Heart failure is a hard-to-treat condition that results when the heart does not have adequate pumping power. About 5 million Americans suffer from this chronic condition, which often leads to repeat hospitalizations.
A new study from California has found that heart failure patients who acknowledge feeling grateful do better both physically and mentally. 186 patients participated in this study. The subjects filled out questionnaires on their levels of gratitude, spiritual well being and ability to manage their heart function. They also answered questions about depression, fatigue and sleep.
Patients who reported more gratitude also slept better, were less depressed and had less fatigue and lower indicators of inflammation.
Spirituality in Clinical Practice, March 2015
In addition to the study report, there is an editorial by Murali Doraiswamy, MD, a frequent guest on The People’s Pharmacy, and Mehmet Oz, MD.
One way to bring gratitude into your life is to keep a journal: every evening, write down one thing that you are grateful for that happened during the day. Another possible way to expand the benefits of acknowledging gratitude is at the evening meal to invite each member of the family to share something that happened during the day for which he or she is grateful. It won’t necessarily eliminate sibling squabbles, but it should make for some interesting dinner conversation.
