摘要：Once a month, I volunteer at a meal center to help serve food to people who are in need. Prepping and serving the dinner is a busy

Why Do Volunteers Live Longer?

为什么志愿者寿命更长？

Research suggests that volunteerism is associated with a lower risk of dying.

研究表明，志愿服务与死亡风险降低相关。

Posted May 21, 2019 | Reviewed by Devon Frye

发布于 2019 年 5 月 21 日 | 德文·弗莱 (Devon Frye) 审阅

Once a month, I volunteer at a meal center to help serve food to people who are in need. Prepping and serving the dinner is a busy yet fun team activity of five to six people, organized by two generous souls. Despite the many other things that I need to do, I really look forward to meeting and serving the patrons, even if only briefly.

我每月一次在一家餐饮中心做志愿者，帮助有需要的人提供食物。准备和提供晚餐是一项忙碌而有趣的团队活动，由五六个人组成，由两位慷慨的善心人组织。尽管还有很多其他事情要做，但我真的很期待与顾客见面并为他们服务，哪怕只是短暂的相处。

Although my motivation begins with wanting to help others and being grateful for what I have been given, it is joy that helps bring me back when I am very busy. I first noticed this some time ago: At the end of our shift, after the kitchen and dining room have been cleaned up, I would experience a lightness of being, a sense of satisfaction and reconnection to purpose. It just feels good.

虽然我的动力源于想要帮助他人，并感恩所拥有的一切，但当我非常忙碌时，快乐才是让我回归正轨的动力。我第一次注意到这一点是很久以前：轮班结束后，厨房和餐厅都打扫干净后，我会感到一种轻松的感觉，一种满足感，以及重新找回目标的感觉。那种感觉真好。

Allen Luks coined this feeling “the helper’s high,” the sense of euphoria that can be experienced soon after helping someone else. Luks defined two phases—the first characterized by that uplifted, euphoric mood; the second by a longer lasting sense of calm. The greatest effect (the high) was observed in helping strangers.1

艾伦·卢克斯（Allen Luks）将这种感觉称为“助人高潮”（the helper's high），即帮助他人后不久便能体验到的欣快感。卢克斯定义了两个阶段——第一个阶段的特点是那种令人振奋的欣快感；第二个阶段的特点是更持久的平静感。在帮助陌生人时，这种效果（高潮）最为显著。1

A few years ago, as I was researching how kindness affected health, I came to learn that volunteerism was associated with a markedly lower risk of dying. Depending on the study, the decrease in death rates ranged from 20 to 60 percent. For perspective, this is huge. A good example is the introduction of clean drinking water. After water filtration and chlorination were introduced early in the 20th century, death rates from contaminated water dropped about 15 to 20 percent.2

几年前，我在研究善良如何影响健康时，发现志愿服务与死亡风险显著降低相关。根据研究结果，死亡率下降了20%到60%。从长远来看，这是一个巨大的进步。一个很好的例子就是引入清洁饮用水。在20世纪初引入水过滤和氯化处理技术后，受污染水源导致的死亡率下降了约15%到20% 。2

The observations on volunteering come from epidemiologic studies in which populations are followed over time.3 They are complex in that people are living their lives and there are a lot of what are called “confounding variables”—different things happening at the same time. For example, people are getting married or divorced, getting or losing jobs, maybe quitting smoking, or maybe eating and exercising better. In studies like this, it can be hard to sort out cause and effect. That is, maybe people who volunteer live longer simply because they are healthier and able to volunteer. And perhaps they also have financial resources (don’t have to work two jobs) that frees them to volunteer.

关于志愿服务的观察结果来自对人群进行长期跟踪的流行病学研究。3这些研究很复杂，因为人们在过着自己的生活，并且存在许多所谓的“混杂变量”——不同的事情同时发生。例如，人们结婚或离婚，找到或失去工作，也许戒烟，或者饮食和锻炼更好。在这样的研??究中，很难理清因果关系。也就是说，也许志愿服务的人寿命更长仅仅是因为他们更健康、更有能力做志愿者。也许他们也有足够的经济资源（不必打两份工）来让他们自由地做志愿者。

Scientists can try to adjust for these different life events—and with reasonable consistency, studies generally report that the effects of volunteering remain after these adjustments. Following them over time also supports the idea that volunteerism reduces death. One recent and large European study found that self-reported health scores were significantly better in volunteers than in non-volunteers—the difference in scores equivalent to about five years of aging.4

