You’ve probably heard about gratitude practices here and there, maybe from your friends or your favorite online influencers. But have you considered trying one out yourself? Because it turns out that this spiritual practice does more than just create a warm feeling in your soul. In fact, practicing gratitude has concrete, scientifically-proven benefits that you’ll definitely want in your life. Here are just three of them.
Improving Your Mental Health
In a 2020 meta-analysis of various studies on the topic, it was found that gratitude interventions are effective at helping both anxiety and depression.
Improving Your Physical Health
The fact that gratitude can help with mental health isn’t that surprising. After all, gratitude happens in the mind. But did you know it can actually improve your physical health, too? According to this 2016 study, gratitude journaling has been shown to reduce the risks associated with heart failure such as inflammation.
It Improves Your Relationships
And gratitude can do more than just make you feel better; it can also improve your relationships, too. In this 2010 study, it was shown that couples who expressed gratitude toward each other had higher relationship satisfaction and improved happiness.
So, if you’re looking to start practicing gratitude, the best way to start is creating a gratitude journal, in which you write each day the things that you enjoy and are grateful for. Once you do that, it’s easy to find many practices online that will help you add this trend into your daily life.
