A Nightly Gratitude Practice

When you lay your head down to sleep, think about what you’re grateful for. Go over the day looking for good things that happened for you.

Good things might be surprisingly easy to find. You can also plant some seeds of gratitude ahead of time by writing a gratitude list shortly before going to bed.

It might feel surprisingly natural to end your day this way, going over the day once more and finding the good in it.

Finding things to be grateful for is calming. It helps you feel safe and secure, and it helps you fall asleep. It’s especially helpful when you’re feeling troubled when you go to sleep. It drives out negative emotions.

The last year has shown that nothing is certain. You can unexpectedly lose friends, family, your livelihood, and even smaller things like the luxury of sitting down for a nice dinner out on Friday nights. Every day there are things to be grateful for, and every night there’s a perfect opportunity to take a little time to appreciate the good in life.