NEWS IN BRIEF

‘Helping makes you fairly happy’

BEING kind to others makes you happy – but not by as much as you think, researchers say.

Far from being the answer to feeling glum, experts have found that being kind to other people has a “modest” effect on happiness levels.

Researchers from Oxford and Bournemouth universities examined more than 400 existing studies on the link between kindness and happiness.

They found that while being kind is good for us, it only improves happiness slightly. The size of the effect was equivalent to less than one point on a zero-to10 happiness scale.

Dr Oliver Scott Curry, from the Institute of Cognitive and Evolutionary Anthropology at the University of Oxford, said some articles suggested kindness was a “wonder drug, but it’s more like the effect of a paracetamol”.

He added: “It seems to be on a par with other positive psychological interventions such as mindfulness and gratitude meditation. They are not revolutionary but they are a nudge in the right direction.”