Previously, I posted a blog entry entitled Health Benefits of Volunteering.
In that blog entry, I referenced several quotations re the healthy aspect of volunteering.
One of those quotations was: Medical and scientific documentation supports that volunteering results in a heightened sense of well being, improves insomnia, strengthens the immune system, and hastens surgery recovery time. (The Healing Power of Doing Good, Allan Luks & Peggy Payne)
I received two comments from Peggy Payne who was one of the authors of the book noted above.
I found this Book Description on Amazon that caused me to do some additional research on both the author and the book.
"Conventional wisdom has always held that when we help others, some of the good we do flows back to us. That satisfaction has always been thought to be largely emotional, feeling good when you do good. Now important, widely discussed research shows that helping others regularly produces significant health benefits as well. In fact, it has effects similar to those many of us experience when we exercise.
It is almost impossible to read this book without wanting to do good. Both for those who are already volunteering and for those who are considering it, this valuable personal guide tells you how to choose an activity that's right for you, how to maximize the health benefits, and how to overcome the main obstacle to getting started: lack of time.
The Healing Power of Doing Good reaffirms and explains that when we care for others we care for ourselves. It is an important book for those suffering from chronic health problems as well as the health conscious, anyone interested in how our mind affects our body, and people in the helping professions. And it reminds us that never has there been such a need for caring as there is today."
This book is worth your time to read it.
The Boomer Blogger
Monday, May 19, 2008
Saturday, May 17, 2008
"as he thinks within himself, so he is" (Prov 23:7)
I am a "Seasoned Believer"
I am also part of the "Silent Generation"
Many of us know what do to.
We want our time to be our own and to live in freedom.
We know we should look for opportunities,
take the most promising ones and move forward.
If we want different results in our lives, we focus on change. The problem is that we do not change ourselves or our mindset.
We focus on the negative by giving into fear - fear that we will fail- and so it becomes self-fulfilling.
It is important to understand that which we think about we will become.
It is a conscious decision to accept the mindset of expansion, and it takes effort.
GOD AIN'T THRU WITH US YET......LET'S REFIRE
Whatever we think, we become
The Boomer Blogger
I am also part of the "Silent Generation"
Many of us know what do to.
We want our time to be our own and to live in freedom.
We know we should look for opportunities,
take the most promising ones and move forward.
If we want different results in our lives, we focus on change. The problem is that we do not change ourselves or our mindset.
We focus on the negative by giving into fear - fear that we will fail- and so it becomes self-fulfilling.
It is important to understand that which we think about we will become.
It is a conscious decision to accept the mindset of expansion, and it takes effort.
GOD AIN'T THRU WITH US YET......LET'S REFIRE
Whatever we think, we become
The Boomer Blogger
Health Benefits of Volunteering
“People who do volunteer work are much less likely to suffer illness. The close interpersonal relationships and community involvement that occur with volunteer service are tailor-made to enhance the healing process.”
—The Healing Power of Service by Edward V. Brown
Volunteering helps to rebuild communities and solve serious social problems. And, according to research, it can also improve your physical and mental health!
Volunteer work improves the well being of individual volunteers because it enhances social support networks. People with strong social support networks have lower premature death rates, less heart disease, and fewer health risk factors. (Fact Sheet: Volunteering as a Vehicle for Social Support and Life Satisfaction, Public Health Agency of Canada)
Volunteering can improve self-esteem, reduce heart rates and blood pressure, increase endorphin production, enhance immune systems, buffer the impact of stress, and combat social isolation. (Research Summary: Graff, L. (1991). Volunteer for the Health of It, Etobicoke, Ontario: Volunteer Ontario.)
Volunteering lowers the risk of physical ill health because it boosts the social psychological factors that healthy people have. (The Effects of Volunteering on the Volunteer, John Wilson and Marc Musik, 62 Law & Contemp. Probs., Autumn 1999)
Medical and scientific documentation supports that volunteering results in a heightened sense of well being, improves insomnia, strengthens the immune system, and hastens surgery recovery time. (The Healing Power of Doing Good, Allan Luks & Peggy Payne)
Volunteering puts people into highly social situations, increasing the opportunity for close interpersonal relationships and strengthening a sense of identity. (Peer Counseling Perspectives, April 2003 Survival News, Mary Lynn Hemphill, “Volunteer For Your Health”)
The Boomer Blogger
—The Healing Power of Service by Edward V. Brown
Volunteering helps to rebuild communities and solve serious social problems. And, according to research, it can also improve your physical and mental health!
Volunteer work improves the well being of individual volunteers because it enhances social support networks. People with strong social support networks have lower premature death rates, less heart disease, and fewer health risk factors. (Fact Sheet: Volunteering as a Vehicle for Social Support and Life Satisfaction, Public Health Agency of Canada)
Volunteering can improve self-esteem, reduce heart rates and blood pressure, increase endorphin production, enhance immune systems, buffer the impact of stress, and combat social isolation. (Research Summary: Graff, L. (1991). Volunteer for the Health of It, Etobicoke, Ontario: Volunteer Ontario.)
