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Often, we express gratitude to others for doing something for us, or for being there when needed the most. It can be as easy as a simple ‘thanks’, and then you both move on with your day. Experiencing gratitude is often a pleasant but fleeting moment.

But how often do you incorporate gratitude into your daily routine? How many times a day do you feel grateful for those around you? Possibly a lot more than you think.

We’re going to show you the best tips and techniques for practising gratitude - for your mental health, and for those around you.

Along with other mindfulness techniques, evidence suggests that gratitude can help you over a long period of time. Listed below are some of the benefits of this practice:

• Elevate your mental well-being and help build connections with others
• Improve your physical health. Research shows that those who reported practicing gratitude had fewer aches and pains
• Enhance empathy and lower aggression towards others
• Reduces stress and negative emotion
• Improves quality of life

Now, let’s discuss the top five ways you can incorporate gratitude into your life.

Journalling is a fantastic way to express gratitude. Research suggests that this can improve sleep, emotional wellbeing and even physical health! Find a journal and let's begin.

You can start by writing five or even ten things in life you are grateful for. Once you’ve written this down, make the effort to repeat this every few days or every week. Remember, it shouldn’t become tedious. If it does become like a chore, reduce the amount you are journalling.

You can use letters to practice gratitude to others! This technique is great for spreading joy amongst your friends and family. Take some time to write letters for those in your life who you are grateful for and let them know how much they mean to you.

Handwriting your letter is necessary in today's digital age. Using a handwritten gesture is more personal than simply sending a text message. Try out sending gratitude letters to your loved ones.

The human body is a wonderful thing. It has so many intricacies that look after you, many of which you may not even realise. Your body is also incredibly unique. For example: the iris in your eye is as distinctive as your fingerprint. Interestingly, no two irises are the same.

Make note of all the things that you are grateful for about your body. Then, appreciate the senses which you use to navigate the world. This can also help if you struggle with your mind wandering as a meditative practice.

Remind yourself of the miracle that it is to be alive and the wonders of the human body that have served you.

Meditation can be a complex practice, which may take years to perfect. Tools such as guided meditation are helpful. However, meditation is not as easy as it appears.

Here are a few types of meditation: spiritual, movement and mindfulness meditation. Other practices such as body scan meditation can help you scan your body for any pain or tension. This can be incredibly useful in feeling more connected to yourself!

To meditate, you must tune out almost completely from your surroundings and enter into a trance-like state.

Despite its complexity, meditating on a certain thought or feeling can help you find what you are thankful for in life.

You can choose to meditate in nature, within the comfort of your home, or in a designated meditation space. Where you decide to meditate should be somewhere that you can feel calm and safe. The benefits of meditation are incredible. It can improve both your physical and mental health.

If you choose to express your gratitude through meditation it can lower negative emotion and enhance your wellbeing.

Making arts and crafts designed around gratitude can be a great way to tap into your creativity. Some examples of crafts could be a gratitude jar, gratitude tree or gratitude box. Either way, this involves writing things you are grateful for and then turning them into a piece of art. Your creation is something you can always look back to if you place it somewhere around the house.

For example, you would need to take an unused jar and fill it with small pieces of paper to create a gratitude jar. Each piece of paper has a little sentence about something for which you are grateful. You can choose to fill this jar at once or over some time. Once it’s full you can take out the pieces of paper and reread them.

Making a gratitude jar is a great way to get in touch with your creativity and practice gratitude at the same time.

Why not explore our range of WEA arts and crafts courses and discover something that sparks your interest?

At the WEA we offer mindfulness courses focusing on meditation and gratitude. Practicing mindfulness is incredibly important to us alongside improving mental wellbeing. Have a look at some of our health and wellbeing courses today!