“Help your neighbour, you would help yourself”, this adage seems to have been validated by British researchers, according to the results of a study published in the medical journal BMJ Open. They reveal that volunteering brings to the elderly, mental well-being and better health. In question, the benefits of human contact on mental and physical balance.
Researchers from the University of Southampton and the University of Birmingham in the UK analyzed medical data from 66,343 (47% male) individuals from the British Household Panel Survey, a study that asks about social habits and public health.
Each participant answered 12 questions focusing on well-being, happiness, distress and depression. These results were highlighted with the voluntary activity of the participants.
Helping others leads to aging in better physical and mental health
The researchers found that the majority of participants (80%) were not engaged in voluntary activities and 25% of people aged 60 to 74 practice them, while only 17% of young people aged 15 to 29 are involved. to donate time to charities.
Finally, the scientists found that women are more inclined than men to practice voluntary actions (22% against 19%).
While the well-being and physical health of participants decline with advancing age, the study showed that this link was not so strong for those who devote time to helping others. Thus, the “volunteers” obtain better scores in the well-being test.
This study confirms the results of a study published by researchers from the University of Exeter Medical School in the United Kingdom which revealed that volunteering made people happier and also increased their life expectancy.
Read also:
Volunteering would make you happier
Volunteering protects against dementia
The dog, a health remedy for seniors?