OtterKnow Kids Encyclopedia

Have you noticed that when someone smiles at you, you want to smile back? Scientists think our brains are built to pick up on other people’s feelings. When you see someone light up because you helped them, your brain notices and gives you a happy feeling too!

In 2010, scientists at Harvard University did a study about giving. They gave people money and told some of them to spend it on themselves. They told others to spend it on someone else. The people who gave their money away were happier than the people who kept it! Even spending a small amount on someone else made people feel better than spending it on themselves.

Helping does not have to be big. You can hold a door, share a snack, or help a friend clean up. Every kind act gives your brain a little boost of those happy endorphins.

• Allan Luks first described the “helper’s high” in 1988 after studying more than 3,000 volunteers across the United States.
• A 2010 Harvard study found that people who gave money to others felt happier than people who spent the same amount on themselves.
• When you see someone else smile, your brain notices and makes you want to smile too – scientists think our brains are built to share feelings with the people around us.