Helping others boosts your mood more than helping yourself, new study suggests. Credit: Kelvin Murray/ Getty Images

When we’re having a rough day, many of us tend to treat ourselves to some form of retail therapy, a favorite dessert or going out with friends in hopes of feeling better.

But a new study published in the journal Emotion last week suggests that treating ourselves is no more likely to boost our mood than doing nothing.

Rather, the research found that giving to others or practicing acts of kindness can improve our mood and overall well-being, Dr. Katherine Nelson, assistant professor of psychology at the University of the South in Sewanee, Tennessee, and lead author of the study, told The Huffington Post on Saturday.

“I was not surprised that prosocial behavior led people to feel greater positive emotions, and in turn, greater flourishing,” Nelson said about the study.

“One thing that I found very interesting, however, was that when we direct these actions towards ourselves, we see no improvement in positive or negative emotions, nor do we see improvement in psychological flourishing,” she added. “I think this is important because people are often encouraged to ‘treat themselves’ as a way to feel good, yet our findings suggest that the best way to feel happy is to treat someone else instead.”

The study involved 473 volunteers who were separated into four groups. Each group had to complete different tasks over a six-week period.

One group was asked to complete acts of kindness to improve the world, such as picking up litter. The second group performed acts of kindness for other people, such as buying a friend a cup of coffee or helping a family member cook dinner.

The third group was instructed to perform acts of kindness for themselves, such as exercising more or taking a day off from work. Finally, the fourth group was the control group that did nothing out of their ordinary activities.

Before and after the six weeks, all participants filled out a questionnaire to assess their psychological, emotional, and social well-being. They also self-reported their positive and negative emotions weekly throughout the study.

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– Jacqueline Howard

Source: Psychologists Reveal One Of The Best Ways To Boost Your Mood