3 Unexpected Ways Writing Can Transform Your Federal Health

“Either write something worth reading or do something worth writing” – Benjamin Franklin

When was the last time you wrote something? I mean really wrote something down with a pen and pad of paper. Typing on your computer or smart phone doesn’t count.

If it’s been awhile, you might want to break out that diary or journal you used to keep when you were younger because writing has been linked to a number of great benefits for your overall health.

I personally love to write and have been doing so since I was a kid, but when my mother fell ill in 2007 and eventually passed away from colon and liver cancer the following year, I realized that writing was a godsend. It turned out to be a very therapeutic and cathartic exercise that I still use today.

I didn’t know it at the time, but by expressing my emotions through writing, it helped me heal. Researchers in New Zealand have found that writing down your deepest thoughts and feeling can help your mental health after you experience a traumatic event. A book that I found about later called, Writing as a Way of Healing: How Telling Our Stories Transforms Our Lives, really helped me write my pain away.

• Writing down your emotions on paper can help you heal faster.

Whenever I start to feel down, I always reflect on the wonderful blessings I have in my life. I choose to focus on the positive. I recount all the things I am grateful for when I take my daily walks, but I also write down what I am grateful for. As it turns out, this is also great for your health.

According to a study conducted by researchers from the University of Miami, they found that keeping a gratitude journal could help you feel happier and more optimistic. They also found that those who were grateful fell asleep more quickly at night, slept longer and woke up feeling more refreshed.

• Writing down what you are grateful for can help you sleep better and be happier.

According to an article in the journal Advances in Psychiatric Treatment, writing about traumatic, stressful or emotional events has been found to result in improvements in both physical and psychological health. It has been linked to with having an improved mood, well-being, better stress levels, along with the physical benefits of improved lung function, lower blood pressure and fewer trips to the hospital.

• Writing makes your mind and body better.