Ever thought about gratitude as a way to cure what ails you? In this, we’ll talk all about gratitude journal benefits that will serve you happiness, health, and more.

Gratitude is super powerful for overall well-being. It always seems to be the little things that can pack the most punch in our lives.

Personally, I have a special gratitude journal reserved for just pouring out thankfulness to God for everything, including the things that don’t exist in my reality yet but that I know will. 

Every time, I’ve set aside time, usually in the early morning hours, the results afterward were a motivation to tackle the day ahead fiercely.

If you like me have done some gratitude journaling but haven’t stopped to think about everything it’s doing for you, then this post will have you fired up to keep going

If you haven’t started gratitude journaling yet, but you’ve been leaning toward starting a practice, the undeniable benefits here will have you off the fence and getting a new journaling habit in practice.

This post is all about the top gratitude journal benefits that are of amazing service to you and your well-being.

Top 5 Gratitude Journal Benefits

Gratitude Journal Benefits: Happiness

1. Improved Happiness

Who doesn’t want to achieve just a little more happiness? If I could set the happiness dial on max I would. It’s a feeling we all aim for.

Well, research has told us that gratitude itself has a connection to improved happiness. Dr. Martin E. P. Seligman from the University of Pennsylvania found that writing and delivering a gratitude letter to someone increased happiness scores significantly, more than any other intervention, with effects lasting for a month.

Now what’s interesting here is this is taking gratitude journaling to the next level. In this study, the participants wrote their gratitude letter and expressed it to someone else. They didn’t just keep it in a notebook for themselves, but rather both stated it and shared it with the respective person.

This is really a next-level addition to a gratitude practice. And likely next-level improvement in both happiness and the duration of the feelings of happiness.

Along these same lines. It’s like keeping handy a pack of blank notecards, which I’ve actually started to do. I bought some fancy note cards, heavy cardstock, with gold lined envelopes in fact, and often use these to write a handwritten thank you note.

Why not both write and express our gratitude? Improved happiness awaits.

Gratitude Journal Benefits: Keep Doctors Away

2. Fewer Trips to the Doctor

Do you remember the saying “An apple a day keeps the doctor away”? Apparently gratitude kind of works like that to…kind of.

Psychologists Dr. Robert A. Emmons and Dr. Michael E. McCullough conducted research on gratitude with a participant group over the course of 10 weeks. 

They asked participants to write about gratitude, daily irritations, or general events. Those focusing on gratitude felt more optimistic, exercised more, and had fewer doctor visits.

So the gratitude apple here is happening in the connection of physical health with increased exercise, the mental health benefits stemming from optimism, and that combination is like creating motivation to do, be, and have whatever is possible.

It’s like the gratitude journal benefits here are creating this amazing collaboration in the body that is firing on all cylinders and interworking with each other. 

That sounds like a recipe for staying on the healthy side.

Related Post: 9 Ingredients in Learning How to Write a Powerful Affirmation

Gratitude Journal Benefits: Mental Health

3. Better Mental Health

We touched on this a little as it related to the study above that generated more optimism. But my own first-hand observations with myself have shown the connection between gratitude journaling and better mental health.

I did an experiment that has now become part of everyday life, where I would both do gratitude journaling and create a distanced relationship with social media.

The gratitude journaling brought focus and clarity on what I had accomplished, who I was becoming, and what my contribution, purpose, and impact were. I could see it because I was grateful for it.

When I was grateful for the people in my life, the impact they’ve had on me and I’ve had on them showed up.

When I was grateful for my basic necessities, how far I’ve come and who I’m becoming showed up.

In the distance from social media, a level of comfort in everything I was thankful for became something I won and celebrated.

The key point in this experiment is it allowed me to be grateful within the realm of me and my life and without judgment or comparison to someone else’s.

Adding in the social media distance, which for me meant, I didn’t go on social media (YouTube excluded…because I love learning things :)) unless I had a need to, i.e. a business-related post. Alternatively, I’d get someone on my team to get something posted or checked, etc.

To this day it’s rare for me to go on to Instagram and Facebook (those were my main socials), and when I do, I often feel hesitation to go farther than I need to because I remember how I lost the focus on me when I was looking at everybody else.

So gratitude journaling combined with self-immersion does wonders for improved mental health.

Gratitude Journal Benefits: Goodbye Stress

4. Reduced Stress

Writing has long been touted as therapeutic. Now combine writing with gratitude, and stress reduction further amplifies

A study published in the journal “Behavior Modification” explored the effects of journaling on stress reduction. It found that regular journaling, where individuals write about their thoughts and feelings, can lead to decreased stress and increased emotional well-being.

So this study took a focus on writing thoughts and feelings in general, and its impact. My theory, and I’ve seen it personally to be true, is that a focus on gratitude, which is a positive layer added to your life, and the things in it, is going to lead to even greater increases in emotional well-being.

Now that’s my theory, but the research doesn’t like that the act of getting these thoughts reduces stress.

Think about how you felt the last time there were lots of things swimming around in your head. Probably felt overwhelmed, exhausted, and distracted. But the moment you got organized and got your thoughts out, that clarity likely unlocked some emotional health and freedom.

We can use gratitude journaling in the same way, and reduce life’s stressors.

Gratitude Journal Benefits: Sleep

5. Better Sleep

Lastly, we need to sleep. But our sleep quality is really determining whether or not we’re getting the full benefit of what it can do for our body.

Better sleep can be a benefit of gratitude journaling because of the relationship between feelings and dopamine. And the relationship between dopamine and sleep.

“Feelings of gratitude directly activate brain regions associated with the neurotransmitter dopamine” according to Psychology Today.

So with more dopamine in tow, it has an impact on our sleep. There’s an article published by James M. Monti and Daniel Monti titled, The Involvement of Dopamine in the Modulation of Sleep and Waking.

Dopamine is a neurotransmitter that plays a complex role in sleep regulation. While it’s primarily known for its role in the brain’s reward system and wakefulness, it also influences sleep in various ways, including sleep regulation, and its effect on wakefulness and sleep patterns.

So an equation here is more gratitude + resulting dopamine = real good sleep.

Conclusion

These 5 gratitude journal benefits are a core part of our human functioning. Even when I think about that as I write this, it’s clear that gratitude journaling has the ability to play a powerful role in our lives and well-being. All we have to do is put it into practice.

This post was all about gratitude journal benefits and its top effect on making our lives just a little more amazing.

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