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The miracle of gratitude is that it shifts your perception-

The miracle of gratitude is that it shifts your perception to such an extent that it changes the world you see.

TODAY CONTINUING ON THE SERIES; GRATITUDE AND HOW IT CHANGES OUR BRAIN TO BE HAPPIER. PLUS, CONTINUING ON THE BOOK TEN-MINUTE RELAXATION FOR MIND AND BODY.

Hello followers,

Finally, happy weekend!

Dan and I have been for the past year reading inspirational, gratitude sayings each day.

We have been sharing them on each post, we welcome you to join in with us!

Gratitude sayings can help you.

If you feel not in the mood of being grateful, they can serve as a reminder.

If you already feel grateful, then they can increase your vibrations even more.

It is up to you to see the beauty of everyday things.

Being grateful is a choice and gratitude is a practice, make it a priority.

Gratitude opens a new path for you in this life full of routines.

You can convert your routines to rituals by having gratitude practices.

Every day is a fresh start and is a miracle.

It is enough to be grateful for.

If you do not feel like that, it is ok, take this as a message that you are not centered, shake, dance, sing, go to nature, walk, do some sports, do what makes your soul happy, and practice gratitude till you begin to see all those miracles around you again.

Continuing, GRATITUDE AND HOW IT CHANGES OUR BRAIN TO BE HAPPIER.

So, how does gratitude impact the mind and body?

Expressing gratitude improves mental and physical health, sleep quality, and teenage behavior.

Many gratitude studies use writing as a way for people to express their gratitude.

Among 293 people seeking psychotherapy services, those that wrote letters of gratitude reported significantly better mental health than control subjects both 4 weeks and 12 weeks after writing the letters.

And a study of 192 people found that those who expressed gratitude through writing had a more positive outlook on life, experienced fewer symptoms of physical illness, and exercised nearly 1.5 hours more per week than control subjects.

Gratitude seems to be directly protective against stress and depression.

A longitudinal study of college students found that those who felt more grateful experienced lower levels of stress and depression.

The authors of the study suggest, as do other researchers, that this evidence has implications for clinical interventions in psychotherapy, since simple gratitude exercises often result in significant mental health improvements.

Feeling grateful may be a key factor in recovering from traumatic events.

Research shows that among people with PTSD, those who express gratitude have higher self-esteem and improved daily functioning.

And in studies of Vietnam War veterans and survivors of the September 11th attacks, those who felt that they had greater appreciation for their life, family, and friends, and were now “living life to the full,” were better able to recover from the trauma.

Expressing gratitude is especially important for people suffering from an illness, since these people are at increased risk for deteriorating mental health.

A study of organ transplant patients found that those who spent 21 days writing down what they were grateful for experienced improved mental health and general well-being.

Instead of experiencing no change, the control group had decreased mental health and well-being scores, showing the negative effects of suffering from a chronic illness.

Likewise, a study of people with neuromuscular disease over a 21-day period found that those who expressed gratitude had more positive high-energy moods, felt more optimistic about their life, felt more connected to others, and had longer sleep duration and better sleep quality relative to controls.

And a study of heart failure patients found that those who felt more grateful experienced better sleep, less fatigue, fewer depressive symptoms, and better self-efficacy to maintain their cardiac function.

Better sleep might not be something you would expect to get from expressing gratitude.

But in a study of 401 people, those who felt more grateful got on average 30 minutes more sleep per night.

They also had better sleep quality and sleep latency (time it takes to fall asleep) and less daytime fatigue than people who felt less grateful.

The study used measures of gratefulness combined with self-reported pre-sleep cognitions (the thoughts we have just before we fall asleep). Previous research has linked positive pre-sleep cognitions to better sleep and negative pre-sleep cognitions with impaired sleep, but this was the first to show a direct link between gratitude and sleep quality.

The study authors suggest the potential for using gratitude interventions in the treatment of insomnia.

Researchers from Hong Kong examined the complex relationship between gratitude, sleep, anxiety, and depression in 224 patients with chronic pain.

They found a direct link between gratitude and depression, as the patients who expressed more gratitude experienced fewer depressive symptoms.

