K-State community health specialist touts benefits of intentional kindness.
Holding the door for someone is a nice gesture, but Kansas State University community health specialist Elaine Johannes says there’s a deeper, more impactful practice that benefits both giver and receiver.
She calls it ‘intentional kindness.’
“Being nice keeps social lubricants moving,” said Johannes, the Kansas Health Foundation’s Distinguished Professor of Community Health at K-State. “But being kind is more intentional. It has to do with our relationship with people and the world. It takes a little bit more interaction to be kind and to show that with our acts.”
Listen to an interview by Jeff Wichman with Elaine Johannes on the weekly podcast, Sound Living
Johannes said there is a growing body of research indicating that intentional kindness is a critical component of physical and mental health, as well as economic wellbeing.
“We’ve known for some time that toxic, hostile environments can trigger fight-or-flight responses,” she said. “Those places can be argumentative; it’s not a kind place. When we’re in those spaces, our bodies tense up. Cortisol builds. Our capillaries and veins constrict. Our heart pumps faster. Some people freeze because they don’t know how to get out of that place.”
On the other hand, an environment of kindness can benefit health.
“When we’re around people who treat us kindly, our bodies relax,” Johannes said. “We produce oxytocin – which is often called the love hormone or bonding hormone – which helps improve everything from heart function to breathing.”
Johannes said K-State Extension has recently released a fact sheet titled Kindness Matters that aims to help communities, schools, families and workplaces understand and implement more intentional acts of kindness. The publication can be downloaded online for free.
Johannes said kindness should happen naturally, but also can be planned. She even suggests writing intentional acts of kindness into a calendar, or store on a computer app.
“Yes, kindness can be random, but it can also be scheduled,” she said. “You can put it on your calendar or app — check in with a colleague, grab someone coffee, or take out the office trash. These small, thoughtful acts have ripple effects.”
Kindness Matters, which was written primarily by K-State Extension family and consumer sciences agent Lisa Newman, includes resources and ideas for building kindness into daily habits. From volunteering to active listening, the guide offers practical suggestions for individuals and groups.
One section even explores the economic benefits of working in or investing in businesses and organizations that promote kindness.
Johannes said in cardiac care and cancer treatment units, for example, studies have shown that physicians working in kind environments stay longer and patients actually recover faster.
“Kindness isn’t just about grand gestures,” Johannes said. “It’s about being present, listening, and recognizing the humanity in each other, even strangers.”
She adds: “This is something we can all do. Whether it’s intentional or spontaneous, the act of being kind — to others and ourself — creates healthier, happier communities. And it might just become a habit worth keeping.”
A longer discussion with Johannes is available online on the weekly podcast, Sound Living, produced by K-State Extension.
More information also is available at local K-State Extension offices.
