Highlights from the Research Project on Gratitude and Thankfulness conducted at UCDavis mentioned some of the benefits of being grateful:
- Participants felt better about their lives as a whole.
- They were more optimistic about the upcoming week.
- They were more likely to have made progress towards important personal goals.
- They had higher levels of positive states of alertness, enthusiasm, determination, attentiveness and energy.
- They had greater amounts of high energy positive moods, a greater sense of feeling connected to others, and better sleep duration and sleep quality.
Post-MBA, I see many of my friends working long tiring hours in grueling business jobs, and everyone is complaining of constantly feeling exhausted. Being consciously grateful is an easy way to help improve sleep and energy during the day.
Then again, so is leaving work early and going to bed at 9:30 pm. And no, unfortunately, staying out until 5 am drinking on a work night is not, despite rumors of being a great way to spend your money on experiences you won’t remember the next day.