Volunteering lowers the risk of physical ill health because it boosts the social psychological factors that healthy people have. (The Effects of Volunteering on the Volunteer, John Wilson and Marc Musik, 62 Law & Contemp. Probs., Autumn 1999)
Medical and scientific documentation supports that volunteering results in a heightened sense of well being, improves insomnia, strengthens the immune system, and hastens surgery recovery time. (The Healing Power of Doing Good, Allan Luks & Peggy Payne)
Volunteering puts people into highly social situations, increasing the opportunity for close interpersonal relationships and strengthening a sense of identity. (Peer Counseling Perspectives, April 2003 Survival News, Mary Lynn Hemphill, “Volunteer For Your Health”)
The Boomer Blogger
Volunteering also offers numerous health benefits specific to older adults.
Volunteering gives older adults an opportunity to participate in fulfilling activities, which can make a difference in the lives of others.
Helping to better situations for others contributes to healthy communities. Older adult volunteers feel a sense of community inclusion which has a positive impact on their health and overall well being.
Volunteer activities help older adults improve self confidence and self esteem, which helps reduce blood pressure and improves immune function.
Volunteer activities help older adults form interpersonal ties and develop social networks. Like family and friends, these networks act as a buffer against stress and illness.
Older adult volunteers live longer than non-volunteers. Studies report that engaging in regular volunteer work increases life expectancy because social interaction improves quality of life.
The Boomer Blogger
Helping to better situations for others contributes to healthy communities. Older adult volunteers feel a sense of community inclusion which has a positive impact on their health and overall well being.
Volunteer activities help older adults improve self confidence and self esteem, which helps reduce blood pressure and improves immune function.
Volunteer activities help older adults form interpersonal ties and develop social networks. Like family and friends, these networks act as a buffer against stress and illness.
Older adult volunteers live longer than non-volunteers. Studies report that engaging in regular volunteer work increases life expectancy because social interaction improves quality of life.
The Boomer Blogger
Resources and Research on Health Benefits of Volunteering
The following are U.S. studies that have documented the health benefits of volunteering.
University of Michigan, Institute for Social Research, March 1999. (Marc A. Musik, A. Regula Herzog and James S. House, Volunteering and Mortality among Older Adults: Findings from a National Sample)
Cornell University, Cornell Applied Gerontology Research Institute, 1998. Social Integration and Longevity, Cornell Retirement and Well Being Study)
Duke University, Durham, North Carolina. Department of Sociology. John Wilson, author, “Volunteering”.
Paul Arnstein, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Nursing, Boston College, “From Chronic Pain Patient to Peer and Benefits Risks of Volunteering,” (evaluated patients suffering chronic pain and discovered those who volunteered reported a reduction in pain and depression.)
Stephanie Brown, Randolph Nesse, Amiram D. Vinokur and Dylan M. Smith, “Providing Social Support May Be More Beneficial Than Receiving It: Results from a Prospective Study of Mortality,” Institute for Social Research, The University of Michigan, as printed in American Psychological Society, Vol. 14, No.4, July 6. 2003.
Roger King, “Volunteerism by the Elderly as an Intervention for Promoting Successful Aging,” March 28, 1996.
Doug Oman and Kay McMahon, Buck Centre for Research in Aging in California; and Carol E Thoresen, Stanford University, Volunteerism and Mortality Among the Community-Dwelling Elderly.
The Boomer Blogger
University of Michigan, Institute for Social Research, March 1999. (Marc A. Musik, A. Regula Herzog and James S. House, Volunteering and Mortality among Older Adults: Findings from a National Sample)
Cornell University, Cornell Applied Gerontology Research Institute, 1998. Social Integration and Longevity, Cornell Retirement and Well Being Study)
Duke University, Durham, North Carolina. Department of Sociology. John Wilson, author, “Volunteering”.
Paul Arnstein, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Nursing, Boston College, “From Chronic Pain Patient to Peer and Benefits Risks of Volunteering,” (evaluated patients suffering chronic pain and discovered those who volunteered reported a reduction in pain and depression.)
Stephanie Brown, Randolph Nesse, Amiram D. Vinokur and Dylan M. Smith, “Providing Social Support May Be More Beneficial Than Receiving It: Results from a Prospective Study of Mortality,” Institute for Social Research, The University of Michigan, as printed in American Psychological Society, Vol. 14, No.4, July 6. 2003.
Roger King, “Volunteerism by the Elderly as an Intervention for Promoting Successful Aging,” March 28, 1996.
Doug Oman and Kay McMahon, Buck Centre for Research in Aging in California; and Carol E Thoresen, Stanford University, Volunteerism and Mortality Among the Community-Dwelling Elderly.
