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

Kahlil Gibran

Giving to others is now, officially, linked to longer life. Researchers at the University of Michigan investigated whether providing social support was beneficial to the provider as well as the recipient. So, Stephanie Brown, PhD, of the university’s Institute for Social Research, and colleagues followed 423 older couples over a five-year period, as part of larger community-based project studying the changing lives of older couples.

They found that people who reported providing no instrumental or emotional support to others were more than twice as likely to die in the five years as people who helped spouses, friends, relatives and neighbors. Also, the researchers note, giving to a spouse and giving to friends and neighbors were both independently linked with a lower chance of dying.

Double giving does double your fun. It might extend your life. Give on.