A growing body of research suggests that maintaining an attitude of gratitude can improve psychological, emotional and physical well-being.
Adults who frequently feel grateful have more energy, more optimism, more social connections and more happiness than those who do not, according to studies conducted over the past decade. They earn more money, sleep more soundly, exercise more regularly and have greater resistance to viral infections.
Researchers found that gratitude brings similar benefits in children and adolescents.
Kids who feel and act grateful tend to be less materialistic, get better grades, set higher goals, complain of fewer headaches and stomach aches and feel more satisfied with their friends, families and schools than those who don’t, studies show.
Philosophers as far back as the ancient Greeks and Romans cited gratitude as an indispensable human virtue, but social scientists, such as Robert Emmons, a professor of psychology at the University of California-Davis and a pioneer in gratitude research, and Jeffrey J. Froh, an assistant professor of psychology at Hofstra University in Hempstead, N.Y.
The research is part of the “positive psychology” movement, which focuses on developing strengths rather than alleviating disorders.
Cultivating gratitude is also a form of cognitive-behavioral therapy, which holds that changing peoples’ thought patterns can dramatically affect their moods.
Much of the research on gratitude has looked at associations, not cause-and-effect relationships; it’s possible that people who are happy, healthy and successful simply have more to be grateful for. But in a landmark study in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology in 2003, Dr. Emmons and University of Miami psychologist Michael McCullough showed that counting blessings can actually make people feel better.
Older people with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) are more likely to recover their function if they feel good about aging, compared to those who have negative emotions about it, a new study from the Yale School of Public Health says.
MCI is a common form of memory loss. Positive beliefs about aging give older people a 30% better chance of recovering normal thinking.
“Researchers also found that these positive beliefs also enabled participants to recover their cognition up to two years earlier than those with negative age beliefs,” Neuroscience News reported. “This cognitive recovery advantage was found regardless of baseline MCI severity.”
More than 1,700 people over age 65 participated in the study, which was published in JAMA Network Open.
“In previous experimental studies with older persons, positive age beliefs reduced stress caused by cognitive challenges, increased self-confidence about cognition, and improved cognitive performance,” study authors wrote. “We therefore hypothesized that older persons with positive age beliefs would be more likely to recover from MCI and would do so sooner compared with individuals with negative age beliefs.”
“Older persons in the positive age-belief group who started the study with normal cognition were less likely to develop MCI over the next 12 years than those in the negative age-belief group, regardless of their baseline age and physical health,” Neuroscience News reported.
“Considering that positive age beliefs can be strengthened, our findings suggest that age-belief interventions at individual and societal levels could increase the number of people who experience cognitive recovery,” the study said.
“Mindfulness is awareness that arises through paying attention, on purpose, in the present moment, non-judgementally…in the service of self-understanding and wisdom.” Jon Kabat-Zinn, PhD. Professor of Medicine emeritus at the University of Massachusetts Medical School and Founder of the Center for Mindfulness in Medicine, Health Care, and Society
Mindfulness helps you live in the moment.
Mindfulness is the basic human ability to be fully present, aware of where we are and what we’re doing, and not overly reactive or overwhelmed by what’s going on in the environment around us. It means maintaining a moment-by-moment awareness of our thoughts, feelings, bodily sensations, and surrounding environment, through a gentle, nurturing lens.
Mindfulness is a quality that every human being already possesses. To live mindfully is to live in the moment and reawaken oneself to the present, rather than dwelling on the past or anticipating (anxiety) the future, according to Psychology Today.
To be mindful is to observe and label thoughts, feelings, sensations in the body in an objective manner. Mindfulness can therefore be a tool to avoid self-criticism and judgment while identifying and managing difficult emotions.
"Beware of destination addiction, a preoccupation with the idea that happiness is in the next place, the next job, and with the next partner. Until you give up the idea that happiness is somewhere else, it will never be where you are." ~ Robert Holden #mindfulnesspic.twitter.com/HHMKxQ1SgX
The goal of mindfulness is to wake up to the inner workings of our mental, emotional, and physical processes and well-being.
Mindfulness helps us put some space between ourselves and our reactions, breaking down our conditioned responses. It is available to us in every moment, whether through meditations and body scans, or mindful moment practices like taking time to pause and breathe.
Mindfulness can be viewed as a type of meditation in which you focus on being intensely aware of what you’re sensing and feeling in the moment, without interpretation or judgment. Practicing mindfulness involves breathing methods, guided imagery, and other practices to relax the body and mind and help reduce stress.
Simple mindfulness exercises can be practiced anywhere and anytime. Here’s how to tune into mindfulness throughout the day, according to mindful.org:
Set aside some time and adjourn to a quiet space.
Observe the present moment as it is. The aim of mindfulness is not quieting the mind, or attempting to achieve a state of eternal calm. The goal is simple: we’re aiming to pay attention to the present moment, without judgment.
Let your judgments roll by. When we notice judgments arise during our practice, we can make a mental note of them, and let them pass.
Return to observing the present moment as it is. Our minds can get carried away in thought. That’s why mindfulness is the practice of returning, again and again, to the present moment.
Be kind to your wandering mind. Don’t judge yourself for whatever thoughts crop up, just practice recognizing when your mind has wandered off, and gently bring it back.
That’s the practice of mindfulness. It’s often been said that it’s very simple, but it’s not necessarily easy. The work is to just keep doing it. Results will accrue overtime.
Benefits of Mindfulness Practice:
When we’re mindful, we reduce stress, enhance performance, gain insight and awareness through observing our own mind, and increase our attention to others’ well-being.
Mindfulness meditation gives us a time in our lives when we can suspend judgment and unleash our natural curiosity about the workings of the mind, approaching our experience with warmth and kindness—to ourselves and others.
Yet no matter how far we drift away, mindfulness is right there to snap us back to where we are and what we’re doing and feeling.
“Mindfulness is a state of active, open attention to the present. This state is described as observing one’s thoughts and feelings without judging them as good or bad.” Psychology Today
Mindfulness can help you become more content, can help maximize your enjoyment of life and daily activities, and can allow a more relaxing and peaceful night’s sleep.
