Attending Church Increases Life Span, Study Shows
People who attend worship services and prayer meetings whether in a church, mosque or synagogue are found to live longer than those who don't, a new study shows.
People within the ages of 40 to 65 years old have a higher chance of living longer if they attend religious services, no matter which faith they adhere to, according to a new research titled "Church Attendance, Allostatic Load and Mortality in Middle-Aged Adults."
The research from Vanderbilt University, published in the May issue of PLOS ONE journal, found out that middle-aged people who attend worship services decrease their chances of early death by more than 50 percent.
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"Our findings support the overall hypothesis that increased religiosity – as determined by attendance at worship services – is associated with less stress and enhanced longevity," the university's Center for Men's Health's Associate Director Marino Bruce told Vanderbilt News.
"We've found that being in a place where you can flex those spiritual muscles is actually beneficial for your health," he added.
Bruce, the lead author of the study, together with Keith Norris from the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, and nine others, analyzed data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, which are available to the public, according to USA Today.
They examined the subjects' church attendance, mortality and allostatic load, which measures the physiological stress a body experiences, HR Zone reported. The higher the allostatic load, the higher the level of stress the body is subjected to.
Those who do not attend any worship service was found to have a higher allostatic load score and increased presence of high-risk values.
"For those who did not attend church at all, they were twice as likely to die prematurely than those who did, who attended church at some point over the last year," Bruce noted.
The study also took note of the social impact worship services have on the mortality rate of a person. It discovered that many attend church for reasons beyond "social support" and that for many, "feeling that you're doing good or having empathy for others" is important as well.
