What will you say ‘Thank you’ for this month?

It’s Thank You Day on 2^nd July in the UK which will be the country’s biggest ever thank you party. Whilst the aim is of course to nudge us to thank those we want to thank, it’s also a great opportunity to generally practice gratitude.  It’s all too easy for us, especially in our super busy lives, to forget gratitude and to show appreciation to others.

Nutritionist Suzie Sawyer shares some easy ways to incorporate thanks and gratitude and the health benefits of doing so.

Much research has been conducted over the last few years on gratitude practices and their effect on mental wellbeing.  A recent randomised clinical study[1] found that gratitude intervention positively affected subjective happiness and life satisfaction. Clearly there are different ways of expressing thanks and gratitude so how can we utilise some practices into daily life?

Write a gratitude list

This is probably one of the most common practices and is incredibly easy to do.  It really is as simple as writing a list!  You can choose to do this daily or weekly and it’s probably best not to overthink things.  Write down whatever pops into your head that you’re grateful for at that time and it can be something really simple like smelling freshly cut grass or enjoying clean bedsheets.

After a while, it helps to change our mindset into being more positive rather than negative and seeing life in a more joyful way.  Everyone has worries and concerns, but there is always something to be grateful for, however small.

Be mindfully grateful

As well as, or instead of, writing a gratitude list, you can practice mindfulness.  Again, this doesn’t have to be daily (although much better if it is) but try and find five or ten minutes in the day to quietly and peacefully sit and just be with your own thoughts.

It’s important to try and push away the bustle and problems of the day and perhaps just focus on the beauty of the clouds in the sky or leaves moving on a tree.  This helps to re-set the brain and calm the nervous system.  It doesn’t need to be meditation as such, as that can be harder to master; it’s more about quietening the brain.

Remember to say ‘Thank you’

We all know how good we feel when we show some kindness to someone, or real appreciation for something.  If it’s done face to face, the receiver of thanks will generally ‘light up’ with joy.  It’s sometimes easier to expect negative outcomes from situations, but you’ll be amazed at how much positivity can come into your life when you say a special thank you to an individual or to an organisation that have been helpful.

Practice deep breathing

When we’re in fight or flight mode due to stress, which we can be in and out of a few times during the day, or it can be ongoing, we tend to naturally breathe more shallowly.  This makes the stress response more acute and then we tend to stay in that ‘fight or flight’ mode for prolonged periods.

If this feels like you, then taking a few minutes, maybe morning and evening, to deep breathe can really help. Slowly inhaling and exhaling from the stomach, you’ll be amazed at how much calmer you feel.  Physiologically, this engages the calming parasympathetic nervous system and is amazingly effective. Deep breathing is especially helpful if you’re struggling to sleep – do it for five minutes when you get into bed.

Take some calming herbs

It’s also important to feed the body the right nutrients so our brain chemistry works as it should.  Equally, we can harness the power of nature and take what are known as adaptogenic herbs.  These herbs have been used very effectively for centuries to naturally manage the body’s stress response and adapt to any stressors.

Top of the list would be Rhodiola (Rhodiola rosea), which is also great for energy and Ashwagandha (Withania somnifera) which helps reduce cortisol levels, the body’s main stress hormone released during fight or flight.

Try supporting your body with these gratitude techniques and show some love to others too.

[1] Luzie Fofonka Cunha et al. Positive Psychology and Gratitude Interventions: A Randomised Clinical Trial. Front Psychol 2019 March 21; 10: 584.