Thanksgiving Day is a great time to catch up with family and friends and eat delicious food. But at its core is a principle that is particularly beneficial to your health. Being thankful and expressing gratitude can actually alleviate anxiety and depression, reduce heart disease risk, and strengthen your immune system.
You may have noticed that expressing gratitude can make you feel better, but it does much more than improving your mindset. Being grateful can have a measurable effect on your physical well-being.
In a heart disease study from the University of California San Diego School of Medicine, patients who reported higher levels of gratitude were less depressed, slept better and had more energy. The researchers wanted to know more. In a follow-up study, they asked a group of patients to keep a journal in which they wrote a few times a week about the things that they were grateful for. In just two months, their risk of heart disease dropped. Inflammation levels were reduced, and heart rhythm improved.
It may seem that thankfulness is the result of being happy and optimistic, but studies indicate that it can work in reverse. Expressing gratitude boosts happiness and optimism, according to Robert Emmons, a University of California Davis psychologist who studies and writes about the subject.
Expressing gratitude, however, doesn’t seem to always come easily. In a survey by the John Templeton Foundation, while most Americans reported feeling gratitude, only 44 percent of men and 52 percent of women said they expressed it on a regular basis.
At Ella Health we’ve been encouraging women to improve their wellness by taking “Just One” step at a time. This could be one of those simple steps that will add up to make a big difference.
We are truly grateful for you. We appreciate that you have allowed us to be a part of your health care journey.
We are also tremendously grateful for our staff members who are so committed and skilled at ensuring that the women who come to our centers feel pampered and cared for. And, we’re thankful for our highly skilled radiologists who have dedicated themselves to women’s health so that they can offer a higher level of care.
Happy Thanksgiving.
Take “Just One” step for your health – stop by Ella Health and get an “Ella Essentials” card with instructions for a self-breast exam and a once-daily set of Pelvic Perches to strengthen your pelvic health.
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