Practicing gratitude and health

July 2, 2019   |   Evidence in Integrative Healthcare

Early research on practicing gratitude, i.e. reflecting on all of the good things currently going on or that have happened in your life, is linked to health benefits. According to the March 2019 edition of NIH News In Health the first step in practicing gratitude is to reflect on all of the good things that have happened in your life. This can be something as simple as enjoying your favorite beverage with a friend. The second piece is allowing yourself a moment to enjoy that positive experience and bring that good feeling of gratitude come to the surface. Practicing these skills can work for some people to increase their positive emotions and one study found that gratitude was linked to fewer signs of heart disease. This may not work for everyone but it’s worth putting some effort into on a daily basis to see what benefits can be achieved.