest anyway,” says the researcher. Particularly surprising for the research: So far It was assumed that the serotonin level tends to decrease with age, since it is related to reproduction and sex, among other things.
Small joys, every day
Making other people a little happier in everyday life, giving something, gives us a little boost too. But not everyone is the type to volunteer for the local relief effort – or has the money to help with donations. Zad himself says that he started out very simply by making people happy: “A few years ago I decided to say hi to the people in the elevator,” he explains. “A smile, a hello. That can make a big difference in someone’s day.” Another option is to do things in groups, such as sports or other hobbies. Because where other people are also happy, the good mood is usually transferred to you too. “The core is that anyone can do it. The brain can adapt,” says Zad. In order to prove the effect more clearly, however, further studies with more test persons are necessary.
Sources used: Healthline, Medical News Today