Volunteering turns back the clock

Every Wednesday, for a few hours, I volunteer at a local charity that provides hot meals for those in need.  I make coffee, pour milk and juice, serve desserts, bus tables, scrape plates, do kitchen prep.  When I arrive for my shift, I’m preoccupied with some stressful something – a kid with a cough that won’t go away, a deadline, a chore that needs doing, a work “situation.”  Then, magically, gloriously, four hours later, I feel great.  Great with a capital G:  Buoyant, cheerful, calm and centered but full of energy, brimming with energy.  I want to say “joyful,” but I know how over-the-top that sounds. I’ll say it anyway:  joyful.

 When people find out I do this volunteer work, they say:  How good of you to do this, how selfless of you to donate your time.  And when I reply that the work seems almost entirely selfish because I get so much more than I give, they think I’m playing humble (not generally a problem for me) or being a Pollyanna (not ever a problem for me).  No.  I am being utterly truthful.  My stint at Food for Lane County is, invariably, the best part of my week.  Yes, that’s right:  the BEST.  When I leave I feel deep-down, soul-satisfyingly healthy – emotionally, spiritually, psychologically and PHYSICALLY healthy.

That volunteering makes people feel useful and boosts their self-esteem is old (but still good) news.  Now there is scientific proof to back me up about the physical benefits I seem to derive:  It turns out that volunteering is good for your health.  It turns out that volunteering is a powerful anti-aging strategy.  Several recent studies have found evidence that those who volunteer live longer than their non-philanthropic counterparts. A 2013 study in the journal Psychology and Aging found that 50+ adults who volunteers about 4 hours a week (like I do) were 40 percent less likely to develop high blood pressure 4 years later.

Other studies are finding fewer health complaints, higher functional ability, less depression and anxiety, and less incidence of heart disease among volunteers than among matched sets of non-volunteers.  The booklet, “The Health Benefits of Volunteering: A Review of Recent Research,” is full of such happy news.  The research reviewed in the booklet focus on mid-life and older people – with health benefits increasing the older one gets – but I also found a study in which high school kids saw a drop in their cholesterol levels after volunteering with younger children once a week for 2 months.  So you are never too old – or too young – to volunteer.

It’s noon now, and my volunteer shift begins in 45 minutes.  I feel healthier (mind, body, soul) already.