Gratitude journaling
Positive impacts on lowering inflammation and improving heart rate variability
According to the New Oxford American Dictionary, gratitude is “the quality of being thankful; readiness to show appreciation for and to return kindness.“ Being grateful is a form of self care that you can incorporate into your daily self care practice. I invite you to consider starting a gratitude journal as part of your own radical practice.
Acknowledging the positive in our lives does not negate or diminish the negative, but acknowledging and sitting with both can improve our resilience and health over time. In yoga, I have learned that this is acknowledging of the light and the shadow within all of us is crucial to honoring all parts of ourselves and humanity while accepting what is. According to Patanjali’s Sutra 2.42, “When at peace and content with oneself and others, supreme joy is celebrated.”
Benefits of a gratitude practice:
Boost in mood
Reduced anxiety
Improved sleep
Improved connections with people
Improved health, both physical and mental
Improved empathy toward others
Reduced inflammatory responses in the body
Increased heart rate variability (beat to beat fluctuations with your heart) which can indicate less stress and better resilience
Keeping a journal is one way to practice gratitude. In 2016, a study by Laura Redwine1examined the use of gratitude journaling and whether or not a practice could reduce inflammatory markers or have an effect on parasympathetic responses such as improved heart rate variability. Participants in the gratitude journaling group completed daily journal entries for 8 weeks. They were asked to think back over their day and make a list of 3-5 things they were personally grateful for that day. At the end of the 8 weeks, for this group of participants, gratitude scores increased, heart rate variability improved, and inflammation markers improved. Heart rate variability is an indicator of how you might respond to stress. Higher variability can indicate improved parasympathetic responses to stress with lower heart rate, lower blood pressure, lower respiratory rate.
Keeping a gratitude journal might help reduce your cardiovascular disease risk and also help you feel more content.
Here are some prompts to help you get started!
Reflecting back on your day, where did you notice appreciation for something big or small?
Where did you notice kindness, either received from someone or given to someone?
List 5 things that help you in your day to day life
What are you grateful for today?
What do you enjoy about this season of the year?
What has made you laugh today?
Take good care,
Sharon
Redwine LS, Henry BL, Pung MA, Wilson K, Chinh K, Knight B, Jain S, Rutledge T, Greenberg B, Maisel A, Mills PJ. Pilot Randomized Study of a Gratitude Journaling Intervention on Heart Rate Variability and Inflammatory Biomarkers in Patients With Stage B Heart Failure. Psychosom Med. 2016 Jul-Aug;78(6):667-76. doi: 10.1097/PSY.0000000000000316. PMID: 27187845; PMCID: PMC4927423.