Like chicken soup, service is good for the body and soul

Here I am planning to do daily service for others for a year, but in truth there are many mental and physical health benefits to be gained by embarking on this 365 day journey. Just look at some study results and facts:

---"Giving a donation or volunteering in a food bank tweaks the same pleasure source that lights up when we eat or have sex," said Stephen G. Post, quoted in More magazine (March 2009)
---Several studies have shown that teens who volunteer are more likely to make healthier life choices and less likely to engage in risky behaviors.
---A University of California at Berkeley study found that volunteering is associated with big reductions in mortality.
---A 2005 Stanford University study found that frequent voluntereing was strongly linked with later mortality in over 7,500 Americans over age 70 who lived in elderly communities.
---The same study, called the Longintudinal Study of Aging, found that volunteering was a powerful protector of mental and physical health, and that people who volunteered most often gained the most protection.
---A 1992 University of Michigan survey of 3,617 older people found that hleping others lowers depression. (This and the above 3 facts are mentioned in "Why Good Things Happen to Good People" by Stephen Post and Jill Neimark)
---Americans Changing Lives, a National Institute of Aging study that followed 3,600 people from 1986 to 2006, found that people of all ages who engaged in community service were "happier and experienced better physical health and less depression." (According to study leader Peggy Thoits, PhD, quoted in More magazine, March 2009).

So if I'm not getting enough sleep (guilty!) and not always eating well or exercising enough (guilty again!), at least I can feel like I'm doing something good for my health by volunteering :-)

--RK