Acts of Kindness Can Nurture Student Wellbeing
University and college life can be such an amazing time for young students, who are typically excited about the future, and full of energy. They have worked hard to continue their education,and now have the opportunity to broaden their minds and learn some more, eager to experience life after school, and greater independence. And there is one thing, according to a recent study published in Science Daily, that can make the overall university experience even better and more positive: kindness.
New study illustrates the value of kindness to the student good-doer
The study, conducted by Dr. John-Tyler Binfet, a University of British Columbia (UBC) professor and kindness researcher, and Dr. Sally Steward, another UBC professor, showed that students who completed three to five acts of kindness during the course of the study, had higher levels of personal connectedness and in-person kindness.
Good News Network, a platform with positive news stories from around the globe, adds that the study positively impacted the student perception of themselves, their friends, and their campus.
This study, said Dr. Steward, helped students realize that there is real evidence to the benefits of kindness, and that it even impacts our hearts and overall wellbeing.
Moreover, she found that her students not only learned from it, but also actually loved doing the assignment. Some students even got motivated and inspired to perform more acts of kindness. Others realized they were already carrying out several acts of kindness and gained that awareness.
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A post-school population on the cusp of their lives!
Conducting this study for the post-high-school population was an interesting and probably impactful choice. DL online , a portal that aims to bring information to life, explains that the post-high school environment is an ideal time to prepare students for the life they want. It is a great time and place in life in which to create good habits, work on ourselves and learn how to balance our responsibilities.
“We know being kind yields a number of wellbeing benefits, such as stress reduction, happiness and peer acceptance, and we know mental health impacts learning,” adds Dr. Binfet. “The post-secondary environment is often the last training ground to prepare students for life so we want to understand how we can prepare students for optimal mental health as adults.”
Kindness can and might be defined in many ways. Kindnessiseverything, an online platform that tries to inspire others to do good deeds to change the world for the better, explains that kindness is one of the most beautiful and wonderful forces of good in the world. And now with this research, there is proof of this.
Kindness is powerful, impactful and improves the lives of the person carrying out good deeds as well as everyone around them. Students can now look forward to enjoying their university years even more by bringing smiles to those around them.
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