Benefits of Gratitude #13: Coping

When the mind is overwhelmed with worry, anxiety, and stress, it becomes difficult to muster up the ability to cope with conflicts, pressures, and the unexpected. Gratitude helps create a foundation for greater coping skills by developing a more positive mental attitude and making it easier to let go of the worry and struggles that cloud the mind.

Benefits of Gratitude #12: Sleep

Multiple studies have shown that gratitude can play a role in getting a better night’s sleep. Grateful people seem to sleep more peacefully, fall asleep faster, and feel more refreshed.

To learn more about these studies and their findings, visit this article at PsychologyToday.com.

Benefits of Gratitude #11: Immune System

Gratitude helps promote positive thinking and therefore a positive emotional state. An optimistic outlook on life helps strengthen the immune system. Grateful people have a tendency to live healthier lives.

To read more, visit: this article at Dr. Weil.com.

Benefits of Gratitude #10: Relationships

Cultivating a sense of gratefulness for our friends, relatives, and romantic partners can help strengthen those relationships. First of all, gratitude helps us look at the positives in our lives and helps develop our minds to look for what is good in the world around us. With gratitude as a tool, its easier to notice the good in others and appreciate the positive effects they have on our lives. The more we are able to see the good in others and increase our awareness of their positive traits, the more willing we are to open our hearts and let them in.

Second…a gratitude practice helps increase feelings of joy and a desire to be more giving…these, along with a spirit of appreciation, are excellent traits from which to develop stronger relationships.

Try using a gratitude journal to develop more appreciation for your spouse or significant other. All it takes is writing three things each night, including whatever you are thankful for, from that day with your partner. Try it for 30 days and see what effects it has on your relationship. It's even more powerful if both of you are involved in this process, each keeping your own daily gratitude list. Who knows, you may choose to continue after the 30 days are over.

Read more about Gratitude Journals for Relationships.

Benefits of Gratitude #9: Health

A gratitude practice not only improves a person’s outlook on life, their sense of well-being, and mental health, it also can positively impact their physical health. Those who consistently practice gratitude do not get sick as often as those who do not and studies have shown heart patients to have a lower risk of a second heart attack. In addition, people with life threatening illnesses have a better overall outlook on life and are happier when maintaining a gratitude practice.

"There is nothing that can have a more powerful effect on your mental health than the spirit of thankfulness."

                                             ~George E. Vandeman

Benefits of Gratitude #8: Lower Blood Pressure

According to the studies done by Professor Robert Emmons, University of California at Davis, the use of a gratitude journal can reduce blood pressure levels by 10 percent…as mentioned in this article.

By lowering blood pressure you are taking an important step towards reducing heart and kidney issues. High blood pressure can cause damage to your vision, so reducing blood pressure levels helps minimizes that risk.

Benefits of Gratitude #7: Helps to Prioritize

A gratitude practice is an exercise in focusing on what’s important to you, what you value, and who and what you appreciate. It stands to reason that this experience with gratitude would help to prioritize what you are most thankful for.