The impact of a brief gratitude intervention on subjective well being, biology and sleep
This randomised controlled experiment tested whether a brief subjective well being intervention would have favourable effects on cardiovascular and neuroendocrine function and on sleep. We compared 2 weeks of a gratitude intervention with an active control (everyday events reporting) and no treatment conditions in 119 young women. The treatment elicited increases in hedonic well being, optimism and sleep quality along with decreases in diastolic blood pressure. Improvements in subjective well being were correlated with increased sleep quality and reductions in blood pressure, but there were no relationships with cortisol. This brief intervention suggests that subjective well being may contribute towards lower morbidity and mortality through healthier biological function and restorative health behaviours.
Journal of health psychology