6 Ways Giving Makes You Healthy
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Love Heals Some Wounds
In a 2005 Ohio State University study, married couples were given tiny blisters on two occasions. During the first visit, they talked to each other supportively; during the second, they hashed out relationship conflicts. The blisters took a day longer to heal after the second visit, and two days longer in couples with high levels of anger.
The Magic Touch
There's an off switch for the adrenal gland's production of the stress hormone cortisol: massage. A study that recruited retirees to give massages showed that their cortisol—as well as their anxiety and depression—levels dropped significantly.
More Stories of Feel-Good Giving
Stephen Post, PhD, and Jill Neimark are the authors of Why Good Things Happen to Good People (Broadway).
From the December 2009 issue of O, The Oprah Magazine.
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