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Health & Fitness

Helping Your Neighbor Can Be Good for Your Health

One day as I was shoveling snow, I saw the man across the street using his snow blower - not just for his own sidewalk - but also for his neighbors....

     Like most of Illinois, Naperville has had its fair share of snow this winter! 

     One day as I was shoveling, I saw the man across the street using his snow blower - not just for his own sidewalk – but also for his neighbors, a young family whose husband was out of town.  Then I noticed someone else had cleared the sidewalk for the divorced mom next door.  I thought how happy she would be when she returned home and saw the snow cleared.

    To many of us who love the snow, it’s fun to shovel and clear the walks.  But to others, it seems like a burden.  However, when we clear the snow for our neighbors, the work does not feel like a chore because we are doing something beneficial for someone else.  It makes us feel good.  This has been called the “Good Samaritan effect.”

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     Jesus identified loving our neighbor as key to life with a story about a man robbed and beaten by thieves.  Although two respected people saw the man’s need, they did not stop to help.  But a Samaritan stopped and cared for the man with considerable expense to himself.  The moral of the story was the impact on oneself of helping others.

    Researchers have found that when someone performs an act of kindness, they not only feel good about themselves, they also get a health benefit.  In his book, Medicine and Meaning, Dr. Larry Dossey wrote, “Altruism behaves like a miracle drug….It has beneficial effects on the person doing the helping…it benefits the person to whom the help is directed; and it can stimulate healthy responses in persons at a distance who may view it only obliquely.”   

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     Dr. Stephen Post, professor of preventive medicine at Stony Brook University says that helping a neighbor, volunteering, or donating goods and services results in a ‘helper’s high’ that can lower stress and help you live a longer, happier life.”  He wrote, “Whether we are looking at studies of older adults, middle-aged women, or preteens, we see that altruistic behavior casts a halo effect over people’s lives, giving them greater longevity, lower rates of heart disease, and better mental health.  We prosper – physically, mentally, emotionally – under the canopy of positive emotions that arise through the simple act of giving.”

     Chemist David R. Hamilton, PhD, left his career developing cardiac and cancer drugs to research the health benefits of kindness.  He wrote, “Being kind to each other is part of who we are, both on a spiritual level and also on a genetic level.  ‘Survival of the fittest’ has been misinterpreted for years as the fastest, strongest and most courageous.  But the fittest is actually he or she who is better able to help others and to cooperate for the greater good.  And we see the effects of this wiring today:  Kindness is good for our health.”

     He continued, “It boosts the immune system; it impacts the brain in multiple ways, leading to positive feeling and closeness to others; it impacts the cardiovascular system, protecting us from the seeds of heart disease; and it even relaxes the nervous system.”

     The Taskforce for Humanity Coalition recently reported on a ten-year study of the health, social and physical activities of 2700 men in Tecumseh, Michigan.  This study found that men who volunteered had death rates two and one-half times lower than those who did not volunteer.

    Scientific research is finding convincing evidence that being kind doesn’t just make the world a better place, it also offers significant health benefits, both physically and mentally.  So let it snow!  Grab your shovel!  The random acts of kindness you perform can bring you (and others) a happier, healthier and longer life.

Thomas (Tim) Mitchinson is a self-syndicated columnist and media representative for Christian Science in Illinois

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