Natural health researchers at Institute for Vibrant Living have uncovered some amazing facts about volunteerism and your health. It turns out that helping others not only makes us feel good about ourselves, butit can also have profound positive effects on our physical health.
The mind and body aren't separate. Anything we do to elevate our spirits will also have a beneficial effect on our health.
A recent study conducted by Cornell University found that volunteering increases a person's energy, sense of mastery over life and self esteem. Other studies have demonstrated that these types of positive feelings can actually strengthen and enhance the immune system.
Positive emotions increase the body's number of T-cells (cells in the immune system that help the body resist disease and recover quickly from illness). A Canadian study found that volunteering leads to heightened self-esteem, self worth and self-confidence. It also reduces heart rates and blood pressure.
The positive emotions from volunteering release endorphins into the bloodstream. Endorphins are the body's natural tranquilizers and painkillers. They stimulate dilation of the blood vessels, which leads to a healthier heart.
Michigan researchers who studied 2,700 people for almost ten years found that men who regularly did volunteer work had death rates two and one half times lower than men who didn't. Part of this may be that the human need for connections to other people is related to longevity.
In a large survey conducted in Alameda County in California, researchers studied 5,000 people over a nine-year period. The researchers found that those who were unmarried, had few friends or relatives and shunned community organizations were twice as likely to die during the nine-year period - than people who had close relationships. This was true regardless of race, income, level of activity and other lifestyle factors.
In the book titled Civic Engagement and The Baby Boomer Generation, authors Laura Wilson and Sharon Simson note several studies that link volunteering to a lower risk of mortality and to better physical and mental health.
They found that people who volunteer at least 100 hours per year have slower heart rates and better overall health. Asked to describe the quality of their health, 85 percent of volunteers reported their health as "good to very good" while only 63 percent of the people who did not volunteer gave the same answer. While 2 percent of the volunteers reported their health to be "poor" a much greater 11 percent of non-volunteers described their health as "poor".
As one volunteer with arthritis put it: "I'm usually so doggone busy, I can't figure out whether I have a pain or an ache. I just keep right on going. If we have a little twinge or something, we don't have time to pay attention to it so consequently you don't tend to dwell on these little odds and ends. I think you are healthier for it."
A contributing factor could also be if you know the program is depending on you to be there, you can't allow yourself to be sick and so you are more motivated to stay well and in good physical condition.
In some cases it may be that volunteering provides the motivation to get better, despite the odds against recovery. As one program director explained, "We have a volunteer who is actually a resident but that's beside the point and she volunteers four days a week for about four hours each day. She is in her eighties and she broke her hip eight months ago. Everybody told her that she would never get out of the chair. Well, she had a responsibility to meet so she is now walking."
Perhaps the concept of volunteering is summed up best in Susan Reznick's book titled The Pleasure Zone. "The one who ends up getting the most from a good deed may ultimately be the good Samaritan."
Volunteer to help your fellow citizens today. Even something as small as greeting people at an event or house of worship, or putting napkins and silverware on a dining table at a homeless shelter - these things can go a long way towards promoting goodwill to others who areless fortunate than yourself.
Remember the motto "Do what you can, with what you have, while you can."
