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:
Being a father to a school-age girl makes men less sexist, study suggests
The findings are based on a phenomenon known as the "Mighty Girl Effect."
- The study tracked the responses of more than 5,000 men over the course of a decade.
- The results showed that men who lived with daughters were less likely to hold traditional views on gender relations and roles.
- This effect seemed to be strongest as the daughters entered secondary-school age.
‘A rare sight’: Astronaut snaps incredible photo of 5 spaceships
The photos were taken the same day as Russian cosmonauts investigated a mysterious hole discovered in one of the craft.
- The spacecraft belong to Russia and two private American aerospace companies.
- Six astronauts are currently aboard the International Space Station to conduct a variety of experiments.
- On Monday, Russian cosmonauts conducted a spacewalk to investigate the nature and cause of a mysterious 2-millimeter-wide hole in a Russian spacecraft.
Technology will kill the 9-to-5 work week, says Richard Branson
The billionaire entrepreneur predicts the rise of technology will soon force society to rethink the modern work week.
- Branson made the argument in a recent blog post published on the Virgin website.
- The 40-hour work week stems from labor laws created in the early 20th century, and many have said this model is becoming increasingly obsolete.
- The average American currently works 47 hours per week, on average.
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