Gratitude can help us improve both our emotional and physical health. Gratitude can include writing little notes to friends or writing what one is grateful for in a journal, they're endless ways to practice gratitude and no matter the way one practices it, you will wake up 10% happier. Gratitude makes people feel more thankful for the things around them and have a more positive vibe to them, gratitude makes one come alive and really pay attention to the little things around them. Weather you know it or not, we express gratitude everyday. We express gratitude when we get an A in class or get a promotion at work and the feeling that we get because of that is what we call gratitude.
Gratitude doesn't just make you feel better about yourself, it also helps you become a better person. Research has shown that gratitude makes a person less selfish and makes them happier about ones success. For example, someone gets a promotion at work and you didn't, instead of feeling envious, you feel happy about their success and celebrate with them. Sometimes when someone does feel envious, they take a look back at their happy memories and feel grateful for what they have, we become optimistic. Gratitude changes little bits of our life but it makes an big impact to our everyday lives.
One of the little things that Gratitude changes in our life is our health. We become a healthier person by practicing gratitude. Physical symptoms, like anxiety, depression, etc. are decreased by 16% by gratitude. We spend 19% more time exercising, which lower risk of getting diseases like type 2 diabetes and high blood pressure. Gratitude even effects our sleep because of gratitude we get better sleeping quality and spend more time sleeping, which I personally struggle in. All of these can help extend our lifespan by a few months, maybe even years!
Gratitude also helps people socially. Gratitude increases self-esteem, which leads to easily trying to meet new people and talking to them with kindness, which helps keep a longer relationship and because of that there is a less feeling of isolation and loneliness. Gratitude also helps us keep more open-mind towards others and lets us be more forgiving.
Gratitude can effect our lives if we choose to do it. We can become better emotionally, physically, and socially, maybe even more. Who knew something so little could change peoples everyday lives? I didn't until now. Even practicing a little bit of gratitude can effect us so much. Start by small steps and write about 10 things you're grateful for and see how it effects your life.
Research sources
"The 31 Benefits of Gratitude You Didn’t Know About: How Gratitude Can Change Your Life." HappierHuman. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Apr. 2017.
"7 Scientifically Proven Benefits of Gratitude." Psychology Today. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Apr. 2017.
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