3 Ways Gratitude Can Improve Your Life (and immune system)

The holiday season is a time of year that elicits feelings of gratitude and positivity in many people and with the year we have had…this is so needed! But can it improve your health?

According to Robert Emmons, the world’s leading researcher on gratitude, “Grateful people — those who perceive gratitude as a permanent trait rather than a temporary state of mind — have an edge on the not-so-grateful when it comes to health.”
In his research studies of more than 1000 people from ages 8-80, he found that those people who “practice gratitude consistently report a host of benefits that include:

1) Physical

* Stronger immune systems * Less bothered by aches and pains
* Lower blood pressure * Exercise more and take better care of their health
* Sleep longer and feel more refreshed upon waking

2) Psychological

* Higher levels of positive emotions *More alert, alive, and awake
* More joy and pleasure *More optimism and happiness

3) Social

* More helpful, generous, and compassionate * More forgiving
* More outgoing * Feel less lonely and isolated.

Below are 3 examples of ways you can work on becoming more grateful.

1) Start a daily gratitude journal. Spend 3-5 minutes each day simply writing down 3 things you are grateful for.

2) Start a gratitude calendar. Write down a word that represents something you are grateful for on each day of a calendar.

3) One letter a week. Hand write a note to someone once a week and share why you are grateful for them and then give it to them.

Also make sure to get your regular chiropractic adjustments. Chiropractic adjustments have been proven to have a positive effect on the prefrontal cortex of the brain allowing you to better be able to “respond” to your environment in a more positive manner.