Volunteering is good for the heart
If you volunteer for a hundred hours a year – that works out at two hours a week - will help reduce the risk of heart diseases, according to a new study at Guelph University in Canada. Psychologically, volunteering is known to give you the feel good factor, releasing chemicals which are produced from the feeling of doing good work. But now it’s been proven that volunteering is also beneficial to your physical health as well as your psychology.
This particular study was undertaken to examine the effects of volunteering on people aged 55 years or older over a period of two years, and the comparisons showed that the volunteers’ body mass, heart rate and blood glucose levels were notably lower than their non-volunteering counterparts. They also felt considerably more satisfied with their general well-being and felt like they had a sense of purpose when they did their charitable work.
Interestingly, the study also noted the healing properties of volunteering amongst those who have had heart attacks and other serious illnesses. “The volunteering both gives them a sense of purpose of meaning and contributes to the maintenance of their health following this event that’s occurred to them,” said Dr. Benjamin Gottlieb, who led the study. The mental boost is also linked to giving heart attack sufferers a reduced mortality rate, which is undoubtedly great news. The NHS even recommends volunteering as a great way to maintain your health, stating that it improves life expectancy and can even reduce and/or eliminate certain addictions. One study even showed that university students who volunteered drank far less than those who didn’t, and gives the volunteer a generally more positive outlook on life. Therefore it’s unsurprising that it’s a great way to combat depression too – one of the key symptoms of depression is isolating yourself, and as usually you’re involved in some kind of team when you volunteer, the group work significantly reduces your potential to fall into depression.
In terms of social benefits, the findings are just as astounding. Volunteering has been known to improve your family relationships, social lives (as you’re meeting many people from different backgrounds), and this’ll inevitably help you improve and develop your own communication with others, depending on the situations and the people who are involved in your volunteering placement. And then there’s the added bonus of volunteering looking appealing to employers – your versatility in social situations can be easily demonstrated through your volunteering as you’re really getting into the heart of a community.
Of course, the job benefits are obvious, and it’s a well-known fact that employers really treasure individuals with a passion for helping others – and now you can treasure the health benefits for yourself.
