Benefits of Giving

     In honor of Giving Tuesday, let’s talk about all the great health benefits of giving.

     Traditionally, when we talk about giving, we usually discuss the various ways in which we are teaching the importance of giving by helping families who are less fortunate, giving as an important moral standard for children to develop, and helping our communities flourish overall. While these are arguably the most important reasons to give, the personal health benefits could provide extra incentive to be charitable not just around the holidays but all year long.

     When we perform the act of giving, our bodies activate the reward center of our brains and release endorphins, which immediately work to make us feel good. So while we are helping someone else feel good, we are also helping ourselves feel good! When we feel good, our blood pressure, stress, and depression begin to decrease, providing us with a sense of peace, joy, and gratitude. Given the level of stress we have all been experiencing lately, who doesn’t want to feel more peace, joy, and gratitude?

     As our stress levels decrease, our overall outlook on life increases, which leads to our life expectancy to increase too. We can actually live longer if we make giving a part of our daily habits! These health benefits aren’t tied to us giving away millions of dollars either. Something as small as helping our neighbors across the street, buying our friends lunch, or surprising our child with a small gift all provide these same health benefits.

     In Long Beach, we are a community focused on giving and here at Long Beach Moms, we are no different. For the last several years, we have partnered with Jonathan Jaques Children’s Cancer Institute in providing holiday gifts for families. This year, we are collecting gift cards for three different families in our area, so if you’re looking for a way to increase your health and bring a little holiday cheer to someone in need, consider picking up a few extra gift cards this holiday season.