Hearts can become cold after months of freezing temperatures.  As we pass the time waiting for warmer days, now is a good time thaw our frozen hearts with gratitude.

Gratitude is an attitude, a habit of being thankful for the little things.  Research shows that gratitude and dark moods cannot rest in the same mind at the same time.

Studies have found that college students who wrote down things they were thankful for 9 weeks exhibited fewer physical illness symptoms than those who recorded hassles or neutral events.  Time focused on positive events kept them healthier.

In a study of subjects with a neurological illness, participants who counted their blessings daily for 21 days were found to sleep better than those in the control group.  Counting blessings appears to foster a sense of ease and contentment.

A final piece of research I will mention reports on a sample of 82 adults receiving treatment for hypertension.  Here, scientists found that participants who received a 10-week gratitude intervention, as well as their regular treatment, experienced greater decreases in blood pressure than the control. Gratitude can reduce symptoms of high stress, including high blood pressure.

For a few moments each day, be grateful.  Your blood pressure may drop and your sleep may improve.

Angela Hall., MA.  Resident in Counseling, Riverside Counseling Center