Holiday shopping and giving can be overwhelming, but research shows that the benefit far outweighs the time and monetary costs … and not just for the recipient but also for the givers’ health & happiness, as well as the strength of communities.

Of course, you don’t need to shop to reap the benefits of giving.  Research suggests that you get the same benefits from donating to charities, or volunteering your time.

Here are some ways that giving is good for you and for your community:

1) Giving makes us feel happy.

A 2008 study by Harvard Business School found that giving money to someone else lifted the givers’ happiness more than spending it on themselves.  Happiness expert, Sonja Lyubomirsky, saw similar results when she asked people to perform 5 acts of kindness each week, for six weeks.

The good feeling is reflected in our biology.  A 2006 study by the National Institute of Health found that when people give to charities, it activates regions of the brain associated with pleasure and social connection, creating a “warm glow” effect.  Scientists also believe that altruistic behavior releases endorphins in the brain, producing a positive feeling called “helper’s high”.

2) Giving is good for our health.

A wide range of research has linked different forms of generosity to better health, even among the sick and elderly.  Preventative medicine professor, Stephen Post, reports that giving to others has been shown to increase health benefits to people with chronic illnesses, including HIV and multiple sclerosis.

A University of California-Berkeley study in 1999 found that elderly people that volunteered to 2 or more organizations were 44 percent less likely to die over a five-year period than were non-volunteers, even after controlling for their age, exercise habits, general health, and negative health habits like smoking.

A 2003 study found similar results in elderly couples. They found that individuals that gave practical help to friends, relatives, or neighbours, or gave emotional support to their spouse, had a lower risk of dying over a five-year period than those who didn’t.

One reason researchers suggest that giving may improve health and longevity is that it helps decrease stress and lowers blood pressure, which is associated with a variety of health problems.

3) Giving promotes cooperation & social connection.

When you give, you are more likely to get back.  Several studies have suggested that when you give to others, your generosity is likely to be rewarded by others down the line.  These exchanges promote a sense of trust and cooperation that strengthens our ties to others, which research has shown is central to good mental and physical health.

Researcher John Cacioppo writes, “The more extensive the reciprocal altruism born of social connection … the greater the advance toward health, wealth, and happiness”.

4) Giving is contagious.

When we give, it doesn’t only help the immediate recipient of our gift.  We also create a ripple effect of generosity through our community.

A joint study by Harvard and the University of California – San Diego shows that when one person behaves generously, it inspires observers to later behave with generosity.  Interestingly, researchers found that altruism could spread by three degrees — from person to person to person to person.  “As a result, each person in a network can influence dozens or even hundreds of people, some of whom he or she does not know and has not met”.

Giving has also been linked to the release of oxytocin, a hormone that induces feelings of warmth, euphoria, and connection to others.  The “oxytocin high” can potentially jumpstart a “virtuous circle, where one person’s generous behaviour triggers another’s”, says Paul Zak of Claremont Graduate University.

So, whether you buy gifts, volunteer your time, or donate money to charity this holiday season, your giving is much more than just a year-end chore.  It may help you build stronger social connections and even jumpstart a cascade of generosity throughout your community.

And don’t be surprised if you find yourself benefiting from a big dose of happiness in the process.

 

Based on an article in Greater Good Magazine.