Pen & Paper: The Benefits of Journaling

By Summer Wrenn
LinkedIn

In a time where we likely spend most of our days staring at a screen, it’s easy to get stuck in the loop of computer work and endless mobile social media content. However, there are alternatives to these unhealthy habits that don’t involve a screen or blue light glasses. All you really need is a pen and paper.

As a child, you might have had a journal that you hid to keep your parents or anyone from reading. Despite the setting of writing switching to predominantly typing online, the practice of journaling is alive and well today. It is actually a very healthy habit that includes some significant benefits, both in terms of wellness and practicality. Surely, you have some empty notebooks lying around that you don’t know what to fill the pages with. After learning about these benefits, hopefully, you will give journaling a second (or first!) try.

Journaling Strengthens Your Memory

Have you ever had a moment where you’ve tried to think back to a certain point in your life, but no matter how hard you try, you can’t seem to grasp it fully? In a study conducted by the University of Tokyo, researchers found higher levels of brain activation in study participants that pursued creative writing in a physical journal versus online. Journaling strengthens the cognitive function to recall past events, even from reflecting on and documenting your day. Once you journal for a while, it’s also fun to look back and remember moments or periods of time and see exactly how you felt and thought then.

Journaling Regulates Emotions & Provides Trauma Recovery

Therapists can be expensive. Thankfully, journaling is a cheap way to process emotions. In a way, your notebook acts as a therapist. In a 2018 study, journaling was found to have been “associated with decreased mental distress and increased mental well-being.” In the same way that therapy helps process emotions and recover from trauma by speaking about it, journaling gives you the same benefits as writing about it. It allows you to get thoughts crowding your head out onto paper, where you can more recognizably process them. Additionally, research has proven that people who wrote about their feelings were able to control their emotions better than those who otherwise chose to write about a neutral experience.

Journaling Increases Positivity

The practice of writing down your negative thoughts allows you to clear them out of your head and create space for more optimistic thinking. Gratitude journaling, for instance, is a great method to recognize small or even big details in life that you otherwise might not have noticed and provide a sense of hope and positivity. Even writing out details about your day allows you to recall positive events or thoughts that you may carry with you.

Journaling Helps To Plan

Surely, you’ve had a busy week where you can’t remember what time this meeting is or what time that appointment is. Journaling details such as these can help you plan for the short term by allowing you to set your mind straight and your priorities by having your schedule fully written out. A study has even shown that research participants showed greater signs of sleep when writing a to-do list of tasks for the next day five minutes before bedtime.

Even mapping out long-term goals can be a great way to set your mind on what you want to achieve. This allows you to realize actionable steps you can take to achieve these goals and track your progress along the way.

Journaling Helps Reduce Risks of Depression & Anxiety

Many studies have backed journaling’s effects on reducing depression and anxiety. One study found that journaling can be as effective as therapy in reducing symptoms of depression in teenagers. The act of expressive writing helps to clear thoughts in your head that cause the overwhelming and negative thoughts that lead to depression and anxiety. Studies in the classroom have even found that students who journal daily were better able to manage their stress and anxiety and improve their class participation.

Journaling Strengthens Immune Functions

Writing in a notebook may seem unlikely to cause physical health benefits, but it does! A study tracking participants’ health before and after taking on expressive writing showed an increase in liver, lung, and immune system functioning and reduced blood pressure. These signs correlate to significantly reduced stress levels from the ability to process emotions physically.

Next time you find another empty notebook around your house, consider starting your own personal journal. You never know; journaling may be the missing piece to your daily routine that will cause you to feel more happy, fulfilled, and less stressed. Later on in life, you will be thankful to have something to look back and reminisce on.