page_title: Gratitude journal
section_title: Major empirical findings
hierarchical_section_title: Gratitude journal / Major empirical findings
caption_attribution_description: English: Neural correlates of gratitude. Medial Prefrontal activity correlating with participants' gratitude ratings.
context_page_description: A gratitude journal is a diary of things for which one is grateful. Gratitude journals are used by individuals who wish to focus their attention on the positive things in their lives.
  Gratitude, the feeling of appreciation or thanks, has gained a lot of attention in the field of positive psychology. Some studies have found that those who are habitually grateful are happier than those who are not. Furthermore, studies suggest that feelings of gratitude may even possess mental and physical health benefits. Positive psychology strives to develop methods by which one can consistently enhance gratitude levels. Furthermore, the maintenance of a gratitude journal can help relieve depressive symptoms.
context_section_description: One of the early research studies on gratitude journals by Emmons & McCullough found that "counting one's blessings" in a journal led to improved psychological and physical functioning. Participants who recorded weekly journals, each consisting of five things they were grateful for, were more optimistic towards the upcoming week and life as a whole, spent more time exercising, and had fewer symptoms of physical illness. Participants who kept daily gratitude journals reported increased overall gratitude, positive affect, enthusiasm, determination, and alertness. They were also more likely to help others and make progress towards their personal goals, compared to those who did not keep gratitude journals. For a sample of adults with neuromuscular disease, writing daily gratitude journals for 3 weeks lead to increased optimism about one's life, longer and more refreshing sleep, greater positive emotions, and feeling more connected to others. Overall, participants who kept weekly or daily gratitude journals had greater psychological and physical benefits when compared to participants who did not keep gratitude journals.
  Furthermore, the positive effects of gratitude can begin as early as childhood. A study conducted by Froh, Sefick and Emmons in 2008 examined the effects of a grateful outlook on the subjective well being of 221 early adolescents in sixth and seventh grade. The children were asked to “count their blessings” and set aside time daily to list what they were thankful for. Results found that counting one's blessings was associated with enhanced self-reported feelings of gratitude, optimism, life satisfaction, and decreased negative affect. Furthermore, exhibiting gratitude correlated to long-term satisfaction with school experience.
  Another benefit may be that gratitude journals are a relatively easy and enjoyable way to boost happiness: Parks et al. found that when presented with eight different happiness interventions, gratitude journals were the third most popular (preceded by “Goal evaluation and tracking” and “Savoring the moment”). Similarly, Seligman et al. found that participants were more likely to continue their “three good things” exercise on their own after the one-week intervention than the other exercises, and this lack of attrition mediated the link between the exercise and its benefits.
caption: Neural correlates of gratitude. Medial Prefrontal activity correlating with participants' gratitude ratings.
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