5 Beneficial Side Effects of Good Deeds

We knew it all along: doing nice things for people makes us feel happy. It can be as simple and fast as helping that old lady across the street. Or it can be huge, like donating your car to the Kars for Kids car donation program, knowing that some child, somewhere, will benefit from this act. But isn’t it ironic that doing nice things for others makes us happy, too?

According to David R. Hamilton, PhD, that’s because doing loving acts of kindness has side effects. Not the bad kind of side effects you get from taking a new medicine that might leave you drowsy, itchy, or worse, but the good kind, the kind of side effects that are desirable. Here are five of those side effects:

1. Doing good generates happiness for the doer. For some people, this is about fulfilling a spiritual need, about digging deep within and finding the meaning and affirming who we are. But there’s also the biochemical side of being nice. When we do good deeds, levels of feel-good brain chemicals increase. These chemicals are called endogenous opioids and lead to an increase in dopamine levels. The result is a natural high that psychologists refer to as “Helper’s High.
2. ”Doing good is good for your cardiac health. That warm feeling you get when you do something nice? That feeling of warmth spurs production of the hormone oxytocin both in the brain and throughout your body. Oxytocin plays an important role in regulating the cardiovascular system by inducing the release of nitric oxide in the blood vessels. Nitric oxide helps to dilate the blood vessels and in so doing, lowers blood pressure. In spurring a mechanism to lower blood pressure, oxytocin protects the heart. That’s why some call this hormone “cardioprotective.”
3. Doing good staves off aging. In addition to its “cardioprotective” properties, oxytocin lowers heart levels of free radicals and inflammation, two major culprits involved in the cardiac aging process. Additionally, engaging in acts of kindness activates the vagus nerve, responsible in part for controlling heart rate and levels of inflammation.
4. Doing good decreases emotional distance. Nice people tend to bond with other nice people. The more we engage in acts of kindness, the closer we feel to our partners. There may very well be a genetic component to being the kind of person who does kindnesses. Long ago, a kindness extended to another could increase that person’s chances of survival. The adaptation process meant that for some people, kindness became part of the genome.
5. Doing good is contagious. When we’re nice to others, we serve as an inspiration for others to do likewise. The more kind acts we do, the more we generate. It’s the ripple-effect played out in real-time. A study performed in 2011 illustrated this concept to perfection. A 28 year-old man donated a kidney. His friends and family heard about it and many of them followed suit. The New England Journal of Medicine reported on this apparent domino effect in which 10 people became kidney recipients as a result of this one man’s act of kindness.  

12 Tips for Weathering Summer Storms

It’s hard to remember a time when there have been so many momentous storms one after the other bringing so much devastation in their midst. The good news is that people pull together and help each other at times like these—think the great coat giveaway by the car donation charity Kars For Kids after Hurricane Sandy. The bad news is that people lose their homes and sometimes their lives in these monumental weather events.

In some respects, you can’t really prepare for a storm. The theory is much different than the reality which can change the course of one’s life in the blink of an eye. At the same time, it can’t hurt to learn what we can about protecting ourselves and our loved ones, whenever the opportunity presents. You never know when a piece of information you learned from an article on the Internet or heard from someone is going to come in handy. Rather than think of this kind of information as “GIGO” (garbage in, garbage out), assume that some of it will stick in your mind and be there when you need it.

Summer vacation is about to begin and we all like to spend lots of time out of doors. But with summer comes summer storms, and with those storms comes lightning. Here are some tips to help you stay safe and out of the eye of the storm.

1.       Hearing is believing. A little known fact is that lightning can strike within 10 miles of a thunderclap. That means that if you can hear thunder, you’re within striking distance. If you can manage it, stay indoors.

2.       Get the forecast. Whether you listen to a recorded weather forecast by phone, watch the forecast on television, or follow a weather website on the Internet, always pay attention to the weather forecast. If a storm is predicted, think about canceling or perhaps postponing your plans.

3.       Have a plan. Going out? Think about where you can go find safe shelter in case of a thunderstorm.

4.       Keep a close watch. Pay attention to the weather while on outings of any kind. If you see a storm brewing, find a safe place to hang out for the duration.

5.       React to thunder. Was that a thunderclap you heard? Get thee to a building. A nice strong one with serious infrastructure. None available? Hunker down in a vehicle with a nice firm top (not a soft-top convertible, natch?).

6.       Avoid trees and other tall objects. So you’ve got the worst luck ever and you’re nowhere near shelter when the storm hits. Don’t seek shelter under a tree or other tall object. Those are just the kinds of things that lightning adores striking. Better to stay on open ground.

7.       Keep your distance from appliances. Don’t make contact with appliances or computers that are plugged into electric sockets.

8.       Stay dry. Don’t go near anything with plumbing, for instance showers, tubs, sinks, and darest we say it? Toilets.

9.       Go cordless. Mom was right. Don’t talk on corded phones during a storm.

10.   Keep away from windows and doors. They make good entry ports. ‘Nuff said.

11.   Wait awhile. Has the storm abated? Wait another half an hour before you venture out of doors, just to be sure it’s all over.

12.   When lightning strikes. If in spite of your precautions, someone gets struck by lightning, do not fear to help—touching the person carries no danger (there’s no electric current left in the body). Some lightning victims need CPR. In other cases, the lightning victim may need defibrillation. The best thing to do is to call 911 immediately.