It's good to do good, and that's true for the doer as much as the receiver. It's easy to understand how donating your time to a hospital or after-school program can benefit those you're helping. What's surprising is that volunteering may be giving you the biggest boost of all. Giving back goes full circle, and we've got some surprising stats to prove it.
1. It can lower the health effects of stress. Whether it's a tough day at work or a conflict at home, even the most benevolent among us have some stress in their lives. Two national studies published in 2013 found that helping others can ease the impact that everyday stress has on your physical health.
2. It reduces the risk of drug abuse. In 2015, The Oxford Handbook of Prosocial Behavior published a literature review showing that teenagers and college students who volunteer tend to steer clear of alcohol and drugs, along with other "problem behaviors" like delinquency and dropping out of school.
3. It can lower your risk of cardiovascular disease. Volunteering is a sneaky way to get out of the house and step away from the screens for a bit. As a result, it could aid in weight loss and lower your cholesterol. A 2013 study showed that 10th graders who volunteered in an after-school program lost more weight and had improved cholesterol profiles compared to their non-volunteering peers.
4. It can lower your risk of death. All those health boosts add up as you get older. In 2013, a study in the journal Psychology and Aging showed that volunteering reduced mortality risk in older adults by a quarter, even when the researchers accounted for how healthy they were before the study began.
5. It can release happy hormones. Many studies show that volunteers have lower rates of depression, higher levels of self-esteem, and greater functional ability than those who don't volunteer. In fact, one 2005 study showed that volunteers who gave social support experienced greater benefits than the people receiving their support. So what's going on? In the simplest form, when we give to others without expecting anything in return, our Brains Release Dopamine, serotonin, and other hormones that make you feel warm and tingly inside.
1. It can lower the health effects of stress. Whether it's a tough day at work or a conflict at home, even the most benevolent among us have some stress in their lives. Two national studies published in 2013 found that helping others can ease the impact that everyday stress has on your physical health.
2. It reduces the risk of drug abuse. In 2015, The Oxford Handbook of Prosocial Behavior published a literature review showing that teenagers and college students who volunteer tend to steer clear of alcohol and drugs, along with other "problem behaviors" like delinquency and dropping out of school.
3. It can lower your risk of cardiovascular disease. Volunteering is a sneaky way to get out of the house and step away from the screens for a bit. As a result, it could aid in weight loss and lower your cholesterol. A 2013 study showed that 10th graders who volunteered in an after-school program lost more weight and had improved cholesterol profiles compared to their non-volunteering peers.
4. It can lower your risk of death. All those health boosts add up as you get older. In 2013, a study in the journal Psychology and Aging showed that volunteering reduced mortality risk in older adults by a quarter, even when the researchers accounted for how healthy they were before the study began.
5. It can release happy hormones. Many studies show that volunteers have lower rates of depression, higher levels of self-esteem, and greater functional ability than those who don't volunteer. In fact, one 2005 study showed that volunteers who gave social support experienced greater benefits than the people receiving their support. So what's going on? In the simplest form, when we give to others without expecting anything in return, our Brains Release Dopamine, serotonin, and other hormones that make you feel warm and tingly inside.
