Episode 17

Gratitude

Happy Thanksgiving! Your eyes and ears, your time and energy - these are finite resources, and I am grateful you've decided to spend some of them on me. 

In this week’s episode, I’m talking about gratitude. Tis the season, after all. And the fruits of a gracious attitude extend well beyond a pleasant holiday.

Practicing gratitude can have a significant impact on your sleep. Gratitude as an intervention (not a personality trait) improves total sleep time. For example, in studies that recruit individuals who may or may not describe themselves as grateful, individuals are asked to keep a written gratitude journal - typically a daily or nightly log of at least one thing they are grateful for each day. Within a couple weeks, they are sleeping longer! Spending a minute a day to reflect on something special in your life and honoring it with a "thank you" goes a long way.

Gratitude practice as an intervention has been shown to improve quality of life, reduce chronic pain, improve scores of life satisfaction, reduce depression, reduce anxiety, and even reduce blood pressure!

The Thanksgiving holiday is a great starting point to begin a gratitude practice. Try it for yourself! Each day at the same time (such as shortly after waking or right before you go to bed), take a short moment to reflect, and write one thing you are grateful for - could be anything from natural phenomena, your possessions, bodily health, physical attributes, a thoughtful act you witnessed - the subject does not matter. From the small things to the profound, getting in the mindset each day for at least a moment to practice gratitude will help make your sleep - and the rest of your life - better. 

Happy Thanksgiving!