5 Amazing Benefits of Journaling Daily

There is one thing that Albert Einstein, Marie Curie, Frida Kahlo, Leonardo da Vinci, and Frederick Douglass all have in common. That thing is that each of these famous figures kept a journal / diary to record their daily experiences, thoughts, or feelings. Kahlo and da Vinci even used illustrations to express emotions and sketch out ideas if needed. From scientific geniuses to intellectual artists — & everyone in between, keeping a journal can be a beneficial self-care practice. In fact, journaling can help you just as much. Here are a few of the benefits –

  

Reduces Stress - An upsurge of stress can indeed be damaging to the physical, mental & emotional health. It is proven. Journaling is an incredible stress management tool, a good habit for you that lessens impact of physical stressors on your health. A study showed that expressive writing (like journaling) for just 15-20 minutes a day, three to five times over the course of a 4-month period was enough to lower blood pressure & improve liver functionality. Plus, writing about stressful experiences can help you manage them in a healthy way. Try establishing journaling as a pre-bedtime meditation habit to help you unwind and de-stress.

 

Boosts the Mood - Want more a little sunshine & rainbows in your life? You should definitely try out journaling. An interesting unique social & behaviour outcome of journaling is this that it can improve your mood and give you a greater sense of an overall emotional well-being & happiness.

  

Sharpens your Memory - Journaling helps you keep your brain in excellent shape. It not only boosts the memory & comprehension but it also increases your working memory capacity, which may reflect upon an improved cognitive processing.

  

Boosts Creativity - The idea that the brain and its neural activity encourage learning also shows up in increased creativity. Just like with learning an instrument, your increased activity will inspire your thoughts to connect different ways. People often write poetry as well as just thoughts as they came out, in the journal. You are what you do - so writing helps grow more than being a writer. Writing boosts the way you communicate & structure language, which really is a creative process in itself.

 

Helps Process Life Experiences - When you take the time to look back over what you’ve written, maybe a week later or even a year later, you will have had the distance you need to objectively interpret your raw feelings. Everything - right from losing a job to losing a loved one can emerge in a new light for a fresh perspective. Figuring out how the benefits of journaling have affected your perspective on life will create more connection.

 

A few other benefits of journaling would be that it gives you a space to represent your emotions in a safe environment. It will also keep a track on the small or larger changes that happen in your life.