It helps you sleep better.
Seeing as negative thoughts and self-doubts have a tendency to keep us up at night, it’s little surprise that focusing on the positives in your life has the ability to help you sleep better. Just jotting down a few things that you’re thankful for before you hit the hay should help you doze off faster and sleep more soundly.
It makes you appreciate you for who you are.
In today’s world, people have a tendency to compare themselves to others in each and every way, but not when gratitude is in the picture. One study from Bina Nusantara University in Indonesia found that the more grateful a person is, the less they compare themselves to others and the more satisfied with their own lives they are.
It makes you physically healthier.
The benefits of being grateful extend beyond the mental realm. According to one study published in Personality and Individual Differences, people who are appreciative experienced fewer aches and pains and reported being in better health than those who lacked gratitude.
It changes your perception of past events.
All it takes is the surfacing of one bad memory to ruin an otherwise perfect day. However, grateful people don’t have to worry about this possibility, given that they have a tendency to forgive and forget when it comes to less-than-pleasant experiences. And if you find that you’re letting your unpleasant past experiences weigh you down, take a second to assess them again—but this time, do so with gratitude. You might just find that with this new outlook, your perception of the past—and thus, your mood—will change for the better.
It helps you make new friends.
When making new friends, what are some of the characteristics that you look for in a person? If one of your answers was “gratitude,” then you’re certainly not alone. According to one study from the University of New South Wales, acquaintances are more likely to seek out a friendship with you if you thank them for something, as this is “a valuable signal that you are someone with whom a high quality relationship could be formed,” according to study author Lisa Williams.