Adding to a growing body of evidence suggesting that volunteering may benefit mental health and longevity, Suzanne H Richards, from the University of Exeter Medical School (United Kingdom), and colleagues analyzed data from 40 published papers and found that volunteers were at a 20% lower risk of death, as compared to non-volunteers. Further, volunteers had lower levels of depression, increased life satisfaction and enhanced well-being. The study authors write that: “Observational evidence suggested that volunteering may benefit mental health and survival.”
Volunteering Boosts Happiness
Caroline E Jenkinson, Andy P Dickens, Kerry Jones, Jo Thompson-Coon, Rod S Taylor, Suzanne H Richards, et al. “Is volunteering a public health intervention? A systematic review and meta-analysis of the health and survival of volunteers.” BMC Public Health 2013, 13:773; 23 August 2013.
