Think nice thoughts…

Oxytocin is a hormone that makes us feel bonded and trusting, but also helps in the release of mood-boosting chemical messengers, dopamine and serotonin – and you can think your way to greater levels of both.

When researchers in Japan measured oxytocin in people practising the Arigato Zen form of meditation (which involves chanting the Japanese for ‘thank you’), they found it rose by 36% on average.

Another form of meditation called Loving Kindness meditation, where you wish wellness and happiness on people you like and even those you don’t, also raised levels.

Practising kindness on a regular basis produces direct physiological changes in the brain and body in these areas. The part of the brain that controls it just starts to grow.