科学家可以尝试根据这些不同的人生事件进行调整——研究结果普遍一致地表明，志愿服务的效果在调整后依然有效。长期跟踪研究结果也支持了志愿服务降低死亡率的观点。最近一项大型欧洲研究发现，志愿者的自述健康评分明显优于非志愿者——评分差异相当于衰老了大约五岁。4

How could volunteering cause a decrease in death? There are several factors at play. The first, and likely most significant, is uplifted mood—that is, lower stress. Multiple studies have provided evidence that volunteering is good for depression, well-being, and social network, among other effects.5 It is entirely consistent with Luks' observations and my own microcosmic experience. Second, people who volunteer regularly also make more effort to take care of themselves, as demonstrated in visits to their doctor for preventive health care.6 Perhaps their networks are chiding them to do so.

志愿服务如何导致死亡人数下降？有几个因素在起作用。首先，也可能是最重要的因素，是心情愉悦，也就是压力减轻。多项研究已经证明，志愿服务除其他影响外，还有助于缓解抑郁、增进幸福感、建立社交网络。5这与 Luks 的观察和我自己的微观经验完全一致。其次，经常参加志愿服务的人也会更加努力地照顾自己，他们去看医生进行预防性保健就证明了这一点。6也许他们的社交网络正在责备他们这样做。

Finally, people who volunteer may be more physically active, as seen in the Baltimore Experience Corps Trial, a study of the effect of volunteering in older adults. In that study, women (but not men) had a significant increase in walking each day compared to those who did not volunteer.7

最后，志愿服务者可能更活跃，正如巴尔的摩体验队试验（Baltimore Experience Corps Trial）所发现的那样。该研究旨在探讨志愿服务对老年人的影响。在这项研究中，女性（而非男性）的每日步行量显著高于未参与志愿服务的人。7

To try to tie this together, volunteering likely exerts its positive effects on health by connecting people to others as well as to an activity that they find meaningful. Achieving connection, purpose, and meaning is critical to attenuating stressors of life—particularly loneliness. Since stress is a major cause of disease, especially heart disease, the ability to quench the need for connection, purpose, and meaning can bring about beneficial and salutary changes for people.8 And when there is purpose and we are connected to others, we take care of ourselves.

综上所述，志愿服务很可能通过将人们与他人以及他们认为有意义的活动联系起来，对健康产生积极的影响。获得联系、目标和意义对于减轻生活压力（尤其是孤独感）至关重要。由于压力是导致疾病（尤其是心脏病）的主要原因，因此，满足对联系、目标和意义的渴望，可以为人们带来有益的改变。8当我们拥有目标并与他人联系在一起时，我们就能照顾好自己。

Most have heard the ancient wisdom that giving benefits the giver more than the receiver. “A generous man will prosper, he who refreshes others will himself be refreshed” from Proverbs speaks to this point. If we look at that solely from a materialistic perspective, the concept is hard to fathom. But if we look at it from a spiritual and now biologic perspective, it totally makes sense. Even many years ago, our predecessors understood this point without modern scientific techniques.

大多数人都听过一句古老的智慧：施舍使施者比受者受益更多。箴言中说：“慷慨的人必得丰裕，滋润人的，自己也得滋润。”这句话就说明了这一点。如果我们仅仅从物质主义的角度来看待这个问题，这个概念很难理解。但如果我们从精神层面，甚至从生物学的角度来看待这个问题，就完全说得通了。即使在很多年前，我们的先辈们在没有现代科学技术的情况下也理解了这一点。

About 25 percent of the US population volunteers.9 What do you think would happen if we could increase that percentage?

大约 25% 的美国人口是志愿者。9如果我们能够提高这个比例，您认为会发生什么？

If you can’t volunteer right now but want to get that good feeling, try looking at images of its kindness, compassion, and love. Or go out and photograph it.10 We know that even seeing kindness will give you that feeling.

如果你现在无法参与志愿服务，但又想感受那种美好的感觉，不妨看看那些展现善良、同情和爱的图片。或者出去拍些照片。10我们知道，即使只是看到善良，也能让你感??受到那种温暖。

In kindness,

出于善意，

David (Prof K)

大卫（K 教授）

来源：左右图史