Gifts: Will yours make the 1%?

Sermons aside, turns out it really is better to give than receive.

Multiple studies through the decades confirm the health benefits associated with giving (of time and attention, too, and not just during the holidays).

The sum of research reported in a 2016 article by the brain and spine team at Cleveland Clinic confirms that in addition to feeling less depressed and experiencing more happy feelings, giving provides:

Lower blood pressure, less stress: Studies reported in the International Journal of Psychophysiology, people who gave social support to others experience a kind of “helper’s high” and had lower blood pressure than those who didn’t. Support-related interaction with others also helped the givers recover from coronary-related events.

Better self-esteem: Multiple studies found that people who gave their time to help others through community and organizational involvement had greater self-esteem, less depression and lower stress levels than those who didn’t.

Longer life: A University of California, Berkeley study of people 55 and older who volunteered for two or more organizations found they were 44 percent less likely to die over a five-year period than those who didn’t volunteer — even accounting for many other factors including age, exercise, general health and negative habits like smoking. Similarly, a University of Michigan study of elderly people who gave help to friends, relatives and neighbors lived longer than those who didn’t.

Brain imaging: Your brain on giving looks very different. Biologically, giving can create a “warm glow” apparent in brain scans, activating regions associated with pleasure, feeling connected with others, and trust. The Cleveland Clinic adds that during gift-giving behaviors, human brains secrete feel-good chemicals such as serotonin (a mood-mediating chemical also important for sleep), dopamine (a feel-good chemical) and oxytocin (a compassion and bonding chemical).

When researchers from the National Institutes of Health looked at the functional MRIs of subjects who gave to various charities, they found that giving stimulates the mesolimbic pathway — the reward center in the brain, releasing endorphins and creating what is known as the “helper’s high.”

Noticing a theme? The giving that makes the most impact is more the give-of-yourself variety than stuff. When it does involve money, we get the most benefit when we spend to “make a difference” rather than on a pretty box under a tree.

A rather shocking statistic (among many) from an online film-turned-movement called “The Story of Stuff” is that of all the consumer goods flowing through the American economy, only 1 percent remain in use six months after sale. Ergo 99 percent of the stuff we consume is, essentially, trash. Even the goods we might have expected to hold onto are soon condemned to destruction through either planned obsolescence (breaking quickly) or perceived obsolescence (becoming unfashionable).

Even if those numbers are off, what are the odds they’re off by much? We know we overconsume already. More statistics compiled by The Story of Stuff indicate that with less than 5 percent of the world’s population, the U.S. consumes 30 percent of the world’s resources and creates more than 30 percent of the world’s waste.

In short, most of us have far more stuff than we need already. Maybe it’s time — and the Millennial generation is part of who’s driving this — to focus more on a whole different type of giving.

Today is Giving Tuesday. Let’s give to our charities of choice (please focus locally, because only locals support local charities) in the name of a friend or family member and wrap the receipt under the tree.

Although non-local, among my favorite, most creative gifts were a goat to feed a family in a poor country, and a month’s school tuition for a girl who couldn’t otherwise get an education.

Or get triple bang for the buck and try our (Millennial) daughter’s idea: A family Christmas agreement to only shop and exchange thrift store gifts. Help the charity supported by the thrift store, recycle, and have fun opening the mystery package.

That’ll save a little space in the landfill, too.

“You give but little when you give of your possessions. It is when you give of yourself that you truly give.” — Kahlil Gibran

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Sholeh Patrick is a columnist for the Hagadone News Network eager to lighten her footprint (without losing weight!). Contact her at [email protected].