We are said to be more satisfied with life as we age thanks to a neurochemical: oxytocin
- Researchers found that oxytocin release increased with age and was positively associated with life satisfaction
- Also, people whose brains release more oxytocin are kinder to others.
It’s an effect of the links between life satisfaction and our brain chemistry:he release of oxytocin increases with age and with it, the propensity to be kind and more caring towards others! That’s what a new study found. published in Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience.
Oxytocin is a neurochemical widely known for its role in social attachment, interpersonal trust, and generosity. Researchers at Claremont Graduate University wanted to understand whether oxytocin release changes with age, as it does for other neurochemicals that influence feelings and behaviors.
Neurochemical basis for behaviors
“We have previously shown a link between people’s kindness and generosity, known as prosocial behaviors, and the release of oxytocin,” said one of the authors, Dr. Paul J. Zak. “Older people spend more time volunteering and donate a greater proportion of their income to charity than younger people, so we wanted to see if there was a neurochemical basis for these behaviors.”
The researchers recruited more than 100 people for the study, aged 18 to 99, to whom they showed a video of a little boy with cancer, vision which previous work had confirmed induces a release of oxytocin in the brain. A blood sample was taken before and after the video to measure the variation in oxytocin.
“Participants had the option of donating a portion of their study earnings to a childhood cancer charity, which was used to measure their immediate prosocial behavior. We also collected data on their emotional states, in order to provide information on their overall satisfaction with life,” explains the doctor.
Helping behaviors improve quality of life
“People who released the most oxytocin during the experiment were not only more generous to charity, but also engaged in many other helping behaviors. This is the first time that a distinct change in oxytocin is linked to prior prosocial behaviors,” Zak reports.
The fact that helping behaviors improve the quality of life had already been demonstrated by previous studies. Indeed, helping and being generous to others reduces stress, depressive symptoms and blood pressure, which limits the risk of stroke. And this behavior is associated with increased longevity.
This new study shows that serving others appears to prompt the brain to release more oxytocin in a positive feedback loop of increased empathy and gratitude.
While in a survey Ifop realized after the health crisis, 77% of French people said they wanted to open up more to others, this information could encourage more people to do the same!
