Every night before I go to bed, I write down five things that I am grateful for. Sometimes it is more than five things. Sometimes I have to stretch to get to five things. But bottom line, I fall asleep with a grateful heart.
Research has revealed that expressing gratitude and writing down what we are grateful for increases our overall happiness and decreases our stress levels.
Psychologists Robert Emmons and Michael McCullough are conducting on-going research on gratitude and thankfulness. This finding is from their website:
"In an experimental comparison, those who kept gratitude journals on a weekly basis exercised more regularly, reported fewer physical symptoms, felt better about their lives as a whole, and were more optimistic about the upcoming week compared to those who recorded hassles or neutral life events (Emmons & McCullough, 2003)."
To read more about their research, check out their website:
http://psychology.ucdavis.edu/labs/emmons/
I will continue not only to be grateful in my heart but also to express my gratitude to others. What are you grateful for?
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