The Boomer Blogger
Baby Boomers and Volunteering
Nearly a third of all boomers – comprising some 25.8 million people – volunteered for a formal organization in 2005. (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics)
At 33.2%, the volunteer rate for baby boomers is the highest of any generational age group, and more than four percentage points above the national average of 28.8%. (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics)
A typical boomer volunteer serves 51 hours a year, or approximately one hour a week. (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics)
The percentage of retired baby boomers who volunteered increased steadily, from approximately 25% in 2002 to approximately 30% in 2004. (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics)
Volunteering tends to peak at mid-life, around the current age of baby boomers, and then decline slightly; declining further among the oldest old (typically 75+).
The biggest single inducement for baby boomers to volunteer is being asked by someone with whom one has an established relationship.
Baby boomers are less likely than older age groups to volunteer out of a sense of duty or obligation and more likely to volunteer as part of a social interaction.
Baby boomers are more likely to volunteer as a result of social, self development, self-esteem, or leisure-focused motivations. Episodic, familiar, community-based opportunities are also preferred.
Four out of five boomers see work as playing a role in their retirement years, with only 20% anticipating retiring and not working at all (AARP):
Of U.S. workers over 45, 69% plan to work in some capacity during retirement, with only 28% expecting not to work at all.
More than 75% of workers 45+ feel that work is important to their self-esteem.
(Research taken from the 2004 “Reinventing Aging – Baby Boomers and Civic Engagement” report, Harvard School of Public Health & MetLife Foundation Initiative on Retirement and Civic Engagement, unless otherwise cited.)
The Boomer Blogger
At 33.2%, the volunteer rate for baby boomers is the highest of any generational age group, and more than four percentage points above the national average of 28.8%. (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics)
A typical boomer volunteer serves 51 hours a year, or approximately one hour a week. (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics)
The percentage of retired baby boomers who volunteered increased steadily, from approximately 25% in 2002 to approximately 30% in 2004. (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics)
Volunteering tends to peak at mid-life, around the current age of baby boomers, and then decline slightly; declining further among the oldest old (typically 75+).
The biggest single inducement for baby boomers to volunteer is being asked by someone with whom one has an established relationship.
Baby boomers are less likely than older age groups to volunteer out of a sense of duty or obligation and more likely to volunteer as part of a social interaction.
Baby boomers are more likely to volunteer as a result of social, self development, self-esteem, or leisure-focused motivations. Episodic, familiar, community-based opportunities are also preferred.
Four out of five boomers see work as playing a role in their retirement years, with only 20% anticipating retiring and not working at all (AARP):
Of U.S. workers over 45, 69% plan to work in some capacity during retirement, with only 28% expecting not to work at all.
More than 75% of workers 45+ feel that work is important to their self-esteem.
(Research taken from the 2004 “Reinventing Aging – Baby Boomers and Civic Engagement” report, Harvard School of Public Health & MetLife Foundation Initiative on Retirement and Civic Engagement, unless otherwise cited.)
The Boomer Blogger
Baby Boomer Facts
About Baby Boomers
Approximately 77 million babies were born in the U.S. during the “boom” years of 1946-1964. (US Dept. of Health & Human Services)
In January 2006, the first boomers will turn 60. In 2011, the oldest baby boomers will turn 65, and, on average can expect to live to 83.
One in four Americans is a baby boomer. This is the largest population group in U.S. history.
A baby boomer turns 50 every 18 seconds and 60 every 7 seconds.
Baby boomers comprise 28% of the U.S. population, nearly 3 in 10 Americans.
Half of all baby boomers and 2/3 of younger boomers have children under 18 living in their household. More than one third of boomers care for an older parent. (AARP)
Boomers are concentrated in metropolitan areas, as opposed to rural counties. Regionally, they are more highly concentrated in New England, the Mid-Atlantic States the upper Great Lake states and the Pacific Northwest. (U.S. Census Bureau)
The Boomer Blogger
Approximately 77 million babies were born in the U.S. during the “boom” years of 1946-1964. (US Dept. of Health & Human Services)
In January 2006, the first boomers will turn 60. In 2011, the oldest baby boomers will turn 65, and, on average can expect to live to 83.
One in four Americans is a baby boomer. This is the largest population group in U.S. history.
A baby boomer turns 50 every 18 seconds and 60 every 7 seconds.
Baby boomers comprise 28% of the U.S. population, nearly 3 in 10 Americans.
Half of all baby boomers and 2/3 of younger boomers have children under 18 living in their household. More than one third of boomers care for an older parent. (AARP)
Boomers are concentrated in metropolitan areas, as opposed to rural counties. Regionally, they are more highly concentrated in New England, the Mid-Atlantic States the upper Great Lake states and the Pacific Northwest. (U.S. Census Bureau)
The Boomer Blogger
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