The Impact Of Gift Giving On Mental Health

Gift-giving has become virtually synonymous with Hanukkah, Christmas, birthdays, and other beloved wintertime holidays and this tradition has been around for centuries. The exchange of presents signifies a time of gathering with friends, family, and loved ones, although gifts come in all sizes and shapes and the joyful feeling that they ignite is universal. There are much online shopping expresses or websites like Sentiment Express that provide a vast variety of gifting items so you can easily pick one for your loved ones.

The festivities that take place in the winter season can evoke a deterioration of mental health while many tend to associate the holidays with positivity and joy. However, don’t underestimate the power of a good old-fashioned gift swap in the spirit of effectively managing poor mental health around the holidays. According to a report, it is stated that a person can enjoy getting into the holiday spirit by getting gifts for friends and family. Exchanging gifts with your loved ones is a common way to celebrate the holidays and participate in fun trade-offs to be successful in improving one’s mental health. Also, you can send gifts to Pakistan from UK easily as there are many online shopping websites or expresses.

Impact of Gift Giving on Brain

According to the research by the APA (American Psychological Association) gift giving activates key reward pathways in our brain don’t let stress take away the joy of a happy occasion (especially when we give presents to someone close to us). Moreover, it is also stated in this research that spending money on someone other than yourself promotes happiness as well. Gift-giving creates more interaction between the parts of the brain associated with processing social information and feeling pleasure. However, you can send gifts to Pakistan from UK easily using diverse online shopping websites or expresses.

In a social survey, 50 participants were given $100 to spend in the next four weeks. Half of them were instructed to spend this amount on someone else while half were told to spend it on themselves. After four weeks, when fMRI scans were performed to measure the activity in the brain associated with pleasure and generosity, those who spend this amount on someone else had more fair and generous interactions with other people and reported higher levels of happiness after the experiment was over.

Is Giving Gifts better than Receiving?

It is complicated to answer the question of which is better (giving presents or receiving gifts) for one’s overall mental health as both lead to joy. According to a university’s research, gifting usually leaves people feeling more content than receiving presents. Moreover, gift-giving alone activates a part of the brain that causes people to appreciate and like each other more. Gift-giving is also a key part of mental health as it strengthens social relationships thus a form of generosity. If someone who cares about you, gives you a gift and you love what they’ve gotten you, it is going to yield a very similar oxytocin-laden reward response.