Your Health

Get a ‘helper’s high’ and reap the benefits of volunteering
All across America, retired adults are building Habitat for Humanity homes, high school students are feeding the homeless, corporate employees are cleaning up neighborhoods, and fraternalists are hosting fund-raisers for worthy causes. As members of Royal Neighbors, we know that volunteering makes us feel good. And now there is scientific proof of what we’ve known all along!

Not only does volunteering make a profound difference in the lives of those on the receiving end, it also provides benefits to the volunteers. Exactly what do they get for their efforts? They get a “helper’s high.” According to Allan Luks and Peggy Payne who wrote “The Healing Power of Doing Good,” a “helper’s high” is a feeling of exhilaration and a burst of energy similar to that experienced after intense exercise, followed by a period of calmness and serenity.

In addition to the good feelings experienced during the actual volunteer activity, many volunteers report that the health benefits return when they remember their acts of kindness.

This feeling has a number of positive effects on the body’s physical and mental health. It provides an overall sense of well-being that leads to lower premature death rates, alleviation of chronic pain, less heart disease, reduced blood pressure, and fewer health risk factors.

A volunteer’s pleasurable physical sense and calmness is the opposite of the body’s agitated condition under stress, in which the heart pumps harder, breathing is faster, and the body is more sensitive to pain.

Increased energy and highs from volunteer activities may result from the release of endorphins, the body’s natural pain-reducing chemicals. Harvard cardiologist, Herbert Benson, says, “The health benefits of doing good things for others are similar to those experienced by anyone who practices yoga, spirituality, and meditation, namely, slowing down the heart rate and a decrease in blood pressure.”


Studies have shown that volunteering can play a role in increasing your overall sense of well-being, alleviating chronic pain, and even reducing depression.

Volunteerism, with its increased social interaction, improves self-esteem, increases life satisfaction, and combats isolation, all of which result in better mental health. According to family practioner, Dr. Jill Schneiderhan of Providence Hospital, Southfield, MI, “There is a mental health component to about 60-70% of the office visits I have. When I address depression or anxiety, I recommend that my patients engage in the community, interact with others, and build relationships. And volunteering is a good place to start.”


Some experts say that having strong social relationships may be just as important to your health as avoiding the risks of smoking, physical inactivity, and high blood pressure. So join with your Royal Neighbors chapter and volunteer in your community!


Evelynrose Alexander of the Tacoma, WA, chapter, agrees that volunteerism is good for your health. “Volunteering keeps you involved. It keeps you going and mentally alert,” she said. “Through the years, our Royal Neighbors chapter has helped feed the homeless, contributed to the food bank, cleaned the library grounds, and so much more. By giving our time to others, we not only grow as fraternalists, but as compassionate human beings as well.”

Because volunteering can be so good for your body and mind, remember:

73% of employers would employ a candidate with volunteering experience over one without.