A healthy body and active mind are key goals for seniors as they head into retirement. After all, they have worked hard and now is the time to slow down and enjoy life. It’s time to do the things they have always wanted, like drive around Australia, spend more time seeing grandkids or taking up a new hobby.
The important question for seniors is; how do you maintain your physical and mental health as you age so you can have good quality of life and can do all the things you thought you would?
Well, researchers have put a lot of work into this and now they have some answers!
They have found volunteering is a great way of maintaining and improving physical and mental health.
A recent Harvard study found volunteering for 2 hours a week can reduce the risk of mortality and physical limitations. They rated their own health as better, as well as having higher optimism and purpose in life. Volunteering also reduced feelings of hopelessness and depressive symptoms.
Other studies have found a multitude of benefits including some you would not think of such as reduced risk of dementia and hip fractures.
Do you know what the best thing about volunteering is? You can get all these benefits from doing something you enjoy. From gardening to helping young people read, there is no shortage of ways to volunteer and they can all deliver the benefits above.
If you would like to start your volunteering story, search for opportunities at https://www.vnq.org.au/quick-search/#/ or call us on 47255990.
To read more about the benefits of volunteering, go to our article at https://www.vnq.org.au/physical-cognitive-health-benefits-of-volunteering/ and the Harvard article at https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0749379720301380?dgcid=rss_sd_all
