Literature examining well-being benefits of gratitude experiences is currently thriving in psychological science. However, evidence of the physical health benefits of gratitude remains limited. Research and theory in affective science suggests an indirect relationship between gratitude and physical health. This study examines how receiving expressions of gratitude predicts physical health outcomes in a sample of acute care nurses over time. Registered nurses (N = 146) practicing in Oregon completed weekly surveys over 12 consecutive weeks describing their positive and negative events, health, and work-related experiences. Multilevel mediation models revealed that being thanked more often at work was positively related to a nurse's satisfaction with the care they provided within that week, which subsequently predicted sleep quality, sleep adequacy, headaches, and attempts to eat healthy. These findings contribute to literature demonstrating the health benefits of gratitude by indicating that benefactors may experience improvements in subjective physical health through positive domain-relative satisfaction.
Among couples, sleep is theorized to be a dyadic process, within which relationship quality exerts a large influence (Troxel et al., 2007). In turn, research has shown that capitalization, or positive-event disclosure, influences relationship quality. The benefits of capitalization, however, are contingent on the receipt of a supportive response, here referred to as capitalization support (Reis & Gable, 2003). Accordingly, the current study examined daily capitalization support, loneliness, and intimacy as predictors of sleep (i.e., quality, duration, difficulty falling asleep). Post-9/11 military veterans and their spouses (N = 159) completed a 32-day internet-based survey assessing daily relationship experiences and health. Results of an actor-partner interdependence mediation model on aggregated daily data revealed actor indirect effects of capitalization support on sleep outcomes via loneliness and intimacy, for veterans and spouses. Partner indirect effects were observed for veteran capitalization support on spouse difficulty falling asleep and sleep quality, via spouse loneliness and intimacy. Lagged actor-partner models revealed similar actor effects for daily capitalization support on loneliness (spouses) and intimacy (spouses and veterans), which in turn uniquely predicted daily sleep. Partner effects were observed for veteran capitalization support on spouse intimacy, and veteran loneliness on spouse sleep quality. Results highlight potential new avenues for interventions to promote better sleep by promoting positive relationship functioning between romantic partners. Such work is especially important for high-risk individuals, including military veterans and their spouses for whom prolonged post-deployment sleep difficulties pose particular concern.
Social connection is important to one's health and longevity. However, not only do people need others to survive, we need others to thrive. Researchers call for deeper examination of the functions and processes through which our social partners help us to prosper and thrive, such as through increased physical health and well-being (Feeney & Collins, 2015; Pietromonaco & Collins, 2017). Over three studies, I examined phenomena theorized to contribute to long-term thriving including positive emotions (i.e., gratitude and positive affect fluctuation), responsive support, affectionate touch, and physical health (i.e., sleep) within the context of nursing work (Study 1) and military relationships (Study 2 & 3). Study 1 provides support for the benefits of received gratitude expressions, an understudied component of gratitude interactions. Specifically, nurses receiving more thanks within their work week were associated with feeling more satisfied with their patient care and in turn positive physical health outcomes including higher sleep quality, for example. Thus, not only is feeling grateful important to well-being but receiving thanks from others benefits one's physical health as well. Study 2 extended research describing the impact of the dynamic and fluctuating nature of emotion and physical health to close relationships by examining how positive affect variability (intra-individual standard deviation) and instability (differences between each successive day's mood) promotes or hinders intimacy. The second study found that greater fluctuations in positive affect over time were associated with greater
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