The Why’s of Goodness eBook
Volume 3 • Quick summary
Volume three covers a range of behaviours and actions that will give your life more goodness, and those that you cross paths with. It delves in to the importance of maintaining a social life with friends and family, how being generous with your time or money can contribute to a more positive outlook on life, with case studies to support this. Also, how getting a good night’s sleep contributes to your mental and physical health, and ideas for those that struggle.
“A good head and a good heart are always a formidable combination.” Nelson Mandela
Sleeping, staying social and being generous
The Why’s of Goodness volume offers a unique collaboration of insights on a range of everyday experiences that most may not be aware of the benefits it contributes to health and a positive outlook on life. Being social, making new friends and keeping in touch with existing friends does wonders for you mental well-being and health. And surprisingly, so does being generous, which doesn’t just relate to monetary donations but there’s a lot more behind this. We also look at the impacts of getting a good night’s sleep, include tips for those that struggle to sleep through the night and explore the health and mental effects of sleeping pills and other sleep-related so-called remedies.
“Even if older adults weren’t socially active when they were younger, when they increase social activity later in life, it can still reduce physical and cognitive health issues.”
– Patricia A. Thomas, Ph.D., Author of the Population Research Center at University of Texas at Austin.
3.1 | Why you need a good night’s sleep
- The importance of a good night’s sleep
- Are sleeping pills the answer?
- Sleeping pills: What are the risks?
- The risks are increased as you age
- Ways to sleep better without medicines
- 14 tips to develop good sleeping habits
- Handy tip: How blue light disrupts sleep
- Case Studies
- Case Study: Effects of sleep deprivation on cognition
3.2 | Why being social is good for your health
- The benefits of being socially active
- The importance of social groups
- Start your own social group
- Online interest groups, communities and forums
- Benefits of joining and online community group or forum
- Five reasons why you should join an online community
- Find an online community today!
- Risks of distancing yourself from social activity
- How loneliness and isolation affect your health
- Overcoming isolation and loneliness
- Combat depression and loneliness
- Case Studies
- Case Study: Socially active older adults have slower rates of health declines
- Case Study: Active social life associated with well-being in life
- Get started: Helpful groups and websites to get you being social
3.3 | Why being generous after 60 is good for you
- Good giving: Why helping others is good for your heart and your health
- Being generous also has its personal and physical benefits
- Study linking generosity with health benefits by spending money on others
- Improving social connection and relationships through generosity
- Being stingy with money increases stress levels
- Whom you spend money on matters
- Case Studies
- Case Study: Motives for volunteering are associated with mortality risk in older adults
- Case Study: A prospective study of volunteerism and hypertension risk in older adults