Results: Scientific Study Proves Being Kind Reduces Your Pain
Published on 04/09/2020
A team of researchers affiliated with several institutions in China has found that people who engage in altruistic behaviors feel less pain than they otherwise would. In their paper published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the group outlines the experiments they carried out with volunteers and what they learned from them............. SOURCE: https://medicalxpress.com/news/2020-01-altruistic-behaviors-pain.html?utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Morning%20Smile%201-8-20&utm_content=Final&utm_term=Morning%20Smile%20-%20Daily
QUESTIONS
GO to COMMENTS
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1.
1.
Do you consider yourself to be a kind person? Yes
81%
2053 votes
No
7%
186 votes
Undecided
11%
281 votes
2.
2.
"Prior research has shown that engaging in altruistic behaviors (extending kindness to others without expecting anything in return) can make people feel good—doing so causes the brain to produce chemicals such as dopamine which heighten good feelings. Now, the researchers have found that engaging in such activities can also dull the sensation of pain." Did you know that showing kindness to others is actually good for your health?
Yes
65%
1645 votes
No
24%
594 votes
Undecided
11%
281 votes
3.
3.
"To learn more about how engaging in altruistic behavior might impact the perception of pain, the researchers carried out four experiments. In the first experiment, they asked people giving blood after an earthquake to rate how the pain of the needle jab—they also questioned people giving blood when there were no recent disasters. They found that the people volunteering after the earthquake reported that the needle hurt less than the other group." Have you ever donated blood?
Yes
41%
1032 votes
No
49%
1239 votes
Not Applicable
10%
249 votes
4.
4.
"In a second experiment, the researchers asked volunteers to help revise a handbook for migrant children while being exposed to cold conditions. They found that those volunteers reported less cold discomfort than did those who did not volunteer to revise the handbook." Have you ever been so focused on a task (whether to help someone else or not) that you were unaware of any discomfort (hunger, temperature, etc.)?
Yes
51%
1285 votes
No
22%
562 votes
Undecided
15%
378 votes
Not Applicable
12%
295 votes
5.
5.
"In a third experiment, the researchers compared cancer patients experiencing pain who cooked and cleaned for others with similar patients who only did so for themselves—once again, they found those helping others reported less pain." Have you ever gotten involved in helping others in order to "distract yourself" from your own discomfort or uncertainty?
Yes
42%
1046 votes
No
37%
943 votes
Undecided
21%
531 votes
6.
6.
"In their final experiment, the researchers asked volunteers to donate money to help orphans; those subjects were also asked how much they thought their donation helped the kids. Each of the volunteers then underwent an MRI scan while experiencing electrical shocks. The researchers report that those who had donated showed less brain response to the shock then did those who refused to donate. They also found that the more a volunteer felt their donation had helped the orphans, the less their brain responded to the shock." Do you think this present situation we are all facing provides more opportunity to be kind to others?
Yes
71%
1800 votes
No
8%
213 votes
Undecided
20%
507 votes
COMMENTS