Volunteering improves mental health in old age

People over the age of 40 benefit greatly from volunteer work
Especially in old age, mental health is worsening in most people. But researchers now found a simple and free way to improve our well-being and strengthen our psyche. When older people volunteer for volunteer work, it can lead to improved mental health and well-being.

Researchers from the University of Southampton and the University of Birmingham have now found in an investigation that volunteering or volunteering in the elderly leads to an improvement in well-being and better mental health. The physicians published the results of their study in the medical journal "BMJ Open".

As people get older, their social contacts with other people usually diminish. As a result, the psychological well-being of the person affected can worsen. Volunteering can help older people improve their mental health and escape social isolation. (Image: Syda Productions / fotolia.com)

Volunteer activities improve your well-being
Do you want to improve your well-being and your mental health? Then you should think about voluntary volunteer work. However, you benefit only from the positive effect of this activity, if you are already over forty years old, say the doctors. The findings of the new study indicate that there is a need for more involvement of middle-aged and elderly people in voluntary work, the authors explain.

Study evaluates data from a UK survey
The basis of the new study was an older survey conducted between 1991 and 2008. The researchers analyzed the responses of more than 66,000 British adults for their study. The survey at that time included a number of questions about leisure activities. This included the indication of voluntary or voluntary activities, explain the authors.

Scientists calculate the subject's GHQ-12 score
About 21 percent of respondents said that they were quite willing to do some sort of volunteer activity, the researchers say. It was noticeable that women generally wanted to take up voluntary work more often than men, the doctors say. The scientists calculated the so-called GHQ-12 value with the help of the answers. This measures mental health and emotional well-being, the experts add.

Volunteers or volunteers had the best GHQ value
Participants clearly showed during the study that, on average, the best (lowest) GHQ was in people who were often volunteers or volunteers. The worst (highest) scores in the survey never showed volunteers, the researchers added.

Positive impact of volunteer work begins at age forty
When the research team included the age of the subjects, the positive association between volunteering and good mental health and emotional well-being became clear. The effect began at the age of forty years and lasted until the great age of eighty or more years, explain the scientists.

Volunteering could have a protective effect on your health
Volunteering or volunteering could offer more opportunities for beneficial activities and social contacts. This could in turn have a protective effect on the state of health, explains the author Dr. med. Faiza Tabassum from the University of Southampton. Especially with increasing aging of the population, it is urgently necessary to develop effective health promotion for the last third of our lives. This will allow older people to lead their lives healthier and happier, the scientists explain.

Volunteering helps older people maintain social networks
When people have never volunteered, their emotional well-being was mostly at the lower levels of the scale. This condition began in middle age and went far into old age, compared to people doing volunteer work. Volunteering helps people to maintain their social networks. This is especially true for older people, who often live in social isolation Tabassum. Even after considering a number of potential drivers, including marital status, educational attainment and social class, the positive effects of voluntary work have been confirmed, say the researchers.

All people should have the opportunity to do volunteer work
It is not always possible for every person to take up volunteer work. The distribution of these activities by voluntary organizations means that the opportunity to participate is not always available everywhere, explains the author Professor John Mohan from the University of Birmingham in a press release. However, the results of the study suggest that we should focus our attention on the positive effects of volunteering. Volunteering has a benefit for all, for the beneficiaries also for the volunteer helpers, say the doctors. (As)