How being kind to odas fit protect your bodi

Eveibodi like to know quick and easy ways to improve dia health, but sometimes di advice wey dem dey see fit overwhelm dem.

So if you go try just one tin to improve your mental and physical well-being, wetin e go be for you?

Maybe some green tea to boost brain power or do iron for a few minutes to regulate your blood pressure.

How about to do small acts of kindness to benefit your immune system?

Na 11:00 for morning and I just do somtin wey fit improve my mood, relieve pain and also reduce chronic inflammation: I make a delicious cup of coffee for my wife, Claire, wey love coffee dis kain time for morning.

To make a cup of coffee for pesin no go sharply change dia health. But surprisingly, regular acts of kindness fit make a big difference.

Obviously, kindness dey benefit di recipient. But new research show say dat kindness fit also surprisingly benefit di pesin wey dey practice am.

To dey kind on a regular basis fit increase happiness and reduce symptoms of depression and anxiety.

But wetin I find out wey dey veri impressive na also say e get a powerful effect for our immune system by reducing inflammation.

One small experiment

As we dey do di research on how acts of kindness dey improve health, I bin want do one little experiment: to convince Sam, a project manager from Kent (UK) to include a few more acts of kindness for im daily routine.

To do dis, I first ask Sam about im mood

"E definitely dey fluctuate. My job dey stressful and e dey worry me for mind," Im tell me.

In addition, Im tell me say im dey live alone and im dey "self-centred."

I challenge am for di week to do three kind gestures, maybe write a note to a friend wey need a little support right now, or really anytin, but three different tins sha.

Accept... How e go be? We go find out throughout dis article.

Sam early days

I check in wit Sam mid-week to see how she dey do wit her kindness plan.

She tell me say she don already do two of di three tins I tell her to do.

"I do somtin very nice for one of my friends and for my mother. I bin write her a nice long note from my father, my brother and me to tell her how much we appreciate her. She bin dey veri happy," Sam tell me.

She tell me say she notice say her mood don change: "I dey feel much more optimistic dan usual. She add say e also get a veri positive effect on some of my relationships.

She bin dey veri surprised to see how pipo appreciate gesture wey come out of nowhere.

"I dey really look forward to tink of somtin big for my last act of kindness for di end of di week," she tell me.

More gratitude, less stress

In addition to di impact of kindness on mood and pain, e get one interesting research about how being kind to odas fit reduce stress hormones and chronic inflammation, wey go fit benefit your overall health.

Tristane Inagaki, Ph.D., of San Diego State University, study di health benefits of kindness and find out say e fit reduce chronic inflammation.

To do dis, dem study adults between di ages of 25 and 76 - dem collect dia blood and measure dia level of interleukin-6 or IL6,.

Di volunteers tok how many pipo and organisations dem provide help, support or kindness to.

"We find out say being kind to more pipo and organisations, like friends and family, but also volunteering, even witout receiving di same treatment in return, dey associated wit lower inflammation," Inagaki notice.

Di doctor point out say di type of inflammation wey she dey investigate for dis case no be specific inflammation wey fit appear, for example, wen we get a cut, but na di chronic or systemic inflammation, wey dey affect di whole bodi and dey appear for di blood.

Faced wit an infection, an injury or toxins, in general somtin wey dey harmful wey fit harm your bodi, inflammation dey occur as process of your bodi, your immune system, to fight against dis evils, as mechanism to heal imsef.

Wen di threat stop, di inflammation go stop. But if di immune system no stop, you go get inflammatory response wey fit dey veri serious, dis fit dey dangerous sake of say e dey associated wit di loss of function of many physiological and pathological processes.

“We know dis type of inflammation dey lead to a number of different diseases. So e dey good to get less systemic inflammation. “Chronic inflammation dey predict all commonly known diseases, cardiovascular diseases, cancer or even depression,” e tok.

For another study, Inagaki look into di relationship between kindness and stress. And, as e happun for di previous case, for pipo wey don do some practical exercise wey involved showing kindness, dia physiological response to stress in response to a stimulus dey lower, for example, get lower blood pressure, im explain.

And dis, in turn, dey reduce chronic inflammation.

"Strong link dey: for those pipo wey dey more stressed dey show much greater systemic inflammation," Dr. Inagaki tok.

Thus, she say, "to reduce stress and inflammation dey among dibiggest benefits of showing kindness."

How to practice am

I bin ask Dr. Inagaki wia she go recommend make pipo start from wey wan practice and do more kind acts.

And if she go recommend sometin as simple as wetin I do wit my wife: to bring her a cup of coffee.

"You fit do evriday life tins, inside house. Take a cup of tea or coffee give your neighbour. Maybe you bake somtin and leave am for dia dormot or carry am go work. You fit also do favours for colleagues, little tins. Na somtin you fit do for your evriday life," Inagaki tok.

Na veri small gestures wey dey add up and e fit get big impact.

And di researcher warn say: "We no recommend spending money. Na more about small tins, small efforts."

And she recommend doing three types of tins a week and mixing dose kind acts. For example, do one kind act wit a partner, den wit anoda family member, den wit a close co-worker.

Di end of Sam week

Afta seven days and three acts of kindness for Sam life, im tell me say im enjoy di whole process and add say im choose im brother as di object for im last kind act for dis little experiment.

"My brother dey go through tough time lately, so I babysit im kids for a day so im and im wife go fit take di day off. And I know say im really appreciate am," Sam explain to me.

And im also see di benefits.

"E affect my life in a nice way. I definitely enjoy am, e dey easy to connect wit some of di pipo for my life afta I do dis... na definitely somtin I wan kotinu to dey do," e tok.

E good to see how Sam enjoy im kindness challenge. I dey try to include more kind acts for my daily routine too.

Why not try am? You go make di oda pesin happy and e fit reduce your chronic inflammation.

Na one tin wey you fit do right now wey fit benefit your bodi and your life.