Doing Good is Good For Your Health
Your job is demanding. You want more time for your family. The holidays are almost here. You know you’re stressed. That’s when you need to take time to volunteer! Carving…
Your job is demanding. You want more time for your family. The holidays are almost here. You know you’re stressed. That’s when you need to take time to volunteer!
Carving out time to help others can bring your family closer together and give your mental health a boost.
Engaging in volunteer work as a family can be a life-changing experience. Whether it’s helping at a food bank, cleaning up a park, or organizing a donation drive, working side-by-side to serve others strengthens family bonds and fosters a sense of social responsibility in children.
Make it a Learning Experience
There are volunteer opportunities to support children’s curiosity and passion, from helping pick up litter in a park to helping feed or walk shelter pets. Whatever subjects they’re interested in, the environment, the arts, or animals, there’s an opportunity for charitable support.
Helping Others Can Improve Your Health
That warm and fuzzy feeling you get from helping others is lowering your stress and blood pressure levels. When you offer help to another person you receive a positive chemical response in return.
According to the Cleveland Clinic you are rewarding yourself with “feel good” chemicals such as:
- Dopamine, which gives you a sense of pleasure.
- Serotonin, which regulates your mood.
- Oxytocin, which creates a sense of connection with others.
Physical and mental health benefits associated with giving or serving can include:
- Lower blood pressure: good for your heart and cardiovascular system.
- Less stress: lowers your levels of cortisol, the stress hormone that can make you feel overwhelmed or anxious.
- A ‘helper’s high’: stimulates your brain’s reward center, while releasing endorphins that boost self-esteem, elevate happiness, and combat feelings of depression.
In a 2013 study, 100 high school students were divided into a group of volunteers and a group of non-volunteers. At the beginning of the study, both had equal body mass index (BMI) and cholesterol levels. After two months of helping out with after-school programs for younger children, the volunteer group ended up with lower LDL ("bad") cholesterol and a lower average BMI.
The secret to a longer, healthier life may be giving more of yourself. Studies show that people who volunteer are more likely to live longer than those who don’t. As Ohio Valley Goodwill Industries points out, giving of yourself encourages social connection, a way to join with like-minded people and bond while helping others in need. Giving fosters gratitude, too, which is known to boost a positive mental outlook and more satisfaction with life.
So do yourself a favor, look for ways to incorporate volunteerism or charity into your lifestyle, make it a family effort, and you’ll all be rewarded.
