We all want to be happy, right?
Research shows that gratitude has many benefits. That’s why this summary of an article by Dr Mercola took my interest.
“Gratitude Makes You Healthier, Happier and More Popular.”
Only 1 in 3 Americans reports being “very Happy,” and nearly 1 in 4 experience no life enjoyment at all; practicing gratitude tops the list of strategies known to boost happiness and life satisfaction.
Relationships tend to play a big role in your perception of happiness, and research has demonstrated that gratitude is the single best predictor of relationship satisfaction. It also boosts your sense of pleasure in general.
Experiments have demonstrated that getting in the habit of listing three things you are grateful for each day results in considerable improvements in depression, sometimes in as little as two weeks.
Gratitude triggers the release of antidepressant and mood-regulating chemicals. It also improves emotional resiliency, all of which helps combat stress.
Gratitude also has many physical effects, including lowering blood sugar and blood pressure, improving cognition, reducing inflammation and pain, improving sleep quality and quantity, and improving heart health and immune function
He outlines the benefits and gives some great ideas on how to practise gratefulness.
You can read the article in its entirety here https://bit.ly/2OWfjZ6
I get my clients to use a Happy Journal where there are sections for Gratitude, Happy Memories, Positive Affirmations, Goals and Dreams, Positive Emotional States and Happy Thoughts, Pictures, and Photos. It works best when they write in it and look at it often. What you focus on is what you get, so focus more on positive thoughts and memories, and you will attract more happiness into your life.