Book 2, Question 39
Why Does Kindness Feel Good?
When you help someone, your brain lights up a little reward spark. Brains like connecting with other people, and they like caring, too. That spark is why a kind act can feel so good inside.
From the book
Page from A Million Whys Book 2
More fun facts
- Kindness switches on the brain's reward system, the same part that lights up when you eat something tasty.
- A brain area called the nucleus accumbens releases feel-good chemicals when you do something kind.
- In 2021, the Kindness Test became the world's largest study of kindness.
- It found that kindness is very common, and most of us give and receive it often.
- People who are often kind, or often receive kindness, feel better on average.
- Just thinking about kindness can change how you feel.
- Empathy means understanding and sharing how someone else feels.
Questions kids ask
Why do I feel good after helping someone?
Being kind switches on your brain's reward system, which makes you feel good and want to do it again.