But sleep played a significant role in the gratitude-anxiety relationship; the patients who expressed more gratitude experienced better sleep, which in turn improved their symptoms of anxiety. Similarly, other research shows that insufficient sleep can increase anxiety levels by 30%, and deep non-REM sleep is a natural anxiety inhibitor.

If you have children, experts recommend cultivating an attitude of gratitude with them early on.

Among 221 6th and 7th graders, the students who expressed more gratitude were also more optimistic, had higher life satisfaction, and had higher satisfaction with their school experience.

A study of seven hundred students ages 10 to 14 found that grateful teens have fewer depressive symptoms, are happier with their lives overall, are less likely to abuse drugs and alcohol, and are less likely to have behavior problems at school.

And a study of adolescents ages 11 to 17 found that daily gratitude journaling resulted in a significant decrease in materialism and an increase in gratitude and generosity.

This finding is meaningful, as materialism in youth is on the rise, and it has been linked to anxiety and depression.

Continue tomorrow-

NOVEMBER 19th, Dan, and I thought on continuing this segment with the series with some fun; What is it about November that is so significant during this month?

National Play Monopoly Day – November 19, 2022

How many remember playing monopoly or still play?

This day is for you!

The game of Monopoly was invented about 118 years ago, and National Play Monopoly Day recognizes Monopoly as a favorite pastime of millions of Americans.

Although it has caused many friendships to crumble, the board game is known as one of the most popular worldwide.

In 1903, Lizzie Magie from the United States created “The Landlord’s Game.”

The idea behind the invention was to demonstrate that an economy that appreciates wealth creation is better than where monopolists have few restrictions.

Monopoly is said to have derived from this game.

In 1935, Parker Brothers released Monopoly, excluding the capitalistic taxation rule.

During World War II, the British Secret Service asked the manufacturer of Monopoly, Jack Waddington Ltd, to create a special edition of Monopoly for the prisoners of war held by Nazi Germany.

They hid objects like maps, currencies, and compasses in the game.

The British Secret Service formed fake charity organizations to send this version of Monopoly to the prisoners of war.

Initially, when Parker Brothers released the game, it had only two versions: regular and deluxe.

In 1991, when Hasbro overtook Parker Brothers, they developed many new versions of the game.

In 2003, Hasbro organized a championship tournament of Monopoly on a chartered train going from Chicago to Atlantic City.

Within a few years, Monopoly became a favorite among millions of people around the world, and it became their favorite pastime during get-togethers and long trips by train. In the U.S., National Play Monopoly Day was created as a dedication to this board game which brings joy to many families and friends.

Time is precious and is priceless, so Dan and I will continue each day to pull from a box of 365 inspirational quotes; one quote and share with you.

Today is:

OPEN YOUR ARMS AND WELCOME THE JOY OF TODAY!

Today Dan and I will be continuing the book, Ten-Minute Relaxation, For Mind and Body by Jennie Harding.

Whenever you are feeling under pressure, ten minutes is all you need to relax totally, using tools that are always with you; your senses.

This book is packed full of wonderfully simple ideas and exercises for using sight, taste, smell, hearing, and touch and that vital sixth sense of intuition to rebalance your energies and bring you back into harmony with the natural world around you.

Identify your favorite sensory relaxation solutions and combat that stress!

https://www.amazon.com/Ten-Minute-Relaxation-mind-Body/dp/B000EJZZ6G/ref=monarch_sidesheet

Per Dan and my experience this is another component in keeping ourselves healthy, meditation.

By using your five senses, you can learn to relax in just ten minutes.

CHAPTER 2; THE SENSORY JOURNEY; SMELL

SMELL; TIME CYCLES AND RHYTHMS-

AROMA BREAK-

10-minute exercise, you can match your essential oils to your moods and the times of the day; start the day with uplifting aromas.

FINAL THOUGHTS, choose your oils according to aromas you particularly like and feel positive about.

If you notice stress patterns, such as difficulty walking in the morning, sleeping at the evening, or a lack of vitality in the middle of the day.

Then you can inhale oils from a vaporizer or on a facial tissue to help rebalance your mood.

Use four drops of just one oil, or three drops each of a combination of two; take time out and inhale the aroma for ten minutes.

TOMORROW, Coping with jet lag-