Random Acts of Kindness Day

If you need a boost, doing a random act of kindness for someone around you could be just what you need. And it will benefit the other person too.
 

Being kind to others can increase:
 

your lifespan and quality of life
people who volunteer have fewer aches and pains. Helping others also protects your overall health twice as much as aspirin protects against heart disease. People over 55 who volunteer for 2 or more organisations have an impressive 44% lower likelihood of dying early, even after you discount other factors like health, gender, smoking and many more. It has a stronger positive effect than exercising 4 times a week or going to church.

your energy
studies have found that people feel stronger and more energetic after helping others; many also felt calmer, less depressed and greater feelings of self worth.

your oxytocin levels
this 'love hormone' can lower blood pressure and improve heart health. It also increases your self-esteem and optimism - especially helpful if you're anxious or shy in a social situation.

your happiness
a study in 136 countries in 2010 found that in particular people who made charitable donations were happiest overall.

your pleasure
when you're kind to someone else, your brain's pleasure and reward centres light up in the same way as the brain of the person you're helping. This is known as the 'helper's high'.

your serotonin levels
this feel-good chemical calms you down, makes you happy and helps you to heal from physical injuries faster.

Random acts of kindness generators

Use one of our random acts of kindness generator to pick something you can do today!

1

View the film below on your mobile phone and screenshot the video while it's playing to pick your random act of kindness! *warning - contains flashing images*

2

Download this PDF, print and cut it up and draw random suggestions out of a hat or a box. This is from the Random Acts of Kindness website.