As a fitness professional, I enjoy helping clients maximize their potential.  That goal may come in many different forms: weight loss, increased strength, improved endurance and facilitating activities of daily life.  These goals are easy to manage because clients can see proof of them, evidence that their dedication is paying off.  There are, however, other ways to benefit health and well-being that occur outside the gym, and even outside the kitchen.

As it turns out, scientists have been able to identify ways in which being philanthropic can provide more than merely a social service.  A research study conducted at Harvard University revealed that as students watched a movie depicting Mother Teresa caring for orphans, the number of protective antibodies in their saliva skyrocketed.  When these same students were asked to focus on a specific time in their lives when they had felt loved, or had demonstrated love to others, their antibody levels stayed elevated for a full 60 minutes after recalling that memory. In another study, researchers were able to identify how the brain’s pleasure centers lit up when volunteers made check marks next to a list of organizations to which they intended to donate.

The brain is not the only organ to benefit from thinking outside of ourselves. Being generous with your attention may actually reduce the risk of a heart attack. Cardiac arrest is highly correlated with the amount of self-reference (“I,” “me,” “my”) in a person’s speech. By becoming a better and more active listener, you just might be able to relax a bit and lower your risk of dying from heart failure.

Even if you are like me and do not have a Facebook account, there are many other ways to establish social connections. In a study conducted at Carnegie Mellon University, subjects who were identified as being socially connected reported catching fewer colds on an annual basis than their more isolated counterparts. Volunteering your time and energies to a worthy cause is one of the simplest ways to guarantee that you will make positive social connections and establish ties with like-minded individuals.

In two weeks, our younger daughter is once again embarking on a university-sponsored service trip to Malawi, Africa.  Having taken this journey last year, she returned with a heightened sense of awareness about what it means to give of herself to those who are less fortunate. Simply by providing a new pair of pants to a child in an orphanage, she was able to experience the joy on his face, and received what was most likely the greatest and most meaningful hug of her life.  Simply put, much like the endorphin high resulting from a long run or an energy-packed Turbo Kick class, doing good just feels good…and is good for you.