Kindness Lowers Blood Pressure

Have you held the door open for anyone lately? It could be good for your health!
 
Let me explain . . . for the past couple of years, I’ve had a pet topic – the heart, and by heart, I mean emotional well-being.

My curiosity is about the science behind positive emotions and how they can affect our health.

Digging into the research, I learned that there are huge health benefits to positive emotions such as kindness.
 
Kindness generates the hormone oxytocin, sometimes known as the cuddle hormone, which in turn does so many things, such as:

• generating nitrate oxide which lowers blood pressure
• acting as an antioxidant, cleaning the blood vessels of free radicals
• reducing inflammation – such a concern for those dealing with cancer
• increasing immune function – always good

We can generate this oxytocin with a 6 second hug, quality time with our pets, or an act of kindness, like opening the door for someone. It’s important to actually feel the pleasantness of kindness in the body – that’s when you know oxytocin is flowing.
 
So go enjoy some kindness!