Your Health Benefits from an Attitude of Gratitude

GIVING THANKS GIVES BACK

?Gratitude can transform common days into thanksgiving, turn routine jobs into joy, and change ordinary opportunities into blessings.? ? William Arthur Ward

This time of year, our thoughts naturally turn to giving thanks for everything in our lives that bring us happiness and joy. But did you know that cultivating an attitude of gratitude can do more than make you happier? Adopting a grateful mindset as your default can also deliver both mental health and physical health benefits that can greatly improve your life.

Maintain a positive attitude to:

CALM DOWN ? Cultivating gratitude and other positive emotions can reduce stress hormones like cortisol by as much as 23%.^?A study of 400 people, 40% of whom had sleep disorders, shows making nightly lists of things they are grateful for can also improve the duration and quality of sleep.

KEEP YOUR HEART HEALTHY ? Recalling feelings of appreciation and listing things for which you?re grateful can protect your heart by decreasing blood pressure and lowering heart rate variability.

SLIM DOWN ? In a study of undergraduate students, those who were grateful were shown to spend an average of 36% more time exercising per week?they also took better care of their health overall.

BOLSTER YOUR IMMUNE SYSTEM ? Gratitude is linked with optimism, which can improve the body?s immune response in certain situations, resulting in an increase in white blood cells needed to fight disease.

LOWER RISK OF DEPRESSION ? Scientists say that shifting your thinking from negative outcomes to positive ones elicit a surge of feel-good hormones like dopamine, serotonin, and oxytocin, and help you build more enduring personal connections. These things, in turn, can help ward off depression.

To reap the benefits, you first need to cultivate practices that will help you build your gratitude ?muscle?! Here are three things to try, starting today:

Keep a gratitude journal. All it requires is noting one or more things you are grateful for on a daily basis. You don?t need a fancy notebook to do this as it?s more about the ritual of writing down daily the positive things you appreciate.
Replace negative self-talk with positive comments to condition yourself to be kind to yourself. Bashing yourself takes a toll on your health.
Uplift someone else by doing something kind and notice how it impacts your energy and mood.

I know that I?m extremely grateful to have you as part of my community. I?d like to take this opportunity to acknowledge and thank you for all that you do to improve your own health and the health of your family!