Not Diet, Not Exercise: Scientists Say This Activity Boosts Long-Term Mental Health

As goes the mind, so goes the body. Taking steps to maintain our physical health through nutrition, physical activity, and quality sleep can help drive longevity. However, our long-term mental health is also important, both in its own right and because of the way that our mental health is linked to our physical well-being. Diet and exercise are also vital for long-term mental health. For instance, deficiencies in nutrients like vitamin C or vitamin B12 are associated with poor mental health while exercise can release neurotransmitters associated with improved mood and can lower cortisol levels. However, scientists have identified a simple activity, journaling, that can boost long-term mental health.

Simply put, journaling is the act of keeping track of your thoughts, feelings, and daily occurrences. People use journaling as a way to organize their thoughts, give themselves space to work through unpleasant emotions, keep track of daily occurrences, or take note of things they are grateful for, something called gratitude journaling. Each of these can be helpful with boosting mental health. It can be especially helpful to keep track of seemingly insignificant experiences, as it is often the ordinary and not big events that are responsible for long-term happiness. People might think that winning the lottery might make them happy beyond belief, but research shows that lottery winners experience a short burst of happiness and return to a sort of happiness baseline soon after.

While the act of writing in a journal is helpful, re-reading what you wrote about in the past can be beneficial as well. Simple, ordinary occurrences that may not have seemed significant at the time can take on a new and more notable light. Similarly, some people may find reassurance revisiting a time when they've overcome challenges in the past. Writing down everyday experiences in a journal can be a way of storing up wisdom and preserving memories that can bring joy in the future.

The efficacy of journaling as a way of boosting mental health has been the subject of many scientific studies in recent years. One study from 2018 looked at how a type of journaling known as positive affect journaling (PAJ), in which you write about a past traumatic experience and its related emotions, affected feelings of mental distress and anxiety in a sample of 70 adults. Repeatedly bringing up bad memories can have negative effects (hence why the future of mental healthcare might involve editing those bad memories), but a strategic approach like PAJ could be beneficial. Participants in the experiment group did 15-minute PAJ sessions three times a week for 12 weeks. The researchers surveyed participants to measure symptoms of depression, anxiety, and other mental health markers at the beginning of the study and at the end of the first, second, and third month. Their analysis found that those doing the journaling exercise had a lower incidence of depression and anxiety symptoms and greater reported well-being.

A study from 2022 looked at previous research into the efficacy of journaling in managing mental illness. The researchers looked at the effects identified in dozens of studies and found that journaling had a small to moderate benefit. These findings point to journaling's value as one of many tools for boosting mental health.

While journaling is at its core just writing things down, there are many types of journaling and ways to journal. Some people find benefit from free-writing whatever comes to their mind for a set period, while others might want to pursue PAJ or gratitude journaling. Journaling can be a lengthy process of writing and reflecting or just five minutes of recording thoughts and events.

Similarly, you can write by hand on paper or type your journal entries on a computer. Some research has found that writing on paper can give you a cognitive edge, likely because handwriting is slower than typing for most people, which forces people to consider what they are writing more. Paper and pen are also less expensive than a computing device, though many people have ready access to smart phones and other devices and free software. Some might find digital journaling more convenient or effective while others might benefit from a more analog approach. Finding the right method for journaling could take some trial and error, but it seems clear that writing down thoughts and events can help boost mental health.