10 Surprising Health Benefits Of Journaling

If you’ve ever taken the time to sit down with a notebook and pen in hand and just let your thoughts pour out onto paper, then you know how cathartic of an experience journaling can be. Such a simple task of merely writing down what’s in your head can feel like such a positive release. But did you know there are actually many scientifically proven health benefits of journaling?

Journaling can have a profound impact on all areas of your life – mental, emotional, social, and yes, your physical health, too! In this article, we’ll be exploring some of the most surprising health benefits of journaling and show how these claims are supported by science.

Whether you’ve been thinking about starting a journal, or you’ve tried journaling in the past and haven’t stuck with it, these health benefits are all the motivation you need to pick up a pen and paper and start writing your way to a healthier you!

Reduce Stress

In today’s modern world, it’s hard not to feel completely and utterly stressed out at times. Just spend a few minutes watching the world news or scrolling on social media and see how you’re left feeling afterwards. Now, pair that with the fact that these are activities most of us are doing on a daily basis. It quickly becomes apparent as to how there’s an unprecedented amount of people being diagnosed with chronic stress and anxiety.

In fact, The World Health Organization went so far as to name stress as “the health epidemic of the 21st century.” One of the most surprisingly effective ways people have found to manage their stress is through journaling. While many therapists recommend their patients keep a journal, there is also staggering scientific evidence that journaling can reduce stress.

One study that supports these claims monitored stress levels among individuals who displayed “elevated anxiety symptoms”. These participants were required to journal for fifteen minutes, three times per week. The study concluded that journaling resulted in “decreased mental distress and increased well-being”  overall for these individuals. They also found that those involved in the study experienced “less depressive symptoms and anxiety after 1 month and greater resilience after the first and second month.”

Lower Blood Pressure

It’s no secret that high stress levels are directly correlated to high blood pressure. According to this article from The Heart Foundation’s website, “A spike in stress results in a temporary rise in blood pressure and constant stress can compound this issue.” 

Ongoing stress that is not managed properly can lead to chronic hypertension, or long term high blood pressure. Having higher than normal numbers on a machine may not mean much to you when you feel good physically. However, chronic high blood pressure puts added strain on your heart to pump blood through your arteries. It also greatly increases your chances of developing heart disease, as well as experiencing a heart attack or stroke. 

So, as a side effect of reducing stress, journaling can also aid in lowering blood pressure as well as preventing heart and artery diseases.

Boost Your Immune System

Another surprising health benefit of journaling is that it can boost your immunity. Reduced stress as a result of journaling can in turn improve immune system functioning. Having a strong immune system can increase energy levels and speed up recovery times when you’re sick. 

One study found that “emotional expression of traumatic experiences” through journaling “influenced the immune response.” In addition to this, this same study also provides evidence that journaling also has the potential to make vaccinations more effective. 

Pain Management and Symptom Relief

In certain cases, journaling about chronic pain or illness can help individuals better cope with their symptoms and pain levels. Journaling provides an outlet for these individuals to express their experiences and emotions related to their health. 

According to this study, “Research has demonstrated that writing about emotionally traumatic experiences has a surprisingly beneficial effect on symptom reports.” This study goes on to conclude that, “Patients with mild to moderately severe asthma or rheumatoid arthritis who wrote about stressful life experiences had clinically relevant changes in health.” This is one study of many that suggests that journaling can actually aid in managing pain in chronic health conditions. In addition to this, journaling can provide patients a natural source of symptom relief.

Improve Memory

You may remember your teachers having you take notes when you were in school. This is because it’s scientifically proven that writing something down actually helps your brain to remember it better. In the same way, journaling can help to improve your memory, both long and short term. Check out this article that compares three different studies that show the positive effects journaling can have on memory.

Get Better Sleep

Another surprising health benefit of journaling? It can help you get a better night’s sleep!

Many people struggle to fall asleep at night (guilty!). It can be hard to turn your brain off when you have a million thoughts going on at once after being in work mode all day. Another sleep thief is our electronic devices which can cause insomnia thanks to the blue lights they emit. These lights send signals to your brain that it’s daytime, making it hard to drift off to sleep. Experts suggest staying off electronic devices for two hours before bedtime in order to fall asleep faster. 

Instead of scrolling social media or watching tv before bed, try a relaxing, technology-free activity like journaling. Studies have shown that journaling not only helps you to fall asleep faster, but it can also help to improve your sleep quality throughout the night. This is because writing down all of your worries at the end of your day can help you to feel more peaceful before bedtime. It also protects your eyes from blue light, helping you to feel tired sooner and fall asleep faster.

Regulate Emotions

Journaling can help to improve mental health by providing a medium to freely express both positive and negative emotions. According to WebMD’s website, “Brain scans of people who wrote about their feelings showed that they were able to control their emotions better than those who wrote about a neutral experience.”

There’s times when a person may not want to honestly share their thoughts with someone else. In these cases, writing in a journal allows a person to let out those thoughts and emotions freely, without fear of judgment. This can help the brain to process traumatic, stressful, or painful events. Thereby, journaling can help to regulate emotions while simultaneously aiding in emotional healing.

In addition to this, in one study, journaling was also found to “have a more positive effect for participants who initially had higher levels of psychological distress” than other creative outlets such as drawing.

Increased Positivity

Journaling has been shown to increase positivity and is a proven mood booster. Writing down things that we are grateful for can make us feel happier and create more life satisfaction for ourselves. When we focus on all the things that are going right, we build more resistance to the things that are going wrong in our lives. 

Another side effect of increased positivity is that it can help combat depression. Journaling about your emotions can help you to put some space between yourself and how you’re feeling. Reading what you wrote down can allow you to view your problems from a different perspective. This is also a great way to identify any triggers or negative self-talk and thought patterns you may have. Once you’ve identified these, you can challenge these negative behaviors by replacing them with positive ones.

More Life Satisfaction

Journaling can also improve how you feel about your own life. Writing about personal challenges can help you to see them from different angles. This can empower you to come up with creative solutions. Solving problems you’re facing can make you feel happier and more satisfied in life. The more problems you’re able to face and solve, the more resistance you’ll build toward future obstacles. Once you’ve confronted a few of your problems and have the experience of overcoming challenges, you’ll feel more confident to tackle anything else that comes your way. This newfound confidence can enable you to make needed changes and take risks in life that will make you happy.

You can also use journaling as a way to set goals and keep track of your personal growth and achievements. This can become a source of both motivation and affirmation. It can bring a sense of great satisfaction to see how you’ve improved in different areas of your life over time.

Improved Social Life

Journaling can positively impact your social life. You can use journaling as an outlet to vent about interpersonal relationships. Then once your thoughts are on paper you can begin to bridge obvious problem areas with potential solutions and compromises. Writing to improve your social life helps you to reflect on your interpersonal relationships, address conflicts, and communicate more effectively.

Conclusion

One thing I think is important to note here is that one common thread in all of these studies is that writing about emotional topics was tied to more positive health effects than writing about neutral topics. Journaling for 15-20 minutes 3-5 times per week seemed to be the sweet spot for the most improvement. 

As we’ve seen, journaling can be a valuable practice for enhancing your overall well-being. Taking a few minutes each week to write down your thoughts and feelings could have a profound positive effect on your health. So what are you waiting for? Go grab a pen and paper and get to writing – it’s for your health! Try these 31 journaling prompts for self-discovery to get you started!

 

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