GIVE ME ONE REASON TO...GIVE: A NEW STUDY SHOWS GIVING MAKES US HAPPIER
Your mother was right. Again. It pays to be nice (and to wear clean underwear, but that's for another post). As reported by Everyday Health, a new study tracked 50 Swiss citizens who were paid for their time. Half committed to spend the money on others, half on themselves. Then their brains were scanned, including the ventral striatum aka the brain's happy place. The results were clear: the "brain activity associated with happiness, along with self-reported happiness, increased simply after making a commitment to be generous to others".
(Since the study was out of Switzerland, it might be helpful to let them know that watches, chocolate and money all make excellent gifts -you're welcome.)
Back in 2016, two earlier studies looked at whether our brains are hardwired to be altruistic (spoiler alert, yes, especially when our ability to empathize is working.)
All of which is to say, it's good for you to be good.