Why Helping Others Helps with Your Own Health

Helping others can have a number of positive benefits, but there is definitely a caveat to 
it. As the somewhat recently developed saying goes, you still need to remember to "put 
on your own oxygen mask first." While good self-care is definitely important, a vital 
component of good self-care will always be to help others. Here are 4 ways in which 
helping others helps with your own health. 

1. It Can Help You Live Longer

Research has shown that people who participate in volunteer efforts of some kind show 
an increase in their ability to manage stress, a decrease in the rate of depression and 
are even a lowered risk of serious disease. This may have to do with an increased 
sense of overall life satisfaction due to participating in something they feel to be 
important, as well as the strong community ties that many volunteers develop. These 
ties help to stave off loneliness, which has been shown to be a major factor in 
depression and can even weaken the immune system. 

2. It Lowers Your Blood Pressure

While a healthy diet and exercise can go a long way towards reducing blood pressure, 
so can volunteering. One study found that elderly individuals who volunteer for as little 
as 200 hours a year (or roughly 4 hours per week) showed a whopping 40% decrease 
in hypertension. This most likely ties back into the same causes of better longevity: that 
helping others helps you develop deeper ties to a community which helps stave off the 
loneliness that can cause a number of resulting health issues. 

3. You Can Boost Your Mood

Mental health issues such as chronic depression can result in a number of health 
issues. Helping others, however, has been shown to have a significant impact on the 
overall sense of well-being or "happiness" of individuals who regularly participate in 
some kind of volunteer efforts. Research is also pointing to biology itself rewarding us 
for good behavior by releasing a number of mood-boosting neurotransmitters every time 
we engage in some act of altruism. 

4. You Are Able to Reduce Pain

In one study of individuals suffering from chronic pain, it was found that they actually 
experienced a reduction in their own pain when they helped their peers who also 
suffered from chronic pain. Even if you don't suffer from chronic pain, focusing on the 
needs of others can still help take your mind off what does ail you. 

Helping others doesn't always necessarily have to happen through volunteering. Even 
individuals have found that doing something as simple as paying for the drink of the 
person behind you at the coffee bar can have a profound impact on your emotional well-
being. Simply looking for opportunities to practice random acts of kindness can offer a 
significant boost to your overall health.

