{"id":24237,"date":"2024-10-29T08:00:52","date_gmt":"2024-10-29T12:00:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/?p=24237"},"modified":"2024-10-20T08:31:48","modified_gmt":"2024-10-20T12:31:48","slug":"do-this-simply-thing-to-improve-your-physical-health","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/2024\/10\/do-this-simply-thing-to-improve-your-physical-health.html","title":{"rendered":"Do This Simply Thing to Improve Your Physical Health"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\"\"<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n

I have a simple, free practice that can significantly enhance your physical health. This isn\u2019t a gimmick or a fleeting trend; it\u2019s a habit you can adopt regularly to help you thrive. You have complete control over this change, and it can truly transform your life.<\/p>\n

Are you ready? It\u2019s gratitude. Research shows that cultivating gratitude can lead to improved physical health and overall well-being.<\/p>\n

Before diving into the benefits, take a moment to reflect on how often you find yourself complaining during the day. If you\u2019re like me, it\u2019s easy to get caught up in negativity and focus on problems.<\/p>\n

To harness the power of gratitude, we need to shift our mindset. This doesn\u2019t mean ignoring challenges; rather, it\u2019s about directing our attention to what\u2019s positive in our lives. Developing an attitude of gratitude requires intention and practice, especially in a culture that often highlights complaints. Just take a look at the news or social media!<\/p>\n

The mind-body connection is profound. Expressions of gratitude can evoke positive emotions, joy, and happiness, and even trigger the release of oxytocin\u2014the bonding hormone. This reaction can reduce stress hormones like cortisol, promoting better health overall.<\/p>\n

Here are some key physical benefits of practicing gratitude:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Vitality<\/strong>: Grateful individuals often report higher levels of physical and mental vigor.<\/li>\n
  2. Sleep<\/strong>: Think of gratitude as a natural sleep aid. Reflecting on what you\u2019re thankful for can induce relaxation, helping you fall asleep faster. Studies show that gratitude can improve sleep quality, leading to 15-18% more restorative sleep and 20% less daytime sleep dysfunction.<\/li>\n
  3. Blood Pressure<\/strong>: Research indicates that individuals with hypertension who practiced gratitude saw significant reductions in their blood pressure. Grateful people tend to have 16% lower diastolic and 10% lower systolic blood pressure.<\/li>\n
  4. Eating Habits<\/strong>: Gratitude can reduce stress, which may lead to healthier eating choices. Grateful individuals also have lower levels of Hemoglobin A1c, a marker linked to diabetes management.<\/li>\n
  5. Cognitive Function<\/strong>: A daily gratitude practice may help preserve cognitive function as we age, potentially slowing neurodegeneration.<\/li>\n
  6. Chronic Pain<\/strong>: While it may seem counterintuitive, focusing on gratitude can help shift your mindset even in the face of chronic pain. Acknowledging positive aspects of life can lessen your perception of pain.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    You don\u2019t need to wait to start practicing gratitude. Begin today by recognizing even the smallest joys\u2014like a smooth commute home.<\/p>\n

    Remember, gratitude is encouraged in many spiritual traditions. As Colossians 3:17 (ESV) reminds us, \u201cAnd whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.\u201d<\/p>\n

    Gratitude is a powerful force that can shape your life and amplify your blessings. Make it your default mindset and watch how it transforms your physical health. Embrace this free opportunity to improve your well-being today!<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

