Study of 77 Adults Finds Small Kind Acts Blunt Stress's Mood Toll
Updated
Updated · spacedaily.com · Jul 3
Study of 77 Adults Finds Small Kind Acts Blunt Stress's Mood Toll
2 articles · Updated · spacedaily.com · Jul 3
Summary
A two-week diary study of 77 adults found that on days people did more small helping acts than usual, stress was linked to a much smaller drop in mood and self-rated mental health.
Daily phone reports tracked stressful events, minor prosocial acts, mood and a 0-100 mental-health score; on high-helping days, one author said stress had essentially no impact on positive emotion or daily mental health.
The study was observational, so it shows a correlation rather than proving kindness caused the buffering effect, and the sample was limited to adults aged 18 to 44.
A 2018 diary study in older volunteers found daily stress had a weaker link to cortisol on days they volunteered, offering separate physiological evidence that helping may soften stress responses.