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FROM Medscape
“Today we’re going to talk about kindness. That is, being kind to others.
It’s one of the core tenets of civilization and one of the core tenets of most religions. In the Book of Proverbs, it says, “A person who is kind is beneficial for him or herself.”
Key Points of this article.
Kindness associated with ↓ cortisol levels.Kind acts may improve inflammatory markers.Three weekly kind acts: ↓ anxiety, ↑ self-esteem.Giving a gift before stress: faster pulse/BP recovery.Behavioral interventions may modulate stress physiology.
(Other links posted with article)How does kindness affect inflammatory biomarkers?Which populations benefit most from kindness interventions?What is the durability of kindness-induced stress reduction?
It turns out there’s a lot of scientific evidence to support that contention. Being kind lowers one’s levels of cortisol. The act of kindness actually improves inflammatory markers.
I’m going to give two examples of studies. In one, people who were randomized to three acts of kindness a week had lower levels of anxiety and higher levels of self-esteem. In the other, they randomized two groups. One was to give a gift before and one didn’t give a gift before being put purposely in a stressful situation. The group that gave a gift to someone before being placed in that stressful situation had more rapid recovery of their elevated pulse and blood pressure than the group who didn’t give a gift.
What do we do with that information? I’m not sure. Clearly, it’s important to be kind. How does this add to it? It’s good to know.
I’m reminded of a poem by Philip Larkin. The poem ends with, “[We should] be kind while there’s still time.” For Medscape, I’m Dr Neil Skolnik.”
The Mower
BY PHILIP LARKIN
The mower stalled, twice; kneeling, I found A hedgehog jammed up against the blades, Killed. It had been in the long grass.
I had seen it before, and even fed it, once. Now I had mauled its unobtrusive world Unmendably. Burial was no help:
Next morning I got up and it did not.The first day after a death, the new absence Is always the same; we should be careful
Of each other, we should be kind While there is still time.
https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/science-behind-being-kind-2026a1000ovc?ecd=WNL_trdalrt_pos1_260804_etid8568753&uac=410472FZ&impID=8568753

Funky, I suppose I’m like everyone else in that I know I feel better when I go out of my way to show kindness but it is interesting to me that at least part of the reason why I feel better is because my BP went down, the inflammation in my body is less and I’m less anxious. I love that the intended audience of this post is for medical practitioners.

I agree with the author “It’s good to know”’.
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And being kind isn't rocket science, it's the golden rule....do unto others as you would have them do unto you.
Can you imagine what a wonderful world it would be if we all lived by that rule?
I can only imagine.
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