Just Exactly How Does Volunteering Work to Improve Health?
by Hilary Justice, CVA
February 25, 2025
In my last blog post I covered the recent NPR article, “When kindness becomes a habit, it improves our health.” The article details a wealth of benefits that can be experienced as a result of selfless service to others. But just how does that happen?
Professor Laura Kubzansky at Harvard’s School of Public Health says the mechanisms of action linking volunteering and acts of kindness to health improvement isn’t really known, but it’s suspected to result from multiple processes. She cites the negative consequences of stress on the body, from blood pressure, high cholesterol and others, that increase risk of cardiovascular disease and poor health. She asserts volunteering may help to “buffer that stress response.”
“Volunteering or doing an act of kindness can distract you from some of the problems you might be having, so you might be a little bit less reactive yourself. It may help to give you more perspective on what your own problems are,” she said.
Other reasons why health seems to improve when one volunteers is that it gets people physically moving and less lonely. Social isolation, a big part of what our volunteers at Neighborly help to reduce, is a known risk factor for physical and mental health problems as we age, the article says.
While most of the research on volunteerism benefits is focused on middle and older adults, there are new studies coming out which demonstrate health improvements in younger generations. The cardiovascular improvements, among others, of high school students who volunteered with elementary school kids was the focus of one new study. You may recall in a previous blog post, I mentioned volunteering teens have better grades, too! That will certainly make their parents happy!
Volunteering doesn’t need to be formal, either, for one to experience benefits. Even helping a neighbor, commonly known as “informal volunteering”, has been shown to lower cardiovascular disease risk!
Neighborly’s Meals on Wheels or Medical Transportation opportunities strike the perfect balance between formal and informal volunteering. We provide a thorough orientation and training and ensure you have the tools you need to be successful while serving seniors. With schedule flexibility weekly, bi-weekly or monthly, we work with volunteers’ schedules.
Impact: check! Flexibility: check! That good feeling that results from knowing you made a big difference in the life of a lonely senior: check check! Click here and get started today.
At Neighborly, Caring is at the Center of All We Do.
