Helping Others Can Result in Living Longer
Giving or helping others can be the best medicine for depression! A 2008 study by Harvard professor Michael Norton found that giving money to others made the study participants happier than if they spent the money on themselves. In another study Jorge Moll at the National Institute of Health reports that giving and helping others actually activates regions of the brain associated with pleasure. There has been much research done with seniors and the positive health affects of giving to others especially those suffering from a critical illness. A study conducted at the University of California found that elderly people who volunteered for two or more organizations were 44% less likely to die over a five year period than their non-volunteering counterparts. One reason given for this result was that the acts of giving and donating reduce stress thereby improving or even lowering blood pressure.
