A study carried out by a group of international researchers shows what a situation like this means for your satisfaction with life.
And according to researchers, it doesn’t even take that much less to kick start the joy-creating endorphins in your brain.
Researchers at Sabanci University have investigated what a simple, but for many people difficult habit, can mean for our feelings of happiness.
And the conclusion is interesting in the shadow of the global loneliness pandemic, which is probably as unhealthy for people as smoking 15 cigarettes a day.
A single “thank you” is enough
The researchers asked more than 60,000 people a number of questions about their encounters with strangers – including how often they had a longer conversation with a stranger and how often they just said hello and thanked the cashier, for example.
Next, they asked in great detail about people’s satisfaction with life.
The results showed that people who often had short interactions with strangers or real conversations were more satisfied with life than those who kept to themselves and avoided talking to strangers.
“Having conversations with strangers, even if it’s just a ‘hello’ or ‘thank you,’ simply brings greater well-being and happiness,” said Esra Ascigil, a postdoctoral fellow in social relations at Sabanci University and lead author of the study.
According to Ascigil, we humans feel part of a larger community when we regularly interact with strangers.
“Having a sense of belonging entails a feeling of being accepted and appreciated even by strangers. It is often considered a basic human need,” says Ascigil in a press release.
The scientists behind it studies emphasizes that brief encounters with strangers cannot replace deeper relationships.
Instead, they theorize that such interactions can complement and bring a person more happiness.
So you can do yourself a favor by saying thank you to the bus driver next time – it’ll do you both good!
2023-12-08 11:54:12
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