Doing good, feeling good
By Joseph Derr
The Rotarian
Want to improve your health? Try volunteering.
Common sense tells us that helping others is the right thing to do. It’s how we live with dignity. It underlies the golden rule and Service Above Self.
But what does science have to say about service? Giving back is good for society, yes, but it’s also good for us, according to researchers. Being generous may be linked to improved health, enhanced quality of life, and longer life expectancy, says Stephen Post, a professor of bioethics at the School of Medicine at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland.
“If you want to be fulfilled in your life and your health, give,” he says.
Post and writer Jill Neimark have compiled years of research in their 2007 book, Why Good Things Happen to Good People. As president of the Institute for Research on Unlimited Love, Post has studied everything from stress levels of teenagers to the brainwaves of Buddhist monks. The research suggests that nature may reward us for being generous.
But some are skeptical about the reported medical benefits. “Does charitable volunteering pay back by extending one’s life and physical well-being? I doubt it,” says Pierre J. Fisher, a retired physician and member of the Rotary Club of Charlotte Harbor, Fla., USA. “Does charitable volunteering give one a good feeling and psychological boost? Certainly.”
Weighing the evidence
Researchers have long studied the connection between giving and good health. Allan Luks, executive director of Big Brothers Big Sisters of New York City, first described what he called the “helper’s high” in 1988, referring to the chemical surge that travels through our bodies when we’re helping someone. A mix of serotonin, dopamine, and other substances, it’s part of the normal physical reaction that causes our heartbeats to increase, our eyes to well up, and a warm glow to come over us.
But to others, there’s more at work. In their book, Post and Neimark compile numerous studies outlining how generous behavior – from philanthropy to volunteering to other acts of kindness – is associated with physical and psychological results that are just as powerful for the giver as the receiver. One of these benefits could be a longer life.
A five-year study of 2,000 people over age 55 conducted at the University of California, Berkeley, found that those who volunteered for two or more organizations were 44 percent less likely to die during the study period compared with those who didn’t volunteer. The only other activity more strongly correlated with lower mortality during that five-year period was smoking cessation. A sociologist at the University of Texas at Austin studied active volunteers over age 65 during the course of eight years and found that the group had a lower mortality rate during that period than those who did no volunteer work. Both studies controlled for participants’ baseline health.
Post isn’t the only one talking about this type of research. In a 2007 report, the U.S.-based Corporation for National and Community Service cites a study of adults over age 70. Those who volunteered at least 100 hours in 1993 had lower levels of depression and mortality in 2000 than those who didn’t volunteer.
Feeling the benefits
Though she doesn’t follow the research, Eileen Gentilcore, a retired school administrator and a member of the Rotary Club of Syosset-Woodbury, N.Y., USA, is convinced that volunteering through Rotary has provided health advantages.
“When I decided not to retire but to accept Rotary volunteering as my new full-time job, it was a fantastic decision,” says Gentilcore, a past district governor. “My active lifestyle has allowed me to brush away aches and pains. When I’m doing a good deed, I feel fully alive and don’t even think about myself, except that I’m rich in life.”
Mick Schaible, of the Rotary Club of Flemington, N.J., USA, agrees that the emotional high of volunteering spills over into general health. During travels to an ongoing water project in Ecuador, he feels an inner sense of peace, he says.
“It’s provided the greatest improvement in my overall health,” explains Schaible. “The smiles of the children of the village and the fellowship of my Rotarian partners have improved my spiritual and emotional health beyond measure.”
A taste of their own medicine
Some Rotarian physicians who are familiar with the research say they’ve seen similar positive results in themselves and their patients. Dr. Atmaram S. Gawande, of the Rotary Club of Athens, Ohio, USA, prescribed volunteering to a patient who was lonely and depressed.
“Now he feels wanted, helpful, and upbeat toward his life,” says Gawande. “He only wishes he had discovered the joy of volunteering earlier.”
He’s not the only one to think about including service in treatment. In San Francisco, Adam Hirschfelder, a philanthropy expert, launched and directed a Public Health Institute initiative called Rx:Volunteer, which encourages doctors to recommend volunteering to older adults as part of an overall health plan.
As an active Rotarian involved in several water and health projects in his native India, Gawande says volunteering has kept his mind off the chronic gastric pain he suffers: “I have noticed that I don’t need to take medicine for my gastric trouble, and I feel no pain.”
Wayne Spiggle, a physician and member of the Rotary Club of Keyser, W.Va., USA, also likes to give himself a taste of his own medicine.
“Altruism practiced with a positive attitude is a healing force in all people’s lives,” he says. “I often prescribe volunteer work for my patients and friends – and for me.”
Spiggle works with his club on projects in Malawi addressing issues related to AIDS, education, and self-sustaining agriculture.
Think of it as a bonus
Though some are skeptical about the direct physical benefits of service, many see giving back as good for us psychologically.
Rotarian Mel Simon knows volunteering makes him feel good. A physician and past district governor, he has helped out on a Matching Grant project that provides nutritious meals for schoolchildren in Mandaluyong, Philippines.
“Doing good deeds, I believe, provides a lot of mental satisfaction,” says Simon, of the Rotary Club of Gallipolis, Ohio. “Whatever good physical effects that come with it are a bonus.”
Post agrees that givers should think of volunteering in that way. “It’s an extra, like a vitamin pill you keep in your back pocket,” he says. “In general, if you live this kind of life, you’ll be more fulfilled, less depressed, less ill, and probably live a little longer.”
Bob Chagrasulis, a doctor from the Rotary Club of Calais, Maine, USA, has volunteered on projects in the Dominican Republic, where he has led teams of physicians.
“My work days in the Dominican Republic tend to be difficult physically, but the end of the day always brings personal satisfaction and calm. This can easily be thought of as improved mental health,” he says. “Has my [overall] health improved, or the health of my team members? There are no simple tests we can use to answer this question, but my personal feeling is yes. After all, our own candle is not diminished by lighting another’s.”
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