How practising gratitude can help you sleep
A gratitude practice could be the perfect addition to your bedtime routine.
Sometimes when we’re lying in bed at night our worries can loom large in our minds.
This is because when we look back on the events of the day our brains are more likely to focus more on the negatives than the positives.
It’s a very natural occurrence that is known in scientific terms as ‘negativity bias’.
It was most useful in our caveman days when we needed to think about any and all possible dangers. It’s much less useful today when we’re trying to settle down to a restful slumber!
The good news is that we can actually train ourselves out of this habit. Rather than getting bogged down in the ‘could haves’ and ‘should haves’, we can make it a daily action to turn our minds to the positives in our lives.
One highly effective way of doing this is to spend a short time before bed focusing on what you are grateful for.
Firstly, have a think of three things that went well in the day or that you were pleased about.
Note them down, including some details of what happened in each case. These can be big or small, there’s no right or wrong here.
Next, consider your involvement in or contribution to those things and note that down too.
It might sound too simple to make a difference, but regularly practising gratitude has been shown to improve the duration and quality of our sleep and is also linked with greater happiness and reduced depressive symptoms.
Ending the day with positive feelings is a good way to set yourself up for a restful sleep.
Try adding it into your bedtime ritual for a week or two and see if you notice a difference.
If you don’t have a bedtime ritual or nightly routine, here’s how to create one for happier and healthier sleep.