Do something nice just for once. Show a tourist the way, drop off a pan of food, give to charity. Altruism is not only pleasant for others, but also very good for yourself. Volunteering also helps tremendously. It makes you happier and less stressed.

Warm glow

Doing something good also makes you feel better about yourself. Generally, the feeling of happiness you get from just doing something good is considered the main driver of altruism. The warm glow, the warm glow, you get from it. For example, people appear to be happier when they spend money on others than on itself. Exactly how that feeling comes about, others have scientists mapped out . It involves wildly complicated processes in the brain, and roughly boils down to the fact that when someone just does something good, an area is activated in the brain that interacts with the ventral striatum, the reward center of your brain.
‍

Involvement

That feeling of happiness does not always occur to the same degree, American scientists found . They concluded that the relationship with the person for whom you do something good is essential. For example, it turns out that people become happy from giving to charities, but especially when they give their money to someone directly involved in the cause, rather than to an intermediary. Giving to friends and family also appears to be more beneficial when that good deed strengthens the relationship. Social connection is crucial to turning good deeds into positive emotions.

The effect of doing volunteer work has often been studied. Britons studied 88 volunteers doing all kinds of work in northern England and southern Scotland . They benefited from their volunteer work in many ways: they became fitter and more alert and had less stress. Other, American, research also showed the positive effect of volunteering . All volunteers felt more part of the community and had less stress. For participating young people, the conclusion was even that volunteering can help improve problem groups.

‍