How Embracing Gratitude Can Boost Your Health

Expressing gratitude on a daily basis can make you happier. There are even studies to prove it. From better sleep to boosted immunity, and a decreased risk of diseases – daily affirmations of thanks to the universe can create a heightened sense of wellbeing. Sounds amazing, doesn’t it?

And the best part: it’s easy to adopt. An increase in gratitude comes with practicing mindfulness. That’s because as we become more aware of our thoughts, we can uncover exactly where we’re emotionally and physically blocked.

For example, before you started your mindfulness journey, did you notice how quickly your frustration and rage could bubble up whenever you were stuck in traffic? And how you can now bring your focus to the present rather than your destination, allowing you to notice and appreciate the small things like a song on the radio, a beautiful scene or the sound of the birds outside. It's through mindfulness that we can learn to be grateful for the little things we previously wouldn’t have even noticed.

The Physical Benefits

During a recent study, scientists determined that participants who wrote in a gratitude journal daily experienced a 25% improvement in their overall psychological and physical health compared to those who just focused on what had gone wrong each day.

By simply expressing your gratitude mindfully by either speaking it or writing it down (no matter how big or small it is), you too can improve your wellbeing and the well-being of others around you. 

Try it from today and notice how you’ll have:

1. Greater Energy Levels
   Exercise is one of the greatest antidepressants. However, it’s hard to find the energy to move when you’re feeling down. However, being mindful of what’s good about our life plays an important role in having the energy to exercise. In fact, the study above proves it increases our willingness to get off the couch and embrace life so we can continue to be grateful for it.

2. Better Sleep
   People who express mindful gratitude reported sleeping 10% longer than they used to, as well as noting that the quality of their sleep was vastly improved. In fact, daily affirmations of thanks can help you wake up feeling more refreshed and excited for the coming day.

3. Reduced Blood Pressure
   With our current hectic lifestyles and poor diets, high blood pressure has sadly become the norm. However, simply taking moments to focus our attention on the people we love the most and the beauty that surrounds us can lower blood pressure.

4. Fewer Physical Symptoms
   People who wrote down five things they were grateful for each day became less affected by their physical ailments. This ties in with other studies that determined that mindfulness can ease uncomfortable physical symptoms, even chronic pain, by diverting our minds from it.

5. Improved Attentiveness
   Over time, those who deliberately think about what they were grateful for experience greater attentiveness. Instilling feelings of reflection and an awareness of life can make us more active in not taking it for granted. By switching ourselves off autopilot, we can better focus on what’s around us and take in all the marvels it brings.

6. Increased Joy
   When we steer our attention to what’s good about the world, we naturally feel a greater sense of joy. While bad things happen – sometimes our exposure to them happens too often. As a result, we can forget the joy in the world. Being mindfully grateful brings that splash of colour back to the universe.

Lastly, it’s important to note that gratitude isn’t just about denying what’s wrong in the world and solely acknowledging the positive. Instead, it’s less about being in denial about the bad things in life, and rather owning that they exist but choosing to rather focus on the positive.

Mindful gratitude helps us appreciate those lovely moments in life, whilst enabling us to manifest more of those precious moments for others.