The secret to being kinder? It only takes a heartbeat...

LISTENING to your heartbeat can make you more kind-hearted, according to a new study.

Participants played a computer game that involved sharing sums of money between themselves and someone they hadn’t met. They had their heartbeat recorded and were then played sounds that were in or out of time with it. The study found their generosity directly increased with their ability to detect the rhythm of their own heartbeat.

The researchers, from Anglia Ruskin and Stockholm universities, suggest generosity may, in part, be influenced by signals from the body to the brain.