The New Science of Gratitude
Today I am grateful for our house. It is big enough to give each resident his/her own space when needed. I am also grateful to have others out there who believe in gratitude like I do.
There is growing evidence, scientific and anecdotal, confirming numerous positive effects of the regular practice of gratitude. Gratitude-based studies were scarce fifteen years ago, but now there is hard data worth considering. Two leading researchers in this area are social psychologists Dr. Robert Emmons at UC-Davis and Dr. Michael McCollough at the University of Miami.
Visit Emmons Lab at UC-Davis at http://psychology.ucdavis.edu/labs/emmons
In an early study by Emmons and McCullough, people were asked to keep a weekly gratitude journal, writing down five things for which they were grateful. After two months, these journalers were happier, more optimistic, had fewer physical complaints, and exercised more. Ongoing research continues to show convincing benefits of gratitude in action. It is also indicating an inverse relationship between gratitude and depression. The more gratitude, the less depression.
I didn't need to see this research or read Emmons' book Thanks! How the New Science of Gratitude Can Make You Happier to believe in the power of gratitude. Experience had already shown me that power time and time again. But it has been great to read the book and others, and to see more mainstream news articles on the science of gratitude.
It only serves to further inspire me to get the word out to more people. Will you help me?
There is growing evidence, scientific and anecdotal, confirming numerous positive effects of the regular practice of gratitude. Gratitude-based studies were scarce fifteen years ago, but now there is hard data worth considering. Two leading researchers in this area are social psychologists Dr. Robert Emmons at UC-Davis and Dr. Michael McCollough at the University of Miami.
Visit Emmons Lab at UC-Davis at http://psychology.ucdavis.edu/labs/emmons
In an early study by Emmons and McCullough, people were asked to keep a weekly gratitude journal, writing down five things for which they were grateful. After two months, these journalers were happier, more optimistic, had fewer physical complaints, and exercised more. Ongoing research continues to show convincing benefits of gratitude in action. It is also indicating an inverse relationship between gratitude and depression. The more gratitude, the less depression.
I didn't need to see this research or read Emmons' book Thanks! How the New Science of Gratitude Can Make You Happier to believe in the power of gratitude. Experience had already shown me that power time and time again. But it has been great to read the book and others, and to see more mainstream news articles on the science of gratitude.
It only serves to further inspire me to get the word out to more people. Will you help me?
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