by Leslie Goldman
As a boy, whenever Stephen Post got a bad grade, or felt left out of his
older brother and sister's games, or was otherwise having a rough day,
his mother always said, "Why don't you go out and do something for
someone else?" At which point he'd head next door to rake Mr. Mueller's
leaves or go across the street to help Mr. Lawrence with his boat. "I
always came home feeling better," says Post, now a professor of
preventive medicine at Stony Brook University School of Medicine and
author of The Hidden Gifts of Helping.
Turns out, there was science behind his mom's kitchen-table wisdom:
Practicing philanthropy is one of the surest steps you can take toward a
happy, healthy life. Here's why.
Longer Lifespan
A 2013 review of 40 international studies suggests that volunteering
can add years to your life—with some evidence pointing to a 22 percent
reduction in mortality. How much time must you spare? A separate study
found that seniors who gave 100 hours or more annually were 28 percent
less likely to die from any cause than their less-philanthropic
counterparts. "But that's not a magic number—it could be 75 hours or
125," says study coauthor Elizabeth Lightfoot, PhD, an associate
professor at the University of Minnesota School of Social Work. "The
important thing is that you're doing it regularly." And you needn't be
older to benefit. A new study in JAMA Pediatrics found that high
school students saw a drop in their cholesterol levels after
volunteering with younger kids once a week for two months.
Greater Happiness
When you read to the elderly, walk a 5K for cancer, or even plunk a
quarter in the Salvation Army kettle, the reward center of your brain
pumps out the mood-elevating neurotransmitter dopamine, creating what
researchers call a helper's high. In fact, one study found that people
who completed five small acts of kindness (like helping a friend,
visiting a relative, or writing a thank-you note) one day a week for six
weeks experienced a significant boost in overall feelings of
well-being. Interestingly, those who spread their goodwill over the
course of a week showed no such boost. "Our research suggests there's a
threshold of giving that you need to reach before it has an impact,"
says study coauthor Sonja Lyubomirsky, PhD, a psychology professor at
the University of California, Riverside. "Each action has a cumulative
effect. The more nice things you do, the more people will respond
positively toward you, and the better you'll feel."
Better Pain Management
When chronic-pain sufferers helped others with the same ailment, they reported feeling less discomfort, according to a study in Pain Management Nursing.
On a scale of 0 to 10, people's average pain ratings dropped from
nearly a 6 to below 4 after volunteer training and six months of leading
discussion groups for pain sufferers or making weekly calls to check in
on patients. "People living with chronic pain can often feel helpless
about their condition, but recognizing the positive effect they had on
others in the same situation gave them a sense of purpose," says study
coauthor Paul Arnstein, PhD, a clinical nurse specialist for pain relief
at Massachusetts General Hospital. "In turn, that gave them more
confidence to find ways of managing their own discomfort." This kind of
volunteering can work with other conditions, too: A study in the journal
Social Science & Medicine found that after individuals
living with multiple sclerosis offered emotional support to other MS
sufferers via monthly phone calls, the helpers were less prone to
depression and anxiety.
Lower Blood Pressure
A 2013 study in the journal Psychology and Aging revealed
that adults over the age of 50 who reported volunteering at least 200
hours in the past year (roughly four hours per week) were 40 percent
less likely than nonvolunteers to have developed hypertension four years
later. Though researchers don't fully understand why giving back can
have such a marked impact on blood pressure, they believe it may be
linked to the stress-reducing effects of being both active and
altruistic. "As we get older, our social networks shrink," says study
coauthor Rodlescia Sneed. "Volunteering may offer an opportunity to
establish more social connections and form new bonds with people who
care about you and motivate you to take care of yourself."
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