Research shows that people who volunteer regularly have a lower mortality risk and better physical health as they age.
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Olga Rölenko/Getty Images
It’s that time of year when it’s customary to be a little kinder and do nice things for others. Well, here’s something interesting: Research suggests that when we make acts of kindness a habit, it’s also good for our health.
Whether it’s volunteering at a local food bank or bringing soup to a sick neighbor, there’s plenty of evidence that when we help others, it can improve our own happiness and well-being psychological. But there’s also growing research that it also improves our physical health, says Tara Gruenewaldsocial and health psychologist at Chapman University.
Most of the evidence comes from observational studies of people who volunteer regularly. But there is also experimental evidence. Perhaps the most striking comes from Baltimore Experience Corps Essaya large experiment in which adults aged 60 and over were randomly assigned to either volunteer in elementary schools or be put on a waiting list. Volunteers spent at least 15 hours a week giving lessons to underprivileged children. After two years, the researchers found that the volunteers showed measurable changes in their state of mind. brain health.
“They did not experience declines in memory and executive functions like we saw in our control participants,” says Gruenewald, one of the researchers involved in the trial. “And there was even changes in brain volume in the areas of the brain that support these different cognitive processes,” she says.
Volunteers were also more physically active, “which is important for maintaining cognitive and physical health as people age,” she explains.
Other research has shown that people who volunteer regularly have a lower risk of mortality and have better physical function as they age. “People are able to walk longer at older ages, have better balance, etc.,” explains Laura Koubzanski, professor of social and behavioral sciences at the Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health.
Kubzansky studies the interaction between physical and mental health. His research found that people who volunteer more and give more to charity have lower levels of physical pain.
She says researchers don’t yet know the exact mechanisms by which volunteering and acts of kindness improve people’s health, but it’s likely that multiple processes are at play.
For example, stress causes a cascade of reactions in your body that can raise blood pressure and ultimately lead to higher cholesterol levels and other changes that increase the risk of cardiovascular disease and other poor health outcomes. She says volunteering can help alleviate this stress response.
“Volunteering or doing an act of kindness can distract you from some of the problems you might be experiencing, so you might be a little less reactive yourself,” says Kubzansky. And “it can help you better understand what your own problems are.”
And when you get out to help others, it also makes you more physically active and less lonely. Social isolation is a known problem risk factor for physical and mental health issues, especially as we age.
“We know that better mental health is associated with better physical health,” she says.
Most research in this area has focused on middle-aged and older adults. There is less evidence on the health benefits of helping behaviors in young people, says Julia Bohmassociate professor of psychology at Chapman University who studies the social and psychological factors that influence child and adolescent health.
But a study that really stands out high school students involved who were randomly assigned to volunteer for 10 weeks with elementary school children. Compared to students in the trial who were placed on a waiting list, adolescent volunteers showed improvements in several markers of cardiovascular health.
“Students who participated in volunteer activities with younger students had healthier body mass index, healthier inflammatory markers, and healthier total cholesterol levels,” says Boehm. And students whose empathy and altruistic behaviors increased the most, and whose negative mood decreased the most, also showed the greatest decrease in cardiovascular risk over time.
Other research among adults has also linked regular participation in volunteering and more informal acts of kindness – such as helping a neighbor – to a lower risk of cardiovascular disease.
Given the results so far, Kubzansky says she would like to see health officials conduct research on the health benefits of volunteering and other acts of kindness. public health priority.
In the meantime, Gruenewald says we really can’t go wrong when we engage in behaviors aimed at helping others.
“At the very least, it will make the world a little better for many others. And we might just make it a little better for ourselves,” she says.
Edited by Jane Greenhalgh