The importance of journaling has surged in popularity in recent years, and for good reason. It’s an important activity that can really help you grow. Do you journal? And if not, have you considered why not? Many people actually don’t understand just how many amazing benefits that journaling may have.
So why is it so important?
Here at Journali, we take a look why.
- Reduces stress and anxiety
Journaling has been shown to reduce feelings of stress and anxiety. The reason? Well, getting your thoughts out on paper helps you stop ‘rumination’, also commonly known as overthinking. Our mind can go around in circles on a particular issue, and journaling is a way of releasing all of that. It can feel really freeing to let your thoughts just pour out onto a page and let the stress of the day melt away.
- Encourages gratitude
If you have a tendency to see your glass as half empty, journaling can have life changing effects when it comes to being more positive and grateful. Expressing gratitude can lower blood pressure, improve immune function and help you sleep better, a study found. Writing about things you are grateful for literally boosts your health.
- Helps you reflect
Without reflection time, we can often repeat the same patterns. We might make the same unhealthy choices, or we might act in a way that does not really serve us. Using a journal like Journali can help both children and adults reflect on their thoughts, choices, and behavior. Doing this leads to more self awareness and ability to choose differently next time.
- Improves your communication skills
Journaling can also improve your communication skills. Why? Well, because it helps you to organize your thoughts more clearly. This can be especially helpful for children. For example, if they get into a disagreement with a friend, writing about their thoughts can then help them explain to an adult or to their friend what caused the disagreement to happen in the first place.
- Promotes better sleep
A good nights sleep makes everything better. It can improve your mood, make you feel more energetic, and make you think more clearly. Journaling can promote better sleep through the process of you ‘giving’ the journal all of your worries and anxieties. It can also help you to identify negative patterns of behavior and help you work through any feelings that you haven’t processed earlier in the day.
- Help you set goals
Journaling can actually help you set goals, because it focuses your mind on where you would like to go, and things you would like to do. There’s a part of the brain called the Reticular Activating System, which once you give it something, it will look out for it. So in this way, journaling every day can not only help you set goals, it can move you closer towards them.
Are there any other benefits of using Journali that you’ve found? We would love to hear them!