We’re all about a great night’s sleep here at thrae. Much like yourself, we’ve felt the benefits of a great sleep and also the pitfalls of not getting enough sleep or getting poor quality sleep. We’re passionate about improving people’s lives and our own through sleep education and sleep products.

The amount of sleep lost due to mental issues such as stress, depression and anxiety can greatly affect our quality of life and our health. Journaling has been shown to have far reaching benefits that can improve mental health, therefore helping reduce the negative physical effects caused by our mental state.

Perhaps something has happened to you recently that has you stressed out, or you’re anxious about something coming up in the future? The pressures of adult life can quickly mount up and start causing poor quality sleep.

Now for the good news…there’s a lot we can do to help improve our mental state and overcome the things that are bringing us down. One of these things is journaling. There are many different ways to write in journals (we will cover these a little further down) but let’s start with the proven benefits.

Reduce Stress:

Writing about feelings of anger, frustration, sadness or fear that are causing you mental anguish is a way of releasing the intensity of these emotions. Writing about the specific issues that are causing you these emotions is a way of detaching yourself from the issue, making it easier to come up with a solution (if there is one) or accepting what has occurred and getting you closer to coming to terms with it. Both these outcomes will help you reduce the impact of these feelings on your physical health and will clear your mind, helping you get to sleep.

Get to know yourself:

Writing about yourself and your day to day events will help you get to know what makes you happy or unhappy. Perhaps there are people or things in your life that cause extra stress, or alternatively, people or things in your life that make you feel great. Learning which is which can help you make decisions that can assist you in increasing the positive experiences in your life and decreasing the negative ones.

Resolve Disagreements:

We’ve all had disagreements with others. Normally we can only see what the issue is from our side, especially when emotions are high. Writing about our disagreements can help us think about looking at it from a different perspective (perhaps the other persons perspective), making it easier to find a solution and resolve the issue.

Get clarity on your thoughts and feelings:

Sometimes we don’t even know why we’re upset or in a negative state of mind. Writing and thinking about your feelings can help us understand why we’re feeling the way we are and put us on track to turn it around.

Gain self-confidence:

Writing about our wins, the things we enjoy or the things we’ve done that make us proud of ourselves can help reinforce these feelings in our psyche,  improving our confidence and making us a more positive person.

Stick to goals:

Writing and keeping track of your daily progress with goals and life changes goes a long way to reaching your desired outcome and helps you stay on course.

Now let’s explore the different types of ways to write in journals and how you can get started.

Stream of consciousness:

Write down thoughts and emotions as they happen. It doesn’t have to make sense, it’s more about capturing your thoughts and feelings in action.

Gratitude:

Keep note of everything you are grateful for at the end of each day or week.

Sketches or Illustrations:

Expressing your feelings and emotions through drawing and sketches.

Daily Events:

Keep note of events during your day and the emotions and feelings attached to these events, positive and negative.

To-Do List:

Writing down your daily to-do’s or next days to-do’s can unburden these from your mind and make it easier to get to sleep.

Fitness Journal:

No healthy lifestyle is complete without physical activity. It can assist in tiring you out, getting you to sleep, increasing endorphins and improving self-confidence. Writing down your workouts can help you stick to an exercise program and be more accountable to yourself.

Food Journal:

As above. Eating healthy food has a tremendous impact on our physical and mental wellbeing. Writing about your daily eating habits and how you feel after eating can help you stay on track and steer clear of the things you know affect your physical and mental health in a negative manner.

Your journal can be one, or any combination of these types of journaling. The most important thing is to dedicate a few minutes a day to getting started and building a routine. You can figure out what suits you and works for you as you start writing consistently. There’s no right or wrong way, just grab a pen and get writing. Just remember, privacy is important if you are to write open and honestly so make sure everyone in your household knows that your journal is just for you.

Happy writing!