Viva le Volunteer!

If you’re a volunteer, you’ve no doubt noticed just how many older folk (and we’re talking mid-eighties and up) actually hold your organisation together and keep it running. You’ve probably also picked up on the fact that whenever someone of significant age is featured in the media, they inevitably attribute their longevity to still being able to ‘help others’. As it turns out, they’re right! Volunteering, it would seem, really does count when it comes to aging well and living longer, and the reasons are many.

Crunching the calories

Keeping the weight off is no mean feat as we age. Muscle reduction sees us burning fewer calories when in repose and, consequently, storing the excess as fat. It’s difficult, however, to avoid moving about when you’re busy volunteering, and even though you may be on ‘light duties’, the sheer number of hours you are active means you’re burning off those carbs. One US study found that volunteers in a primary school setting who were working just 15 hours a week, doubled the number of calories they burned over a year. With obesity contributing to a wide range of serious health problems, what better reason have you got to start volunteering.

De-stressing

Excess stress is associated with anxiety, depression, irritability, lack of sleep and obesity (as well as other ailments that can shorten our lives), and it’s a difficult area of our lives to change. One way to help send it packing, however, is to volunteer. Whenever we engage with others in positive ways, when we share experiences and give and receive compliments and encouragement, we feel good about ourselves and the world, and become less focused on the unavoidable stresses of everyday life. The ATM that just swallowed our bank card, the misunderstanding with our partner, and the failure of that online magazine subscription to turn up in our inbox just don’t hold the same degree of concern any more. We realise there are bigger fish to fry, and at least some of our stress simply melts away.

Loneliness is bad for you

It’s said that loneliness and social isolation are epidemics; that they’re a danger to our health, and that they disproportionately affect the older age group. Some countries even report that over 40% of their population feels lonely! Conversely, interacting with others on a regular basis improves brain function and mental health in general. On a physiological level, it improves our immunity. In a global age, we don’t all have family living close by, and often our closest friends are out of town, travelling, for weeks or months at a time. One way we can always be sure of company, however, is to volunteer. We may not always find ourselves working beside someone who is 100% like-minded, but we’ll still be engaging with them in a meaningful way.

Say ‘yes’, live longer

If you’re still wondering if volunteering can contribute to longevity, a 2005 US study (Brown et al) may well convince you. It found lower rates of death amongst older adults involved in providing social support than a similar sample who were not. The study took into account a range of factors from economic status to age and ethnicity. This, along with research from a number of other sources, really does suggest that when we choose to help others, we also help ourselves.