How Volunteer Work Can Help Reduce Hypertension in Seniors

Communities, schools, churches, states, our country and the entire world all offer thousands of opportunities for volunteering. Museum docent, provider of Comfort Pet visits to hospital patients, Habitat for Humanity, Meals on Wheels, library volunteer, homeless shelter cook, storyteller at a school, Adopt-a-Highway volunteer, and many other opportunities are available for anyone with time to spare and a desire to help. Many seniors and retirees serve as volunteers because, having retired, they have free time during the day to use for these projects.

Research from Carnegie-Mellon University indicates that today's volunteers are receiving more than warm and satisfied feelings for their efforts. In the Journal of Psychology and Aging published by the American Psychological Association, the results of this study indicated adults who volunteered regularly actually lowered their risk of hypertension.

Specifically, volunteers with at least 200 volunteer hours of service each year lowered their risk of hypertension by as much as 40%. This is a significant finding because high blood pressure (hypertension) is a contributor to cardiovascular disease, the leading cause of death in the United States. Volunteering as a means of reducing hypertension for the elderly is a safe and non-prescription remedy.

Seniors benefit more from volunteer work than any other group of volunteers for other reasons as well. These include:

• Social Interaction: which is a critical component of maintaining good thinking and memory skills as the brain ages.
• Self-Confidence: which allows the senior to continue to live independently and take care of him or herself.
• Physical Activity: which keeps the joints moving and helps prevent gout, stiffening and weight gain.

Inactivity from boredom and depression may lead to elevated levels of pain in the joints and muscle weakness. Self-confidence and satisfaction from volunteering leads to contentment and happiness that actually helps seniors live longer than elderly people who do not volunteer.

Seniors who receive non-medical home care because they cannot drive and need transportation for errands and medical appointments may still volunteer. They can discuss with their caregiver the opportunities available in their local area, then choose one to which the caregiver can provide the client transportation on volunteer days. In-home care services who work with house-bound seniors can help them discover volunteer opportunities they can handle from home, such as serving on a phone tree, working on-line, working on mailings and making phone calls.

To reduce hypertension risks, develop better heart health, improve memory and provide a service to your community, check out the causes and organizations that interest you the most and work with your care giver to choose the volunteering experience(s) for you.