On this page
- Quick takeaways
- How strong is the evidence for journaling?
- Does journaling reduce stress and anxiety?
- Can journaling make you happier?
- Does journaling help you sleep?
- Can journaling improve your physical health?
- Does journaling help at work and after setbacks?
- Does journaling help you remember your life?
- How big are the benefits of journaling?
- Which kind of journaling gives which benefit?
- How do you get the benefits of journaling?
- Benefits of journaling questions
Journaling gets credited with almost everything: less stress, better sleep, a stronger immune system, more success. Some of that is well supported, some rests on a single study, and some has no research behind it at all.
This page sticks to studies we’ve read, links every number to its source and rates how solid each finding is, so you can see what journaling can realistically do for you.
The research-backed benefits of journaling include lower anxiety, lasting increases in happiness from writing down good things, falling asleep faster after writing a to-do list, better health outcomes in some patients, faster learning at work and recovering from setbacks like job loss. The effects are real but usually modest, and they come from short, regular sessions of 5 to 20 minutes.
What do you want from journaling?
What the research found
Across 20 randomized trials, journaling cut anxiety scores by 9%, against 2% in control groups.
Try this
Rate how you feel, name it, write it out, then note what you need. 15 min
Quick takeaways
- The strongest evidence is for expressive writing (writing about thoughts and feelings) and gratitude writing.
- