{"id":2431,"date":"2020-03-20T09:50:16","date_gmt":"2020-03-20T09:50:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/drdavidhamilton.com\/?p=2431"},"modified":"2021-07-22T10:05:50","modified_gmt":"2021-07-22T10:05:50","slug":"the-most-contagious-thing-is-kindness","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/drdavidhamilton.com\/the-most-contagious-thing-is-kindness\/","title":{"rendered":"The most contagious thing is kindness"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"attachment_2365\" style=\"width: 310px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-2365\" class=\"wp-image-2365 size-medium lazyload\" data-src=\"https:\/\/drdavidhamilton.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/heart_madeOfWool_in_hands-300x200.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/drdavidhamilton.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/heart_madeOfWool_in_hands-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/drdavidhamilton.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/heart_madeOfWool_in_hands-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/drdavidhamilton.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/heart_madeOfWool_in_hands-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/drdavidhamilton.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/heart_madeOfWool_in_hands-1800x1200.jpg 1800w, https:\/\/drdavidhamilton.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/heart_madeOfWool_in_hands-1200x800.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/drdavidhamilton.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/heart_madeOfWool_in_hands-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/drdavidhamilton.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/heart_madeOfWool_in_hands-2048x1365.jpg 2048w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 300px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 300\/200;\" \/><noscript><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-2365\" class=\"wp-image-2365 size-medium\" src=\"https:\/\/drdavidhamilton.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/heart_madeOfWool_in_hands-300x200.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" srcset=\"https:\/\/drdavidhamilton.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/heart_madeOfWool_in_hands-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/drdavidhamilton.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/heart_madeOfWool_in_hands-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/drdavidhamilton.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/heart_madeOfWool_in_hands-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/drdavidhamilton.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/heart_madeOfWool_in_hands-1800x1200.jpg 1800w, https:\/\/drdavidhamilton.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/heart_madeOfWool_in_hands-1200x800.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/drdavidhamilton.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/heart_madeOfWool_in_hands-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/drdavidhamilton.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/heart_madeOfWool_in_hands-2048x1365.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/noscript><p id=\"caption-attachment-2365\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">image: iStock photo<\/p><\/div>\n<p>We\u2019re all thinking of contagion right now due to the coronavirus. Let\u2019s not forget that kindness is also highly contagious.<\/p>\n<p>Scientists at Harvard and Yale measured the contagiousness of kindness out to three social steps. That is, when you be kind to someone, that person will be kind or kinder to someone else (1 social step from you), because of how you made the person feel, and the recipient of that kindness will be kind or kinder to someone else (2 social steps from you), and the recipient of that kindness will be kind or kinder to someone else (3 social steps from you).<\/p>\n<p>In practice, kindness is \u2018circularly contagious\u2019, like the way a wave travels outwards in a circle when you drop a pebble in water.<\/p>\n<p>What actually happens is that the person you are kind to ends up being kind or kinder to about 5 people (the number varies but this is an average) over the course of the next 24 hours (1 social step), and each of those 5 people are kind or kinder to 5 people over the next 24 hours (2 social steps), and each of those 5 are kind or kinder to 5 people (3 social steps).<\/p>\n<p>That\u2019s 5 x 5 x 5 = 125 people benefitting from a single act of kindness. Each time you are kind, you really are impacting far more people than just the person you help! I\u2019m saying this because many of us wonder if our actions are insignificant. They\u2019re are! Kindness matters greatly and you make a difference even with the smallest of acts.<\/p>\n<p>In these strangest of times, we\u2019re being encouraged to keep our physical distance, but let\u2019s reduce our emotional distance. Pick up the phone, send a text, use Facetime, WhatsApp or Skype. Be there for family, friends, co-workers, neighbours, others in your community, if you can.<\/p>\n<p>One thing I\u2019ve learned over the years of trying to be a little kinder is that what might seem like a small act for you might mean the world to the person you help.