[/media-credit] Channing and Evie Spotts perform service in Mexico
“It’s great to be able to provide [service] for people in order to make their lives a little bit better,” says Emily Meyers, an Orem High School student.
Meyers is no stranger to the benefits of service, especially the good feelings that result from service for both the giver and the receiver. However, service does not only benefit you emotionally, it benefits you physically as well.
According to Stephen Post, a professor of preventative medicine at Stony Brook University, people who suffer from chronic illnesses such as HIV and multiple sclerosis gain health benefits when they participate in service. On top of this, Doug Oman from the University of California, Berkeley, conducted a study that proved elderly people had a 44% less chance of dying over a five-year period when participating in altruistic acts.
Though Alexa Ortiz does not suffer from a chronic illness, she relates how service helped her overcome a health challenge like food poisoning while living in Managua, Nicaragua.
“When I started going out and focusing on serving, and not on my pain, I was able to distract myself mentally and work for 4-5 hours.”
Overall, service provides many benefits to a person’s emotion and physical well being. Perhaps the greatest of these benefits is an overall sense of gratitude.
As Meyers says, “Service helps me be more grateful for what I have.”
Megan Pearson
Latest posts by Megan Pearson (see all)
- Service is Good For the Heart and Health - October 26, 2016
