Gratitude is taking time to think about all the positive things in your life. Learn the surprising benefits of gratitude on health and happiness.
2020 has become a year of losses for many. In the wake of incredible losses of jobs, schools, change of roles and responsibilities, and uncertainty around when life can return “back to normal”, many of us spiraled into feelings of loneliness, anger, sadness and fatigue. Going into a holiday season marked by “thankfulness” and “gratefulness” may be especially hard.
This incredible stress means we might also be eating more, exercising less, and sleeping poorly (if at all). Consequently, we may struggle to get through daily tasks, much less do so with a smile on our face.
If you hear the word “gratitude’ and curl your lip, you have every reason to be upset. Some life events require more than just “thinking positive” or “being happy”. How can you even “be happy” when you are struggling? Demi Lovato says it well in her song, “It’s ok not to be ok”, right?
And happiness is big business, even if it’s hard to define (or measure). Growing Person shares that “happiness” makes the top 10 list of personal development topics for 2020. Code Spaces pointed out the top self-development courses, the top choice being The Science of Well-Being from Yale University. Back in 2012, Huffington Post shared that there were over 23,000 books on happiness.
There is even a World Happiness Report, which measures how satisfied people are worldwide with their lives (Finland is #1, and the US dropped down to #18 this year).
How does Gratitude Help Happiness
Gratitude may be one of the most overlooked tools for increasing happiness. But, can you really learn how to be more grateful when you aren’t?
Psychology Today shares that feeling and expressing gratitude turns our mental focus to the positive, which compensates for our brain’s natural tendency to focus on threats, worries, and negative aspects of life.
As such, gratitude creates positive emotions, like joy, love, and contentment, which research shows can undo the grip of negative emotions like anxiety. Fostering gratitude can also broaden your mind and create positive cycles of thinking and behaving in healthy, positive ways.
In some studies, adding a gratitude practice on top of psychological counseling was found to be more beneficial than counseling alone, even when the practice was brief.
In a 2003 study published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, Dr. Emmons and his colleague Michael McCullough from the University of Miami examined the effects of writing gratitude diaries on almost 200 college undergraduates.
At the end of 10 weeks, those in the gratitude group reported feeling more positive about their lives as a whole, more optimistic about the upcoming week, having fewer physical symptoms, and spending more time exercising.
In this article from Happier Human, it was discovered that a five-minute daily gratitude journal can increase your long-term well-being by more than 10 percent. That’s the same impact as doubling your income!
Gratitude can also improve our relationships with others. Gratitude generates social capital – in two studies with 243 total participants, those who were 10% more grateful than average had 17.5% more social capital.
One of the lesser-known habits of long-lived people found in Blue Zones is the quality of their social connections. Not only can you live a happier life, but a longer, more fulfilling one through gratitude.
While many of us long for happiness, it can be hard to start a gratitude practice for the sole purpose of becoming happy. Therefore, let’s look at how gratitude improves your physical health.
How does Gratitude Improve your Health
Some of the biggest challenges I am hearing from coaching clients in regards to their physical health are:
- Weight gain
- Lack of exercise
- More pain or injury
- Poor sleep
- Low energy
Personally, I have experienced most of these- from reduced exercise and more back/knee troubles to trouble staying asleep. To be honest, I even sought help for potential burn-out, because I saw some red flags for this.
How can positive thinking through a gratitude practice help with any of these things?
Unlike some other coaches, I won’t suggest that speaking affirmations or changing your mindset will automatically cause you to lose weight. However, the reasons why you GAIN WEIGHT can be remediated through gratitude.
- If you gain weight because you stress eat, then creating mindfulness around your emotional needs might reduce overeating.
- If you gain weight because you are on a reduced budget that prohibits fresh foods in favor of coupon or budget foods, then cultivating appreciation for the food you can afford might change how your grocery shop.
- If you stopped exercising because your gym closed, or you can no longer afford a membership, being grateful for a walk in your local neighborhood with your family could improve your activity level.
- If you are in pain or injured, then gratitude around what your body can do at home might help.
- If you aren’t sleeping well, a 2009 study on gratitude correlated with greater sleep quality, less time required to fall asleep, and increased sleep duration.
- As for energy, gratitude has been positively associated with more energy in various studies.
As a speaker, I am noticing more requests for topics that focus on mental health. However, as a coach, many of my clients are suffering with physical health.
Luckily, gratitude is a practice that can positively impact both happiness and health. Can you think of any other practice that can improve both happiness and health without hours of time and/or money?
Want to join 30 Days of Gratitude with me? Get daily gratitude prompts, weekly meditations, and the chance to improve your overall happiness this November. Click the image below to join this free gratitude practice (you will need to answer membership questions):
How to Start a Gratitude Practice
As with any habit you start, how you design your gratitude practice impacts what you get out of it. Let’s talk about different types of gratitude practices and how long before you see a positive result from gratitude.
Gratitude Practices
You can practice gratitude in so many different ways! These include journaling, filling a gratitude jar, painting a rock, adding to a community gratitude tree, volunteering (check out these events from my favorite Spread Sunshine Gang), writing thank you notes, Japanese forest bathing (aka shinrin-yoku), meditating, gratitude lists, and whatever activity puts you in a state of reflection and appreciation. Here are some more gratitude practice options from Positive Psychology.
Note: as a coach, I reflect powerful insights back to my clients, and express appreciation for their strengths and awareness. It is such a powerful connection point for BOTH of us. Schedule a complimentary call to learn more.
All of these practices have pros and cons, based on how much time you have to dedicate to your practice consistently. If meditating for 2 hours every day is not an option for you, you might consider a list of 3 things you love about your partner. If you don’t like painting, then forest bathing may be a stronger fit. If you are in a city far away from any trees or green space, then thank you notes may be your ticket.
The interesting thing about a gratitude practice is you need not share it with others, even if it includes thanking others. That is, even if you write a thank you note to a family member, but neglect to mail it out, you will still receive the beneficial feelings of expressing gratitude through writing. That certainly takes the pressure off of sending all those Christmas cards this year!
Personally, I favor written gratitude over any other sort of practice, but you may choose any type of practice that makes YOU happy.
The Perfect Length of Time for Gratitude
You have heard that there is an ideal amount of time to exercise, an optimal time of day to meditate, and a set number of times you should chew your food before swallowing.
Did you also know that there is an optimal length of time to practice gratitude?
Just two or three weeks of filling out gratitude diaries each evening seems to improve mood, optimistic outlook, and life satisfaction, as well as making you more likely to help others. In other words, this is the perfect length of time for becoming happier.
If you want to gain a health benefit from gratitude, you may need to persist with the diaries for two or three months. In other words, this is the recommended length of time for better physical health.
It should be noted that while the length of time can impact whether you improve your happiness or health, most studies conducted on gratitude required daily practice.
November is a great month to express thankfulness and gratitude, especially if you are feeling down in the dumps or decreased physical health.