Although volunteering has long been touted for
its social responsibility and psychological benefits,
it appears to also have some health benefits.
Helping others simply feels good, providing a sense of
purpose and well-being. That in itself can be energizing
and spiritually fulfilling, helping to reduce stress
and possibly boosting the immune system, say some
researchers. <br>But two new studies show that these benefits
may be strongest among retirees, and one speculates
that volunteering may even help seniors live longer.
<br><br>At the Institute for Social Research at the
University of Michigan, researchers found that retirees who
volunteered about 40 hours per year had a 30 percent reduced
risk of dying during a seven-year follow-up period
compared with other retirees who didn't volunteer. In
addition, retirees who volunteered for one organization --
regardless of the number of hours -- the reduced risk was
about 40 percent. <br><br>That study, involving 1,211
people who were 65 and older and published in a recent
issue of the Journal of Gerontology: Social Sciences,
showed that the most benefit came from modest
participation in volunteering. "Because of age, these people
may be experiencing health declines and physical
limitations," says Marc Musick, Ph.D., principal author of the
study and now an assistant professor of sociology at
the University of Texas at Austin. "If you take on
too much volunteering, there may be certain stresses
incurred that could offset those positive effects."
<br><br>Meanwhile, another study by Cornell University researchers
found that retirees who volunteered or participated in
community organizations reported feeling happier, more
energetic and have a greater sense of "mastery" over their
lives than other retirees who aren't active in their
community. That study, which involved 762 retirees between
ages 50 and 72, was presented before the American
Sociological Association in Chicago this summer.
<br><br>Although previous studies have shown that volunteering
tends to make most people feel better -- at least about
themselves -- these two studies indicate that perhaps
retirees may reap the most advantages of staying active.
<br><br>"Later in life, volunteering takes on a very special
role," says Dr. Musick. "Whereas for younger adults,
working, taking care of children, those kinds of things
are very important to them in their lives and
volunteering may not be as important. Volunteering may be
helpful to them, but these other things are so pivotal in
people's lives that they may be overriding anything that
volunteering could do." <br><br>Volunteering activities that
involve working with others has the biggest positive
impact on these seniors, says Phyllis Moen, Ph.D., a
professor of human development and sociology involved in
the Cornell study. "The thing we found most related
to health was formal community participation," she
says. "These things gave people a sense of personal
mastery, self-esteem, satisfaction with life and a higher
energy level. It also was related to a sense of lower
depression." <br><br>In the Cornell survey, the benefits
appeared greater for retirees, not older workers. That's
because people with a job already have a sense of
identification and well-being, says Dr. Moen. Because many
retirees often feel cast aside and feel adrift, regular
volunteering gives a sense of purpose and satisfaction.
<br><br>Jaak Panksepp, Ph.D., a distinguished professor of
psychology at Bowling Green State University in Ohio, has
done research on the effects of social interaction on
brain chemicals in laboratory mice. He found that
social interaction similar to volunteering activates the
production of neurochemicals associated with feeling good.
In theory, the same may be happening in humans who
volunteer. However, Dr. Panksepp is cautious about
extrapolating those findings and believes that more research
needs to be done in this area.
<br><a href=http://www.delphi.com/medical/messages/?msg=13975