‘Always give thanks for everything to our God and Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ,’ writes the apostle Paul to the Christians at Ephesus, and now a study shows that being grateful can mean being physically healthier, too.
The study, by the University of California, San Diego, included gratitude as part of an outlook that notices the positive aspects of life. The study noted that it is ‘commonly an aspect of spirituality.’
‘Being grateful was associated with better mood, better sleep, less fatigue and lower levels of inflammatory biomarkers related to cardiac health,’ the study found.
Researchers were surprised to find that gratitude accounted for the beneficial effects of spiritual well-being, and that patients who kept a gratitude journal showed a marked reduction in risk.
But the Bible said it first: ‘Above everything else, guard your heart; for it is the source of life’s consequences,’ Proverbs 4:23.
http://www.apa.org/news/press/releases/2015/04/grateful-heart.aspx
