How compassion makes us happy and healthy

Compassion can be the key to a happier life. Find out why. Studies A recent brain imaging study by Jordan Grafman of the National Institutes of Health has shown that pleasure centers in the brain called the fronto-mesolimbic networks (the areas that light up when we eat chocolate or do something pleasant) are the same areas that light up when we give money to charity or act in a compassionate way. What this and other studies tell us is that compassion and helping others greatly increases our own happiness. In another experiment conducted by Harvard Business School professor Michael Norton, they gave people an amount of money and asked them to spend it either on themselves or others. The participants experienced some interesting effects. Those who had spent money on others felt significantly happier than those who had spent it all on themselves. Apparently being compassionate is good for us. And if we are happier we are healthier. The science of this is irrefutable. In this particular study, people with a positive emotional style were more likely to resist colds. Apparently even children have higher levels of happiness when giving to others. In another recent study by Elizabeth Dunn and her colleagues at the University of British Columbia, children as young as two years old who gave treats to others received more happiness than by keeping them all for themselves. If you want your own empirical evidence, test how happy you are to give something to someone today. That smile that you offer n stranger or the cup of coffee you give to a cold homeless person. Compassion is good for your health. Science proves it.