Givers live longer
A five-year study of elderly married couples has found that the amount of practical support they received from friends and relatives, or the amount of emotional support from a spouse, did not have much effect on their health.
But for the givers, it was a different story. Even after allowing for factors such as age, sex, physical and mental condition, and socio-economic status, researchers found a 42% reduction in mortality among those who regularly gave practical support to others, and a 30% reduction for those who gave emotional support. (Science, July 25 2003, p.461.)