The Health Benefits of Gratitude

With rampant inflation, supply chain issues, and inmates running the asylum that is our government, people are really stressing out.  I’m reading reports of it from all over the country.  Tempers flare and tears flow. For many, the situation won’t improve anytime soon.

Fortunately, most of us have done what we can to prepare.  We know that light at the end of the tunnel is a train bearing down on this country.  We’ve gathered food and other supplies so that inflation and shipping problems affect us less.  We’re grateful to God for helping us prepare.

However, we may not recognize that there are actual health benefits to being grateful.  As such, it’s not only a good reminder to review these health benefits for our own sake, but also to become better aware of them so that we can share them with those around us.

Interestingly, numerous studies have shown that higher levels of gratitude are associated with enhanced well-being.  And grateful individuals display much more pro-social behavior, which we clearly need as we see society collapse around us. 

Individuals who are grateful reap the following health benefits:

• Better physical health, attributed by researchers to their better psychological health and lesser likelihood of participating in unhealthy or unsafe activities[1]
• Increased happiness and hope[2]
• Improved sleep quality and duration[3]
• Reduced stress[4]
• Reduced anxiety[5]
• Better self-esteem and productivity[6]
• Lower lipid/triglyceride levels[7]
• Improved personal relationships[8]

Developing gratitude and expressing it doesn’t have to take a lot of time.  It was interesting to note how many of the articles in the National Center for Biotechnology Information database focused on the mental health of medical professionals during the covid pandemic.  Researchers seeking the most effective means of alleviating depression and burnout among medical personnel found that keeping a gratitude journal—daily writing down what they were grateful for—“counting their blessings”—was the most effective way of reducing stress and increasing happiness and hope levels during a difficult period. 

We’ve got challenges ahead.  So many are so unprepared and stressed.  Keeping gratitude journal—recording each day what we are grateful for and to whom—will help us and others positively face the difficult times ahead.  At the same time, we’ll improve our sleep quality, lower lipid levels, and increase hope and happiness. 

Links to related posts:

The Importance of Hope 

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[1] PL Hill, et al., Examining the Pathways between Gratitude and Self-Rated Physical Health across Adulthood, Pers Individ Dif., January 2013, Vol 54 No 1, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3489271/ (accessed 14 June 2022).

[2] Charlotte vanOyen Witvliet, et al., Gratitude predicts hope and happiness: A two-study assessment of traits and states, The Journal of Positive Psychology, 2019, Vol 14 No 3, https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/citedby/10.1080/17439760.2018.1424924?scroll=top&needAccess=true (accessed 14 June 2022).

[3] Wood AM, et al., Gratitude influences sleep through the mechanism of pre-sleep cognitions, J Psychosom Res. January 2009, Vol 66 No 1, https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19073292/ (accessed 14 June 2022).

[4] JY Lee, et al., The association of gratitude with perceived stress among nurses in Korea during COVID-19 outbreak, Archives Psychiatric Nursing, December 2021, Vol 35 No 6, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8530766/ (accessed 14 June 2022).

[5] K Tolcher, et al., Evaluating the effects of gratitude interventions on college student well-being. J Am Coll Health. 27 May 2022, https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35623017/ (accessed 14 June 2022).

[6] Li N, et al., The Effect of Family Atmosphere on Chinese College Students' Pro-social Behavior: The Chained Mediation Role of Gratitude and Self-Efficacy, Frontiers in Psychology, 12 April 2022, https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35496252/ (accessed 14 June 2022).

[7] A Hartanto, et al., Dispositional gratitude, health-related factors, and lipid profiles in midlife: a biomarker study, Scientific Reports, 11 April 2022, Vol 12 No 1, https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35410991/ (accessed 14 June 2022).

[8] SB Algoe, et al., Beyond reciprocity: gratitude and relationships in everyday life. Emotion, June 2008, Vol 8 No 3, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2692821/ (accessed 14 June 2022).

 

 6.15.22