<\/p>\n<p>Other things are contagious too. Emotions are contagious. You can actually infect someone with a good mood (or even happiness) down a phone line. One of my friends phoned me a few days ago just to tell me a joke. I was chuckling to myself for hours afterwards. But even just being upbeat on the phone can activate the mirror neuron system (MNS) of the person\u2019s brain. If you\u2019re using the phone then it\u2019s the auditory component of the MNS or if you\u2019re using video, then it\u2019s both the auditory and visual components. Either way, your upbeat tone specifically activates their brain regions for positive emotion and improves their mood. In a very real and scientific way, your mood is contagious! It\u2019s known as mood contagion or emotional contagion.<\/p>\n<p>Healthy lifestyle is also contagious and it works through what\u2019s called social contagion, where we are inspired to take up certain behaviours of others. In these times, one of the best ways to support your immune system is to eat a healthy diet containing fruit, vegetables, fibre, nuts and seeds. Try to incorporate over 30 different plant ingredients a week (try counting them) to optimally support your gut microbiome, which supports your immune system. This is according to Tim Spector, a professor of genetic epidemiology at Kings College in London, and author of, \u2018The Diet Myth\u2019. If you have a handful of nuts, for example, containing peanuts, cashews, Brazil nuts and hazelnuts, then that counts as 4. If you dip bread in olive oil then that\u2019s two (the bread grain plus the olive oil, coming from olives).<\/p>\n<p>So if you eat well, you can not only help support your immune system but also that of some of your family and friends who might follow suit due to social contagion, especially if you communicate how healthy it is, and even do so in an upbeat way. Ultimately, if you do this partly to help them, then you\u2019re also practicing kindness.<\/p>\n<p>So while we increase our physical distance to help reduce the likelihood of contagion of coronavirus, let us increase the contagion of kindness instead.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/david-hamilton.mykajabi.com\/personaldevelopmentclub\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft wp-image-2421 size-medium lazyload\" data-src=\"https:\/\/drdavidhamilton.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/PDC-advert_word-jumble-296x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"296\" height=\"300\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/drdavidhamilton.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/PDC-advert_word-jumble-296x300.jpg 296w, https:\/\/drdavidhamilton.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/PDC-advert_word-jumble-1009x1024.jpg 1009w, https:\/\/drdavidhamilton.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/PDC-advert_word-jumble-768x780.jpg 768w, https:\/\/drdavidhamilton.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/PDC-advert_word-jumble-1200x1218.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/drdavidhamilton.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/PDC-advert_word-jumble.jpg 1387w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 296px) 100vw, 296px\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 296px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 296\/300;\" \/><noscript><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft wp-image-2421 size-medium\" src=\"https:\/\/drdavidhamilton.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/PDC-advert_word-jumble-296x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"296\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/drdavidhamilton.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/PDC-advert_word-jumble-296x300.jpg 296w, https:\/\/drdavidhamilton.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/PDC-advert_word-jumble-1009x1024.jpg 1009w, https:\/\/drdavidhamilton.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/PDC-advert_word-jumble-768x780.jpg 768w, https:\/\/drdavidhamilton.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/PDC-advert_word-jumble-1200x1218.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/drdavidhamilton.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/PDC-advert_word-jumble.jpg 1387w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 296px) 100vw, 296px\" \/><\/noscript><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>We\u2019re all thinking of contagion right now due to the coronavirus. Let\u2019s not forget that kindness is also highly contagious. Scientists at Harvard and Yale measured the contagiousness of kindness out to three social steps. That is, when you be kind to someone, that person will be kind or kinder to someone else (1 social&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":2598,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[34,56],"tags":[45,63,10,11,177,33,104],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v22.5 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>The most contagious thing is kindness - David R Hamilton PHD<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"We\u2019re all thinking of contagion right now due to the coronavirus. Let\u2019s not forget that kindness is also highly contagious. 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