It’s easy to think of famous journaling examples throughout history: Anne Frank, Charles Darwin, Frida Kahlo, etc. However, for many, it can be difficult to remember to regularly record thoughts and ideas in a journal. Because of this, people fail to discover the health benefits that journaling can provide, including advanced emotional health, better memory, and lower stress. Devoting just 20 minutes to writing in a journal each day can transform your health and mindset in three noticeable ways.
Balance your emotions
One of the most immediate health benefits from journaling is emotional. Writing or doodling in a journal allows you to clear your mind and truly think. Whether it be about how your day was, what your goals and plans are, or just how pretty your backyard is, journaling encourages an introspective mindset. This allows you to become more attuned to how you’re feeling and how your emotions fluctuate. By becoming more aware of your emotions, journaling then offers more control over how you express them. With greater control over your emotional health, you are more easily able to assess for symptoms of anxiety and depression while also understanding yourself a little better.
Boost your memory and mindfulness
Countless studies have addressed the idea that writing increases memory and comprehension, causing teachers to implement the practice of handwriting notes more often in schools. However, writing is also beneficial outside of an academic environment, which is why journaling can come in handy. If you write down your experiences and goals, you will be more likely to remember them and learn from them than if you keep them solely in your brain. Additionally, journaling allows for increased creativity. All a journal offers you is a pretty cover and blank paper — you must come up with the ideas to fill it. Because of this, keeping a journal allows you to be more mindful of your creative processes and record them on paper. Finally, the more you write, the better you will be at it, and journaling can be a good way to improve your writing and doodling skills because it offers a way to get more practice. If you don’t use your writing muscle, it can quickly weaken, so journaling can play an important role in honing skills and working your brain.
Regulate and reduce stress
Journaling also can allow you to regulate overwhelming situations before they take a toll on your health. Sometimes busy schedules and disorganization cause added stress that can be difficult to manage. However, because journaling encourages you to sit down and think, you can use that writing time to prioritize your concerns, problems, and fears to help you better cope with them. This ultimately helps you manage that added stress before it becomes too much. Additionally, journaling can offer you a space to develop goals and write them down to increase accountability and promote action. This will foster more meaningful goals and increase efficiency in completing them. Finally, the quicker you reduce your stress, the sooner your body will feel the results. Decreased stress can boost your immune system and help you get a better night’s sleep, and it can all begin with a quality journal and a pen.
There are countless ways to get started with journaling, whether you explore prompts that are floating around online, write a stream of consciousness entry, tell a story, or use doodles instead of words. Because journaling is a form of self-expression, no two will ever look the same. There’s no right way to journal — the important thing is to just get started.
Think you’re ready to explore the benefits of journaling? Checkout our selection of journals and stationery at datebookstore.com to get started.
