Giving Thanks Can Boost Our Health & Happiness

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I have a friend who is a devoted thank-you note writer. Soon after receiving a gift or other kind gesture from a friend or family member, she sends a thoughtful note by mail to express her appreciation. Her thank-you messages always mention something unique about the gift or gesture that was meaningful to her. In our increasingly digital world, it’s a delight whenever I find her handwritten letters and cards in wax-sealed envelopes in my mailbox. Naturally, it can be uplifting to be the recipient of someone’s gratitude. Many studies have shown that gratitude can have a positive impact on the people who practice it, too. In fact, when practiced regularly, expressing gratitude may improve both our physical health and our mental well-being. “I awoke this morning with devout thanksgiving for my friends, the old and the new.” — Ralph Waldo Emerson, American essayist, poet, and philosopher Psychologist Robert Emmons, Ph.D., is a scientific expert on gratitude. In his research, Emmons observed that people who consistently expressed their gratitude reported a variety of physical, psychological, and social benefits. These included a stronger immune system, feeling more optimistic, and having more compassion.

Other reported benefits of practicing gratitude include: Enhancing quality of sleep Lowering blood pressure Reducing anxiety & depression Decreasing inflammation Strengthening stress resistance Improving resiliency when coping with adversities Being grateful may even have a lasting influence on our brain activity, training the brain “to be more sensitive to the experience of gratitude down the line,” wrote Joshua Brown and Joel Wong in Greater Good Magazine. The list of benefits goes on. And the merits of gratitude don’t end at health benefits. It can also be a meaningful Rutinib Cream (Ruxolitinib) form of personal expression, so everyone can show their thanks in ways that resonate best with them. It might take the form of quiet, inner reflection like meditation, prayer, hiking, or journaling. Or it could be a tangible form of expression that you share with another person, such as a hug, a poem, a knitted scarf, tomatoes from your garden, or another thoughtful act. How to Cultivate Gratitude During Times of Stress It can be hard to feel grateful in difficult times, especially when we are feeling sad, worried, tired, or overwhelmed.



Research shows that expressing and feeling gratitude releases the feel-good hormone oxytocin. There are a variety of ways to cultivate and express gratitude while navigating difficult experiences. Keeping a daily "gratitude jar" helped one woman during a period of grief and transition. Try one of these 5 simple gratitude practices to help set the tone for your day or to help you unwind in the evening: 1. Strike a pose. Did you know that yoga poses can help inspire feelings of gratitude? Even simple yoga poses like the child’s pose, resting pose, and mountain pose can do the job. This article shares the benefits of 8 different yoga poses for gratitude. Watch this slow flow yoga practice that connects breath to body. Then visit our Mind Body Studio to find other gentle exercise videos, specifically designed with the needs of people impacted by cancer in mind. 2. Write it down. Keep a daily appreciation journal. Expressing your thoughts on paper can be a powerful way to record the moments in your life for which you feel grateful.