Caring for friends and family benefits the giver, not just the receiver, scientists say. Confirming the proverb 'it is better to give than to receive' researchers at the University of California say that lending support to others is a pleasurable experience which can boost happiness and lower stress. During trials they discovered that when patients were able to help loved ones they experienced positive emotions commonly associated with chocolate, sex and money.Forget chocolate, sex and money... caring for others can bring just as much pleasure and benefit your health
BySadie Whitelocks
Researchers at the University of California say that lending support to others is a pleasurable experience which can boost happiness and lower stress
Lead researcher,Naomi Eisenberger said: 'When people talk about the ways in which social support is good for our health, they typically assume that the benefits of social support come from the support we receive from others.
'But it now seems likely that some of the health benefits of social support actually come from the support we provide to others.'
During the study 20 young heterosexual couples in healthy relationships were observed.
Each of the men were subjected to painful electric shocks while their girlfriends underwent functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) brain scans which measured changes in blood flow related to neural activity in the brain.
At times, the women could provide support by holding the arm of their boyfriends, but on other occasions they were forced to watch as their partners received shocks.
Findings revealed that when women were able to help their boyfriends reward-related regions of the brain were activated, including the ventral striatum and septal area.
Under conditions in which no support was provided, these regions showed decreased activity.
Eisenberger said:'One of these regions, the ventral striatum, is typically active in response to simple rewards like chocolate, sex and money.'
'The fact that support-giving also activates this region suggests that support-giving may be processed by the brain as a very basic type of rewarding experience.'
Findings, published in the journal Psychosomatic Medicine also suggest that offering support to others can help reduce stress.
Scientists noted an interesting pattern of neural activity in the septal area, which in addition to being a pleasure center, plays a role in stress-reduction by inhibiting regions of the brain that process threats.
Eisenberger said: 'This finding suggests that support-giving may have stress-reducing effects for the person who provides the support.'
She also noted that support-giving could be a basic human instinct, aiding the 'survival of our species.'
Eisenberger is now conducting further research on how giving to others may reduce our stress responses and ultimately contribute to better health.
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