CLEVELAND — Tuesday is World Compliment Day and with all the stress happening in the world, some nice words can go a long way.
Anthony Jack, an associate professor of philosophy at Case Western Reserve University, teaches a course on the science of happiness and he said there are benefits both mentally and physically that go beyond just being nice.
"A compliment is one great, just simple little step you can take to connect you better to other people and also to feel better by yourself," Jack said. "And so those same brain areas that you connect with other people also help you regulate all parts of your body, everything from your fight or flight response your digestion."
Jack's top five reasons that you should give compliments include:
- Increases happiness.
- Makes you grateful.
- Strengthens your interpersonal relationships.
- Increases your stress resilience and physical health.
- Creates a ripple of positivity.
Research shows emotions like loneliness are contagious, even if you're not directly impacted.
But kind words and acts can reverse the negativity.
"You're buying someone a coffee, feeding someone's parking meter, you know, giving them a compliment. Just holding a door, right? Right. So if you can do just five little things like that in a day that's actually been shown to have quite a good boost your happiness," Jack said.
Jack said there's nothing wrong with complimenting someone for looking good, but it's really great if you can compliment someone for doing good.
