The Connection Between Mind, Body, and Charitable Giving

We've all experienced the feeling that comes from giving. It's a mixture of satisfaction at having done something helpful, hopefulness that the gift functions or is used as intended, a sense of fulfilling a civic responsibility, perhaps the idea that we're moving forward with a cleaner personal slate somehow, and other reactions. It's sometimes called a “helper's high” or “giver's glow,” which are terms that suggest a temporary effect. But suppose giving becomes a habit. Are there permanent long-term impacts? What might those be?

Psychologists, neurologists, cardiologists, and other science and medicine professionals have, in recent years, been studying whether health benefits accrue from charitable giving. Such giving falls into the category of behavior that is labeled “prosocial”—it's intended to help others. A growing body of research suggests that prosocial giving, whether in the form of monetary donations or volunteering, lowers stress, raises self-esteem, and generally increases feelings of well-being.

I've seen this play out personally. My father, who had never volunteered, was sentenced by an amused judge to community service at a clothing bank for a comical but irresponsible traffic incident. He finished his stint but kept his position at the nonprofit for many years. Doing good for others was part of the reason why, but he also enjoyed the constant social interaction. Each day gave him new stories to tell and fresh perspectives on life.

Psychological benefits

The brain possesses a chemical reward system that is triggered by prosocial acts. Multiple studies have linked the release of mood-altering brain substances to the act of giving. These substances—such as endorphins, endocannabinoids, and a list of others—can do everything from reduce pain to create euphoria.

Researchers have learned that the act of giving causes the brain to emit the mood regulator serotonin, the pleasure chemical dopamine, and oxytocin, the deficiency of which is linked to depression. These are processes that are actually visible in real time on MRI scans, as specific areas of the brain show heightened activity during prosocial stimuli.

A study published several years ago by The Journal of Positive Psychology involved randomized participants winning money in games, then deciding whether to donate to charity. The result showed that those who donated reported greater sensations of happiness than those who didn't.

Similarly, the American Heart Association has found that people who volunteer their time have lower self-reported rates of depression and anxiety, and higher measures of happiness.

Neurological benefits

Prosocial behavior has also been linked to changes within the brain that positively impact its health. One of those changes is the improvement of cognition, which is the process of acquiring knowledge and understanding via thought.
Some of us are old enough to have learned in school that the brain is unchanging, save for its decline in old age. But science never rests. The newest research indicates that morphological changes occur in the brain throughout our lives.

Prosocial behavior has been shown to alter the structural plasticity of social brain networks. Structural plasticity directly impacts the brain's ability to repair damage and recover from disease.

Similarly, another brain study suggested that prosocial feelings—compassion and empathy, for example, which tend to be associated with giving—change leukocyte telomere length. This is a major determinant of atherosclerosis susceptibility and other aging-related diseases that affect lifespan.

Cardiological benefits

“Give from the heart” is an expression that may need to change to “Give for the heart.” Giving has been linked to reduced blood pressure, which in turn reduces risk factors for heart disease, kidney disease, and strokes. One study brought together adults suffering from hypertension and assigned them to spend on others or themselves. Those who spent on others showed marked blood pressure improvement.

A large study involved tracking the health of more than 18,000 people between 2006 and 2016 and showed that those who volunteered with charitable organizations for more than 200 hours a year had lower blood pressure than non-volunteers.

A key question embedded within some research concerns active versus passive giving. This is an area in which there is still scientific uncertainty, but in short, under certain circumstances, people who make active giving decisions derive greater levels of happiness than those who don't. However, under other circumstances, passive givers are happier, possibly because they're freed from the stress of choosing and the regret of having chosen poorly. But in both cases the brain's reward system kicks into gear.

Are these benefits permanent?

A question of intense interest to science isn't merely whether giving has repeated temporary benefits—that seems close to a consensus view. The core issue is whether, like diet and exercise, giving and volunteering can change human physiology, resulting in permanently better health and a longer lifespan. Should it be something we strive to do on the same level as maintaining a good weight or eating healthily?

As already noted, giving has been linked to morphological changes within the brain. The rest of the human body shows gains too. In the hypertension study, those who spent on others showed reduced blood pressure even two years later. Other data suggest that older adults who volunteer have a lower risk of early death.

Giving has been linked to decreased pro-inflammatory cytokine activity, which is another risk factor for heart disease. Studies have also shown that people who engage in prosocial behavior have stronger immune systems, lower levels of cortisol (the body's stress hormone), and lower levels of systemic inflammation known to damage body tissues and contribute to heart disease, arthritis, and cancer.

Good lives can happen to bad people

Obviously, people who are ungenerous—or even actively take from others—often live for a very long time. Longevity comes down to a matrix of factors. Someone who exercises daily but is subject to large amounts of stress might not live to a ripe old age. Those who are wealthy and engage in anti-social behavior might be able to enjoy the better health outcomes associated with being rich, offsetting residing at the lower end of the scales discussed above.

Giving to others is just another piece of a longevity puzzle. To return to my father, even having endured a high-stress existence, he outperformed his life-expectancy-at-birth by forty years—from about fifty-two for men in his demographic born in the 1920s, to ninety-three. Based on emerging science, it seems as if volunteering may have added a little to the total. But there are still many unanswered questions within what is a nascent body of research.

We do understand, though, that upon the grand tapestry of evolutionary competition for survival, humans were weaker, slower, and lacked natural weapons, but thrived through cooperative effort. It could be that we're genetically programmed to physically and mentally benefit from prosocial behavior, and it seems a little clearer each day that when we donate to others, we also donate in some way to ourselves.