Showing kindness to others may be the key to reducing feelings of loneliness and is more beneficial for mental health than taking “wellness breaks,” a new study suggests.
Trinity Western University (TWU) psychology professor Yeeun Archer Lee studied more than 200 participants, randomly assigning them to either perform acts of kindness each day for two weeks or to take daily wellness breaks involving acts of self-care.
Lee said the results show that small acts of kindness were “more effective in reducing loneliness and increasing social contact,” particularly for those who were socially anxious or highly lonely.
“Acts of kindness can lead us to have good interactions with other people, as we see the smile that we put on someone’s face,” she said….