Kindness is more than a simple act—it’s a heart-healthy habit. A study in the Journal of Social Psychology found that performing acts of kindness for seven days significantly boosted happiness. Whether it’s being kind to yourself, a friend, or a stranger—or simply witnessing kindness—these actions elevate mood and create a ripple effect of positivity.
Kindness has many forms, but the purest requires no expectation of return. Challenge yourself to a 7-day Kindness Intervention: Do one kind act daily and notice the physical and emotional impact.
Ideas include:
- Help a neighbor with yard work.
- Pick up trash around your neighborhood.
- Offering help to someone in need.
- Bringing food to an animal shelter.
- Donating food or funds to a local food pantry.
- Writing a positive review for a local business.
- Sending flowers to brighten someone’s day.
- Tell your family and friends you love them.
Remember to pair kindness with heart-healthy habits like balanced eating and staying active because 80% of heart disease cases are preventable!
Looking for more heart-healthy foods to fill your meals?
Here are three heart-healthy tips:
- Go lean with protein. Choosing lean meat will lower the amount of saturated fat being consumed. Aim for at least 90% lean for ground beef and choose leaner cuts, like sirloin or chuck roast. Other lean protein sources include fish, chicken, turkey, eggs, and plants sources, like nuts and seeds.
- Lower your sodium intake. To help lower sodium intake, look for lower sodium items and words like “no salt added,” “reduced sodium,” or “sodium free” on canned and packaged foods. If you cannot find lower sodium canned items, you can rinse them under running water to help wash some of the salt away. When cooking food at home, try to use more herbs and spices instead of salt.
- Switch to unsaturated fats. Try to limit saturated fats, which are solid at room temperature, like coconut oil, shortening, and lard. Fish, avocados, olives, nuts, and seeds are good sources of unsaturated fats.
University of Illinois Extension develops educational programs, extends knowledge, and builds partnerships to support people, communities, and their environments as part of the state's land-grant institution. Extension serves as the leading public outreach effort for University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and the College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences in all 102 Illinois counties through a network of 27 multi-county units and over 700 staff statewide. Extension’s mission is responsive to eight strategic priorities — community, economy, environment, food and agriculture, health, partnerships, technology and discovery, and workforce excellence — that are served through five program areas — 4-H youth development, agriculture and agribusiness, community and economic development, health and community wellness, and natural resources, environment, and energy.