Why giving thanks is good for brides

Here it comes, the fourth Thursday of November. In the US almost everybody is ready to sit down with their family to celebrate Thanksgiving. Maybe you and your future husband will do the same. You both know well the taste of the stuffed turkey and all traditional side dishes, but… have you planned five minutes to spend all with yourself and exercise gratitude?

Apparently giving thanks is something that benefits our health and helps us to manage stress. Every next-to-be bride would love to go through the whole marriage experience only with pure joy and positivity. She wants to be at ease in her perfect wedding dress, calm and radiant in her presence and beauty.

Robert A. Emmons, Ph.D, professor of psychology at the University of California, Davis, has been studying the ways that gratitude affects our lives. According to the results of his research and others, there are more than one reason to be grateful all the time and most can be really helpful as the wedding day approaches and especially looking forward to a life together as husband and wife.

‘Make a commitment to write down at least three things you’re grateful for each day for 30 days. Make each one as specific as possible – there’s value in the details. It will shift your reality’ Emmons affirms. Nice piece of advise, if you ask us… and here is why. Some outcomes you might be interested in as a bride:

1. Less stress, as a study found that positive emotions like appreciation significantly lowered levels of cortisol, the “stress hormone”. How about that, with all the exhausting marriage planning and stuff?

2. Better relationships, by increasing the production of oxytocin, aka “bonding hormone”. Isn’t it nice feeling calm and secure in the arms of your sweetheart?

3. Younger skin, because taking some quality time for yourself in a positive mood slows down the effects of neurodegeneration that often occurs as we age

4. Dream waist, since one ‘can achieve up to a 10 percent reduction in systolic blood pressure and decrease their dietary fat intake by up to 20 percent’ Emmons writes in one of his books. Well, with Thanksgiving and other food-centered holidays coming up… that would be a potential benefit to be grateful for all year long!