“The Science Behind Why Giving to Others Feels So Good”
Neuroscience studies consistently show that donations to charitable organizations can have a lasting positive impact on your mood.
Giving gives you a natural high: The mesolimbic pathway becomes more active in the brain — this is the same area that distributes the feel-good dopamine chemicals associated with money and food.
In fact, there are two areas of the brain that become more active when a person gives money to charity.
The second area activated by charitable giving is the subgenual area of the brain, which plays a key role in formulating social attachment. In an age where isolation and loneliness are all too common, giving to charity can serve as an important reminder that we’re all interconnected and need to support each other.
