The impact of a brief gratitude intervention on subjective well-being, biology and sleep
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Volume
21
Pagination
2207 - 2217
Publisher
DOI
10.1177/1359105315572455
Journal
Journal of Health Psychology
Issue
ISSN
1359-1053
Metadata
Show full item recordAbstract
This randomised controlled experiment tested whether a brief subjective well-being (SWB) intervention would have favourable effects on cardiovascular and neuroendocrine function and on sleep. We compared 2 weeks of a gratitude intervention with an active control (everyday events reporting) and no treatment conditions in 119 young women. The treatment elicited increases in hedonic well-being, optimism and sleep quality along with decreases in diastolic blood pressure. Improvements in SWB were correlated with increased sleep quality and reductions in blood pressure, but there were no relationships with cortisol. This brief intervention suggests that SWB may contribute towards lower morbidity and mortality through healthier biological function and restorative health behaviours.
Authors
Jackowska, M; Brown, J; Ronaldson, A; Steptoe, ACollections
- Centre for Psychiatry [835]