@nikkiwordsmith

Following on from how good it feels to give $TYSM 🙏 Here is a key influential paper that finds you ALSO live longer too 💛 The Brown et al. (2003) Psychological Science study is often cited as the seminal paper showing a causal link between helping behavior and reduced mortality. Key Findings ⭐ 1. Helping others predicted lower mortality. Participants who provided high levels of support to others were significantly less likely to die over the 5-year follow-up. ⭐ 2. Receiving help did not reduce mortality. Receiving support offered no protective effect once other factors were controlled. ⭐ 3. The effect remained after controlling for: • Age • Health status • Physical functioning • Income • Depression • Marital status • Health behaviors Meaning the association wasn’t explained by “healthy people can help more.” ⭐ 4. Giving buffered stress. A proposed mechanism is that helping others reduces stress reactivity and provides a sense of purpose and connection. /fc

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