According to researcher, Barbara Fredrickson, when we practice acts of kindness...

• Kindness promotes gratitude and promotes empathy and compassion. These acts strengthen personal connection and can encourage the will to live in others around us. 

• It releases an energy. We feel better and the recipients of our acts feel better, which then makes them more likely to be kind to other people.

• It can reduce pain. Dopamine, serotonin, and endogenous opioids are released by kind behavior.

• It enhances the release of oxytocin in interactions where two or more people are engaged in kindness behavior. In turn, bonds between those who are kind to one another are strengthened.

• It enhances both physical and mental health. Many physical ailments are either precipitated by or aggravated by stress. Kindness reduces stress.