Generosity can make your brain “happier,” says study

“It’s better to give than to receive” a popular saying that comes when we talk about giving or being generous to others.

Embraced yourselves readers, a new study has confirmed that being generous or generosity as a whole could make your brain happy.

According to a study in Zurich, that feeling of happiness has a neural basis within the mind.

Also, the study shows how acts of generosity trigger a response in the brain that creates the feeling of happiness.

Because giving makes us happy, the brain might be hard-wired to do just that–give, time and time again, says research findings.

Talking about the study in Zurich, which involved an experiment with 50 people.

The experiment included volunteers committed to spending money on others for an agreed upon amount of time.

The other group, meanwhile, spent money on themselves. The results were consistent.

The researchers found that the group that committed to giving money away reported being happier than those who spend money on themselves.

Guess what? The most noteworthy part of the result, perhaps, the degree of happiness members of the generous group reported was independent of the amounts of money they spent.

Furthermore, MRI scans revealed that an area of the brain linked to generosity triggered a response in different part related to happiness.

And with the way the brain works, once it gets a taste of a “feel-good” chemical, it wants more.

It’s like the statement, “hard work is its own reward”, but in this case, feeling good about helping others serves as the reward the brain seeks.

Explaining on the issue that the concept of “giving” is a selfish paradigm, the study says think of the mutually beneficial results!

The recipient is happy because for one, they get something. They also have knowledge that someone thought of them, which might add an extra dose of joy. And the giver, having given, feels good as well. In this scenario, an upward cycle is created where people help people and feel good about it. With the overflowing benefits for all involved, it’s hard to justify labeling this behavior as selfish.

Creating a cycle of happiness has a tremendous positive effects on our brain.

According to Psychology Today, a cycle of generous behavior might also be key in our survival as a species.

“Generosity and happiness improve individual well-being and can facilitate societal success,” researchers wrote. “However, in everyday life, people underestimate the link between generosity and happiness and therefore overlook the benefits of… spending” on other people.