Want to be happier? There is a very simple solution: give! Generosity would activate areas of the brain linked to happiness, reveals a study conducted by German, American and Swiss neurobiologists and published in the journal Nature.
To prove that generosity and feeling of happiness are indeed connected in the brain, the authors conducted an experiment, during which they explained to 50 volunteers that they were going to receive 25 Swiss francs, or about 23 euros, each week. , for a month. The participants were then divided into two groups: the researchers asked those in the first group to commit to sharing their money with other people, and those in the second group to spend this sum on themselves. Participants who were expected to be generous reported a higher level of happiness than others.
The mere intention to give is enough.
The volunteers then took part in tests, during which they had to explain how they wanted to spend their money. During this time, the researchers observed the activity of three areas of their brain using functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI): the first linked to altruism, the second to happiness and the third to decision-making. And what they discovered is surprising: these three areas interacted differently depending on whether the study participants had pledged to be generous or selfish. The researchers were able to observe that the simple intention of giving activated the altruistic zone of the brain and reinforced communication with that of happiness. The promise to be generous would therefore be enough to be happier!
But how to put this generosity into practice to feel the benefits? “You don’t have to become completely self-sacrificing to feel happier. You just have to be a little more generous,” concludes Philippe Tobler, co-author of the study.
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