The Power of Gratitude!
Written by: Alexandria Muirhead, R.H.N.
I’m sure you’ve all heard of gratitude but have you heard of a daily gratitude practice?
As a Holistic Nutritionist, I consider all aspects of a person when helping them achieve their health and wellness goals, including mindset! A daily gratitude practice has such a positive impact on your emotional health and physical health!
Our minds are so powerful and science has proven this with the “placebo” effect and the “nocebo” effect. The placebo effect is when someone gets the same positive benefits from taking a sugar pill as the people who are taking the medication. This is just once example. The nocebo effect is the same premise but the opposite. It is when you believe something is causing harm or making you sick, it will actually make you sick and harm you! Our minds are so fascinating and these two effects show us that our mind is extremely powerful! The good news… we are in complete control of our minds and thoughts! With some easy lifestyle changes you can begin to change the way you feel!
A study conducted in June 2020 looked at research data on gratitude and the resulting effect on a person’s physical health markers. The results showed that in the majority of the studies a person experienced sleep quality improvements when incorporating gratitude. Also, there were improvements in blood pressure, blood sugar, asthma and eating habits.1.
What is a Daily Gratitude Practice?
This is something super simple that you can do at any point of the day but the morning or evening are the two best times! The best way for a daily gratitude practice to have an impact and become part of your life is to make it into a routine and a habit.There are two main methods of a gratitude practice. The first is writing down 3 things you are grateful for and the second is telling someone 3 things you are grateful for. This is an easy practice that takes no more than 2 minutes.
My husband and I have a daily gratitude practice and it has been such an awesome addition to our health routine. Every morning on our walk with our dog, we share 3 things we are grateful for with each other. This usually leads to us sharing stories or talking about these things which further reinforce our gratitude for them. I love to start my day with our gratitude practice. I feel like it sets us up for a really wonderful day of work, errands, family time, friend time or whatever else we have on the go for that day!
How to Begin a Daily Gratitude Practice
Step 1: Choose the morning or the evening
Step 2: Choose whether you want to share it out loud or write it down
Step 3: Set a reminder in your phone to help remind you for the first few days until it becomes second nature!
Give it a try and let me know what you think!
Citation
- Boggiss AL, Consedine NS, Brenton-Peters JM, Hofman PL, Serlachius AS. A systematic review of gratitude interventions: Effects on physical health and health behaviors. J Psychosom Res. 2020;135:110165. doi:10.1016/j.jpsychores.2020.110165
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