What do you think of when the word “gratitude” is mentioned? I know so many people that associate it with just saying thank you but it goes much further than that. It’s a deeper appreciation and generates positivity that can last a good long while. It’s a practice that can change your health and well-being and your life.
If you’re not practicing gratitude on a regular basis, now is the time to make it a part of your self-care routine. Science shows that gratitude can improve your physical and emotional health and make you much less likely to be affected by self-doubt and negative thinking. Or, what I like to call stinky thinking. Here’s why you should introduce gratitude into your day, and you might be surprised at some of the benefits you’ll experience!
How Gratitude Helps Your Health and Well-being
Gratitude can have lots of benefits for mental and physical health. Research shows that gratitude is linked to better sleep, heart health, increased happiness and may counteract depression. What more reasons do you need to get started?
Robert Emmons at UC Davis in California is known for his research on gratitude and in one study of his, one group of participants were asked to list things they were grateful for. The other group focused on problems and setbacks that had happened that day. The gratitude group saw a 25% improvement in their health and wellbeing, including having more energy, enjoying better quality sleep and getting fewer aches and pains. They were also more optimistic about their health than the group that concentrated on the negatives.
Other physical effects include lower stress levels and a reduction in cortisol levels. Cortisol is that pesky stress hormone that helps keep belly fat attached to your body. If you’re someone who is negatively affected by stress and finds it hard to manage their stress levels, demonstrating gratitude on a daily can be a game changer for you.
In another study, people were asked to write a letter to someone expressing their gratitude and to hand deliver it to the person. Afterwards, they felt a lot happier and more satisfied with their life. And these feelings weren’t just fleeting effects either, it was reported they lasted for weeks!
Ways to Incorporate Gratitude into Your Self-care
Become more mindful.
I have talked about mindfulness before, you can find that article here. If you don’t already practice mindfulness on a regular basis, this is a really good time to start doing it. Being Mindful is a big part of gratitude, which makes sense when you think about it. After all, how you can be grateful for things if you’re not really aware of them? The more mindful you are, the easier you’ll find it to tap into even the tiny things that are happening around you and the effects that they have on your well-being.
Keep a gratitude journal.
Writing down the things that you’re grateful for can be super powerful. According to recent research, writing in a gratitude journal for 10 weeks, participants experienced brighter moods, found it easier to engage in positive thinking and slept better. Pretty good, right? Start a habit of making note of 3-5 things that you were thankful for each day. These can be anything, from someone who smiled at you in the street and lifted your mood to seeing the faces of your family after a long day at work. Or, if you really need to stretch it, start with I am thankful for the sun coming up today. The more you do this the more you will find to be grateful for each day.
Incorporate it into a yoga practice.
If you try to do yoga as part of your self-care, why not add another dimension to it with gratitude too? It’s a perfect opportunity given that you’re already very much in the present moment during a yoga session. Try thinking about a few things that really make you grateful while you’re doing yoga can be an easy way to introduce it to your life and help it to become second nature.
Write a gratitude letter.
Remember, that handwritten letter expressing gratitude that I mentioned earlier? Try it yourself and see how it works for you. Think of someone who has gone out of their way for you or who has made some lasting impact on your life and write a letter to tell them what this means to you.
How about starting today? Write down or say out loud 5 things you are grateful for today. Do this before you go to bed or right now as you finish up reading this post. I know you will be glad you did! Every day it will get easier. Each day you will find more to be grateful for.
I will start…I am grateful for you and that you are here reading this post! Here’s to your wellness! ~Amy