Being kind and volunteering one's time are selfish acts. Research has shown that helping others through volunteer work actually increases one's overall sense of well-being, including building emotional resilience and reducing stress levels. The effects are so powerful that volunteering is recommended to those going through mourning or wanting to beat an addiction.
"I call it 'give and glow,' or sometimes 'the giver's glow,'" says Dr. Stephen Post of the Institute for Research on Unlimited Love and the author of Is Ultimate Reality Unlimited Love? "It's a side effect or byproduct, and I always like to emphasize that you're helping others because it's the good thing to do, you know, it's the golden rule and all that. But as it turns out in general it's a very healthy way to go."
Are you having trouble with a teen in your family? Maybe volunteering a few hours of his time reading to residents of a nursing home is just what he needs. Volunteering promotes a healthy lifestyle, reduces cholesterol, and combats stress among teens.
For those looking to overcome alcohol dependency through the program Alcoholics Anonymous, studies have found that volunteering during the first year of the program doubled the chances of recovery. "It's good to be good, and science says it's so," says Post.
For more on the benefits of being kind and volunteering, watch this clip from Big Think's interview:
3D printing might save your life one day. It's transforming medicine and health care.
What can 3D printing do for medicine? The "sky is the limit," says Northwell Health researcher Dr. Todd Goldstein.
- Medical professionals are currently using 3D printers to create prosthetics and patient-specific organ models that doctors can use to prepare for surgery.
- Eventually, scientists hope to print patient-specific organs that can be transplanted safely into the human body.
- Northwell Health, New York State's largest health care provider, is pioneering 3D printing in medicine in three key ways.
Cheers! How the physics of fizz contributes to human happiness
The phenomenon that makes our favourite drinks bubbly is, alarmingly, the same one that causes decompression sickness in divers. Why do we still love it?
Think of the last time you had something to celebrate. If you toasted the happy occasion, your drink was probably alcoholic – and bubbly.
Why the south of Westeros is the north of Ireland
As Game of Thrones ends, a revealing resolution to its perplexing geography.
- The fantasy world of Game of Thrones was inspired by real places and events.
- But the map of Westeros is a good example of the perplexing relation between fantasy and reality.
- Like Britain, it has a Wall in the North, but the map only really clicks into place if you add Ireland.
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