Bench Seats – Sharing

Turns out that sharing is beneficial to health and happiness, so you might want to consider disposing of your lonely chairs and obtaining a bench seat.

Car-sharing, babysitting cooperatives, and tool lending are just a few of the many creative ways people are eschewing ownership and learning to share the goods and services they need. But sharing can do more than just save you a buck. New psychological research suggests that sharing fosters trust and cooperation in the community and contributes to personal well-being. Here are some of the ways that sharing can boost your happiness levels and help your community thrive:

1.    Sharing involves reciprocal giving, and the research is full of the benefits of giving, from greater physical health to personal happiness.

A happiness researcher at the University of California, Riverside, argues that giving can become contagious, moving from the personal to one’s community. “Being kind and generous leads you to perceive others more positively and more charitably,” she writes in The How of Happiness, and this “fosters a heightened sense of interdependence and cooperation in your social community.”

2.    Sharing can cause the release of oxytocin, a hormone that increases feelings of well-being.

When people share and experience gratitude, or any sense of connection, their brains will release the hormone oxytocin. Though more commonly associated with breast-feeding, oxytocin is also known to relieve stress, improve immune function, and foster trust in human interactions, all of which contribute to greater well-being and happiness.

3.    Sharing increases positive social interaction with others, which can prolong your life.

Sharing can bring people together who in other circumstances might not meet. Humans have an innate need for social connection, and participating …“Sharing helps us to reach out to others,” … “It’s an excuse to engage with someone whom you’re helping at the same time.” And research has shown that having positive social interactions is central to good mental and physical health.

4.   Sharing invokes gratitude, and gratitude is highly correlated with happiness.

Not only is giving beneficial, but when one feels grateful for the exchange a natural consequence of receiving help in the form of sharing this also increases personal happiness. Cultivating gratitude in every day life is one of the keys to increasing personal happiness. “When you express your gratitude in words or actions, you not only boost your own positivity but theirs as well,”

JILL SUTTIE, 2010

Read more HERE

Jarrah Bench Seats – Made by Melbourne Furniture Maker: Elliot Gorham, for Noddy Boffin.

400D, 2000L, 550H

4 comments

  • June 17, 2012 at 11:00 am // Reply

    I just love the bench seats!!!!! They look absolutely stunning!!!!!

  • November 26, 2012 at 7:47 am // Reply

    The design is so simple but elegant.

  • June 10, 2015 at 9:30 am // Reply

    These benches are beautiful. Is it possible to have this design recreated in a blonde timber?

    • June 11, 2015 at 10:42 am // Reply

      Hi Brodie,
      This style of benches could most definitely be made using a light coloured species of timber.

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