Giving support to others reduces sympathetic nervous system‐related responses to stress

Abstract

Social support is a major contributor to the link between social ties and beneficial health outcomes. Research to date has focused on how receiving support from others might be good for us; however, we know less about the health effects of giving support to others. Based on prior work in animals showing that stimulating neural circuitry important for caregiving behavior can reduce sympathetic-related responses to stressors, it is possible that, in humans, giving to others can reduce stressor-evoked sympathetic nervous system responding, which has implications for health outcomes. To test the effect of giving support on the physiological stress response, participants either wrote a supportive note to a friend (support-giving condition) or wrote about their route to school/work (control condition) before undergoing a standard laboratory-based stress task. Physiological responses (heart rate, blood pressure, salivary alpha-amylase, salivary cortisol), and self-reported stress were collected throughout the protocol. In line with hypotheses, support giving (vs. control) reduced sympathetic-related responses (systolic blood pressure and alphaamylase) to the stressor. No effects of support giving were found on self-reported psychological stress or cortisol levels. Results add to existing knowledge of the pathways by which support giving may lead to health benefits and highlight the contribution of giving to others in the broader social support-health link.

Neural mechanisms of the link between giving social support and health

“…5). 114 However, giving support did not alter cortisol responses to the stressor, a commonly studied output of the HPA axis, suggesting giving support may more directly benefit health through SNS pathways.…”

Salivary Alpha-Amylase as a Biomarker of Stress in Behavioral Medicine

“…Likewise, Inagaki and Eisenberger (2016) found that compared to a control condition, individuals who were randomly assigned to a "support giving" condition, which encompassed writing an encouraging note to a friend, showed reduced sAA reactivity in response to psychosocial stress. Importantly, here too the support-giving intervention was associated with lower sAA reactivity to stress, but no effects were observed for cortisol [41]. Finally, a study conducted in a sample of inpatient infants found that distraction from negative emotions in the form of nurses' uniforms (animal patterns and geometric shapes versus plain white) was associated with significantly lower sAA reactivity in response to a mildly stressful medical procedure [42].…”

“…For example, in one study, a 4week "warm touch"-based support intervention delivered to married couples was associated with significantly lower diurnal sAA (but not cortisol), compared to the couples' preintervention baseline levels [40]. Likewise, Inagaki and Eisenberger (2016) found that compared to a control condition, individuals who were randomly assigned to a "support giving" condition, which encompassed writing an encouraging note to a friend, showed reduced sAA reactivity in response to psychosocial stress. Importantly, here too the support-giving intervention was associated with lower sAA reactivity to stress, but no effects were observed for cortisol [41].…”

What the brain ‘Likes’: neural correlates of providing feedback on social media

“…A recent meta-analysis of brain responses during vicarious rewards and charitable giving (Morelli et al , 2015) found that the vmPFC, was activated across 25 studies whereas the striatum was not. On the other hand, some social media users report that Likes function as a form of social support (Hayes et al , 2016), and work by Inagaki and Eisenberger (2012) and Inagaki et al (2016) suggests that provision of social support to others elicits responses in the ventral striatum. Furthermore, while Likes are often provided as an indicator of social support, affiliation or acknowledgement of shared experience, they are frequently used to indicate approval or enjoyment (Hayes et al , 2016).…”