Be grateful and your body will benefit too
When it comes to the topic of "keeping healthy", the first things we usually think about are exercising regularly, eating well, and seeing a doctor. In fact, spiritual activities also play an important role in maintaining health, and gratitude is one of them. Gratitude is an optimistic emotion that includes a willingness to express gratitude and appreciation to those around you. It can also be grateful for the items you own, yourself, and your current life. It has many beneficial effects on health. Recently, the American "Active Life" website summarized the many benefits of gratitude to physical and mental health.
1. Improve sleep quality. Many people who have trouble falling asleep are plagued by anxiety, stress, and all kinds of troubles, and gratitude can help relieve mental pain. Research results published by psychologists at the University of California, Davis, in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology show that compared with people who do not keep a gratitude diary, people who write a gratitude diary every day can sleep half an hour longer; This benefit was achieved even if participants were suffering from chronic pain. In addition, research results published by psychologists at the University of Manchester in the United Kingdom in the Journal of Physical and Mental Health Research show that people who score high in the gratitude test have better sleep quality, their sleep duration is longer, and they can sleep faster. Fall asleep.
2. Improve mental health. People who are mentally unhealthy cannot have a healthy body. When you are grateful, your mental health also benefits. Psychologists at Memorial University of Newfoundland in Canada have found that people with a grateful attitude are more satisfied with life and have significantly improved self-esteem. Writing in a gratitude journal for just 5 minutes a day can increase happiness by 10%. In addition, numerous studies show that gratitude can also help overcome internal pain. A survey of Vietnam veterans found that those with a strong sense of gratitude were less likely to develop post-traumatic stress disorder. Even in the worst of times, identifying people and things in life to be grateful for and expressing gratitude can make a person stronger in the face of adversity.
3. Enhance immunity. While gratitude cannot cure disease, it can significantly enhance our physiological functions. Psychiatrists from Leiden University in the Netherlands have found that optimism can improve immune function. Gratitude, in particular, can lead to a better immune system response in times of stress and difficulty. This is because a grateful attitude can activate the parasympathetic nervous system, have a calming effect, reduce stress reactions, thereby reducing stress and protecting immune system function. As a result, grateful people get sick less often and go to the hospital less often.
4. Be more energetic. In real life, you can get energy from many sources, one of which is gratitude. A study of 238 participants conducted by psychologists at the University of California, Davis, found a significant correlation between gratitude and vitality. Energetic and gratefulPeople often have similar characteristics, and the two may form a virtuous cycle.
5. Extend life. A wealth of previous research has shown that gratitude and optimism can predict someone's longevity. Psychologists at the University of California, Davis, found that people who were more pessimistic and less grateful had a 19% higher risk of death than those who were optimistic. Moreover, people who have more positive, grateful emotions early in life live longer.
6. Promote recovery. Whether it is a mental or physical illness, learning to be grateful can help with recovery. Psychologists from the University of Chicago found that patients with depression can use gratitude as a method of recovery. This mentality enhances the patient's ability to overcome psychological distress; patients with coronary heart disease have an improved quality of life if they practice gratitude training. , depression and anxiety are reduced, and recovery is faster.
How to do gratitude training? You can start from the following three aspects: 1. Record the things worth being grateful for, such as the small joys in life: a hug with a loved one, a smile to a child, a comfortable shower... all of these will make us realize that the little things in life Every bit is worth being grateful for; 2. Writing a letter of gratitude or making a phone call to express gratitude. Conceiving and writing a message of gratitude can give people a positive and positive psychological experience. Regardless of whether we send the letter or not, it is just The process of creation can make us full of gratitude; 3. Give back to the society, imitate those who have helped you, and also help others and give back to the society, but do not expect anything in return from others. Just the act of "giving" is We feel the source of happiness.