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 hen
you do good things for others, you do good things for your health. You may also
be doing good things for the health of your community, research now shows.
An Ontario
study on the health benefits of volunteering reveals that it not only improves
self-esteem and combats social isolation, but also reduces the impact of stress
on the body, lowering blood pressure and even bolstering the immune system.
And in a review of volunteering and mortality among older adults, volunteering
was linked to lower mortality rates among the elderly.
Benefits for seniors
Indeed, for older Canadians, volunteering appears to give
new meaning to life, reducing anxiety and depression and increasing life
satisfaction, writes Dr. Mark J. Yaffe of the Department of Family Medicine
at McGill University, Montreal.
Volunteering also helps people deal with the inevitable losses that occur with
age, he points out. These include retirement, loss of social contacts, death
of friends or relatives, and geographic separation from adult children and grandchildren.
There are other potential benefits when seniors volunteer, says Dr. Yaffe,
including:
- enhanced image of older adults in society
- improved personal self-regard
- increased mental functioning
- reduced selfconcern.
"Volunteering may produce a 'win-win' situation," writes Dr. Yaffe.
"Society benefits and the person volunteering may personally benefit. What
a perfect prescription for health promotion and maintenance."
Helps reduce stress
But volunteering doesn't just produce health benefits for the elderly. According
to Harvard cardiologist Herbert Benson, known for his work on the relaxation response (the body's ability to shift into a deep state of rest), the health
benefits of doing good things for others are similar to those experienced by
anyone who practices yoga, spirituality and meditation, namely a slowing down
of heart rate and a decrease in blood pressure.
The key may lie in the sense of calmness that comes from helping others, also
known as the "helper's high". These altruistic feelings reinforce
the sense that one's life has a purpose. In turn, this enhances self-esteem,
which then provides the motivation for a person to make better lifestyle choices.
Builds community
Importantly, volunteering helps keep groups of people strong by developing
community
ties, an important element of healthy, integrated and secure communities.
By encouraging interaction between people living in a community, volunteering
fosters trust, co-operation and cohesion in which members watch out for and
support each other. For example, a widowed senior, who is a retired teacher,
helps the kids next door with their homework. In return, they shovel her driveway
in the winter and mow her lawn in the summer.
Benefits beyond health
The benefits of volunteering also appear to extend beyond health. In 2000,
the National
Survey of Giving, Volunteering and Participating found that people were
able to describe the benefits they gained from volunteering:
- 79% of volunteers said that their volunteer activities helped them with
their interpersonal skills, such as understanding people better, motivating
others and dealing with difficult situations;
- 68% of volunteers said that volunteering helped them develop better communication
skills;
- 63% reported increased knowledge about issues related to their volunteering.
Want to find out more about how you can volunteer? Find out more at Volunteer
Canada.
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Kristin Jenkins is a writer and editor who specializes in health and medicine.
