March 12, 2011

Gratitude refers to a thankful acknowledgment of a benefit that one has received, and research suggests that being grateful improves health and well-being. In multiple studies, the “attitude of gratitude” has been connected to higher grades in high school, less depression and stress, stronger working relationships, and a better outlook on life.

A recent gratitude study published in March 2010 and led by Jeffrey R. Froh, an assistant professor of psychology at Hofstra University, surveyed 1,035 adolescents on Long Island, New York. Those who classified themselves as grateful had higher GPAs and life satisfaction than their ungrateful counterparts who in turn reported higher levels of envy and depression.

Keeping a gratitude journal is a quick and easy beginning to reap the benefits of thankfulness. Gratitude experts recommend writing down events or moments of gratitude each day or week. In an experimental comparison conducted by professors Robert Emmons, PhD of the University o f California Davis and Michael McCollough, PhD of the University of Miami, participants who kept gratitude journals on a weekly basis “exercised more regularly, reported fewer physical symptoms, felt better about their lives as a whole, and were more optimistic about the upcoming week compared to those who wrote down hassles or neutral life events”.

Harvard HEALTHbeat newsletter suggests maintaining a weekly gratitude journal in which you write down or share with a loved one those moments and events for which you are thankful. HEALTHbeat provides five thankfulness classifications -- work, family or friends, nature, uplifting experiences, and material comforts. For the more tech savvy, there is also now an independent 99-cent iPhone app called “Gratitude Journal”, which allows you to keep an electronic record of your moments of gratitude.

Sources: Emmons Lab University of California Davis, Harvard HEALTHbeat

Study: Froh, J. J., Emmons, R. A., Card, N. A., Bono, G., & Wilson, J. (2011). Gratitude and the reduced costs of materialism in adolescents. Journal of Happiness Studies, 12, 289-302.

Dave Gorczynski is president of SPARK, a non-profit organization that has provided free energy work sessions and workshops across New York City since 2002. He writes a regular column about energy work and meditation for the Compact News in New York City's Chinatown. E-mail him at dave@sparkenergy.org.