WHY GRATITUDE

In the podcasts, you will notice that I ask the guest speakers to practice gratitude twice on each episode. At the start of the podcast, the very first thing I ask guests is "What has made you smile and why?". I ask this partly as an ice breaker and a nice way to start the podcast, but also to get the guest speaking thinking about what has made them smile and why. It might seem like a strange thing to do but it is a form of feeling grateful or experiencing gratitude. 

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The second thing I ask them regarding to gratitude is the last thing I ask the guests and again this is deliberate at the end of the podcast so that the guest leaves feeling grateful and hopefully thinking about their response to the question. I ask the guests "When you go to bed this evening, what is the one main thing in your life you are grateful for and why?".

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The practice of gratitude is a great way of improving health which might surprise some. The motivational medics such as Michael Mosley and Rangan Chatterjee recommend practising gratitude in the evening, before bed, as it is a good way to unwind as well as help with sleep and well-being. Studies have shown that the practice of gratitude has astounding benefits on our physical health such as easing pain, improving blood pressure and make us happier.

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A fascinating study by Fuschia Sirois found that people who lived with long term conditions that practised gratitude slept better and experienced less pain than the control group of the study. Another study (see here although this article is not open access) found gratitude practice could result in positive behaviour change.

It seems to me, something that is simple and free to do and so good for our health and wellbeing seems silly to not do.