On this week’s blog, guest writer Lauren Louise shares the surprising health benefits of journaling! Enjoy! ;-)
Journaling is a way of expressing yourself through writing. This freeform of writing is like a diary, but it focuses on more than just stories. It is more of a tracker to your personal life for you to improve after. You don’t need to use a digital word count tool – write in any limit you want.
To be specific, journaling can help you in interpersonal and intrapersonal development. It allows you to improve yourself by comparing the actions that you have written. It also allows you to become a better person to others. It is a tool in monitoring your life and plans.
But aside from plans, there are also things that journaling can be beneficial. It can be used to heal one’s body, and it can be achieved along the process. The person journaling allows themself to self-development and health awareness. So, here are some of its benefits:
1. Anti-depressant
Mental health is one of the highest priorities in the field of medicine. With this tool, it will be easier for the person to identify what triggers his or her depression. It will also be easier for the person to think of ways on how to handle those triggers.
Research suggests that jotting down even the smallest details is helpful. It is also good for people who want to relieve their anxiety levels by prioritizing concerns. Having to share the journal with a caring expert can also help more.
2. Avoids high blood pressure
High blood pressure is caused by an unhealthy lifestyle. It is caused by dangerous diets and a lack of body movement. And with these factors, having your brain function will be also at risk.
What you would want to do is to put a part in your journal about diet and exercise. There you can write what foods you’ve eaten and what food you’ll shop next. You can also put some plans on what exercises to do on a specific date. Remember, a healthy mindset means a healthy body.
3. It clears your mind
If you are affected by what is happening nowadays, you might want to try writing them down. It might be about national issues or personal problems. This allows you to transfer weight from your mind to your paper. In this way, you can think of something else or sleep it off after being emptied.
4. Replaces negative with positive
With journaling, you can separate thoughts that make you comfortable and uncomfortable. These thoughts might be from overthinking a problem. So, you might want to undo that through writing. Sometimes, being pessimistic about issues can also be one root of the cause.
5. Regulates oxygen flow
If you’re brought about by speed breathing, it might be because of the stress build-up. This activity will make your muscles tense, shortening your breaths. And when you hyperventilate, you might experience severe body reactions.
You can avoid this by writing all your worries and negotiating yourself on how to handle them. This allows your mind to be at ease, leaving your breathing at a regular response rate.
6. Releases unwanted toxins
If you are successful in writing your heart and mind out, then you will have better brain health. Having to release any kind of stress in the brain leads to better sleep. And having a good night's sleep is very beneficial.
When we sleep, higher amounts of cerebrospinal fluids are being released. This causes bad proteins to be flushed away. This lessens the risks of stress, and to the most dangerous point in the brain like Alzheimer’s.
7. Exercises your brain
Aside from getting your head cleared, journaling also exercises your brain. If you tend to write every day, your creativity shifts. You would feel easier to write every day, leaving you more time to think about ideas for yourself. This also allows your mind and body to communicate with each other.
The faster your write in the progress, the more creative juices you will have. Your brain likes to be teased now and then, making sure than you will not be stressed and idle. And this becomes involuntary as you decide from what you have established.
Takeaway
Journaling is one of many ways to improve your mental and physical health. But if you want to balance things out, you might want to try to develop a lifestyle outside writing. This would include healthy diets, daily physical exercises, and meditation.
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