    \n<\/div>\n

     <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    I have a simple, free practice that can significantly enhance your physical health. This isn\u2019t a gimmick or a fleeting trend; it\u2019s a habit you can adopt regularly to help you thrive. You have complete control over this change, and it can truly transform your life. Are you ready? It\u2019s gratitude. Research shows that cultivating…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":419,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4100],"tags":[3111,2866,3338,5184,2618,200,8370,641,359,8373],"class_list":["post-24237","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-health","tag-blessings","tag-blood-pressure","tag-chronic-pain","tag-count-blessings","tag-giving-thanks","tag-grateful","tag-gratefulness","tag-gratitude","tag-sleep","tag-vitality"],"yoast_head":"\nDo This Simply Thing to Improve Your Physical Health<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"I've got something free and easy that can improve your physical health. It's not a gimmick or a one-time offer.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/?p=24237\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Do This Simply Thing to Improve Your Physical Health\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"I've got something free and easy that can improve your physical health. It's not a gimmick or a one-time offer.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/?p=24237\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Doing Life Together\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:author\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/drlindamintle\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2024-10-29T12:00:52+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2024-10-20T12:31:48+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/wp-media.beliefnet.com\/sites\/258\/2024\/10\/morning-2243465_1280.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Linda Mintle\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@drlindamintle\" \/>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Do This Simply Thing to Improve Your Physical Health","description":"I've got something free and easy that can improve your physical health. It's not a gimmick or a one-time offer.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/?p=24237","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Do This Simply Thing to Improve Your Physical Health","og_description":"I've got something free and easy that can improve your physical health. It's not a gimmick or a one-time offer.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/?p=24237","og_site_name":"Doing Life Together","article_author":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/drlindamintle\/","article_published_time":"2024-10-29T12:00:52+00:00","article_modified_time":"2024-10-20T12:31:48+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"https:\/\/wp-media.beliefnet.com\/sites\/258\/2024\/10\/morning-2243465_1280.jpg"}],"author":"Linda Mintle","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@drlindamintle","schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/?p=24237","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/?p=24237","name":"Do This Simply Thing to Improve Your Physical Health","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/?p=24237#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/?p=24237#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/wp-media.beliefnet.com\/sites\/258\/2024\/10\/morning-2243465_1280.jpg","datePublished":"2024-10-29T12:00:52+00:00","dateModified":"2024-10-20T12:31:48+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/#\/schema\/person\/1e16a9c7332cfcc5b5d89e4ba3a36142"},"description":"I've got something free and easy that can improve your physical health. It's not a gimmick or a one-time offer.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/?p=24237#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/?p=24237"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/?p=24237#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/wp-media.beliefnet.com\/sites\/258\/2024\/10\/morning-2243465_1280.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/wp-media.beliefnet.com\/sites\/258\/2024\/10\/morning-2243465_1280.jpg"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/?p=24237#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Do This Simply Thing to Improve Your Physical Health"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/","name":"Doing Life Together","description":"Relationship Doctor, Mental Health, Emotional Wellness, Relationship Advice & Entertainment","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/#\/schema\/person\/1e16a9c7332cfcc5b5d89e4ba3a36142","name":"Linda Mintle","description":"It is rare that a trained academic who speaks passionately to the heart of people providing real answers to real life problems is so relatable. Dr. Linda\u2019s fun personality and expertise comes through whether she\u2019s helping her audience stress less or make peace with their thighs! Dr. Linda has her Ph.D. in Urban Health and Clinical Psychology and is a national expert on mental health. She has specialized in the treatment of eating disorders, anxiety, depression and pain management. With 30 years of clinical experience working with couples, families and individuals, she brings her common-sense approach to people who want to live in positive mental health. Dr. Linda is also a bestselling author with 21 book titles to her credit, a radio host of the Dr. Linda Mintle show, professor, national speaker, winner of the Mom\u2019s Choice Award, a national news consultant, featured writer for Beliefnet and hosts her own website. Her academic appointments keep her abreast of current research in her areas of expertise. Her media experience includes seven years as the resident expert for ABC Family\u2019s Living the Life television show and regular appearances on network television and radio. It is often said that being with Dr. Linda is like having coffee with a friend. She makes the complicated issues of relationships and mental health easy to understand and applicable to everyday living. The ease she has with people, coupled with her clinical training and experience makes her a sought-after speaker on college campuses, conferences and special events. Whether she is doing a TV skit with Tim Conway or discussing teen violence with Queen Latifa, Dr. Linda will entertain, educate and integrate faith and mental health in everyday living. Check out her latest book Hope and Healing for Anxiety, a whole-person approach to eliminate anxiety. .","sameAs":["https:\/\/drlindamintle.com\/","https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/drlindamintle\/","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/drlindamintle\/","https:\/\/x.com\/drlindamintle"],"url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/author\/lmintle"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24237","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/419"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=24237"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24237\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":24252,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24237\/revisions\/24252"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=24237"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=24237"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=24237"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}