The Gratitude Project

Sometimes my medication gives me sleep disturbances. Currently, I am in on of those phases. It makes me an occasional cranky pants. That and winter refuses to let go of the region. That makes me put on my cranky snow pants. However, from doing a little bit of research and reading a book compiling the research of Robert Emmons, PhD I have found something that might help keep the cranky pants at bay.

gratitude

In his book "Thanks!" Dr. Emmons discusses his research with gratitude journaling. The first study they randomly assigned people to 3 groups. Once a week the "gratitude" group would write in a single sentence five things they were grateful for in the past week. The hassles condition would describe five daily hassles from the previous week. The neutral group just listed five events from the past week without conveying if they were positive or negative experiments. The experiment lasted 10 weeks. The results of this first study was that the gratitude group felt better about their lives, felt less physical illness, and based on the "happiness" scale used they rated themselves 25% (25%!) happier than the other groups. They also spent significantly more time exercising (and additional 1.5 hours). 

This study kicked off many more, but the end result was always the same. The people who physically wrote down what they were grateful for were happier. People got even more benefit from writing down what they were grateful for at least 3 times a week. Those who seem to get the most benefit are those who wrote down things they were grateful for everyday for 3 weeks. And these folks were still happier 6 months later. And one of the populations they tested this in was those with neuromuscular diseases.

Overall the benefits from writing down what you are grateful for every day include:

• 6 months of being a 25% happier human being
• Improved sleep quality
• Feeling that your relationships with those in your social circle are more solid; strengthens relationships
• Being more likely to help other people and being viewed as more helpful by others 
• Developing a positive recall bias-where when asked about the past you bring up happy/positive memories 
• Actually exercising more instead of just wanting too

 The risks include:

• Getting ink on your hands
• Paper cuts 

I have documented many times on this blog how grateful I have been for everything and everyone throughout my battle with cancer and now in my full life post cancer. I decided that the month leading up to my 2 year scans was the perfect time to re-cement my happiness. And it might even help me sleep better.  I got myself a composition notebook and a pink pen. Who's with me?

Source: Emmons, Robert A. "Gratitude and the Psyche." Thanks!: How the New Science of Gratitude Can Make You Happier. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2007. 19-55. Print.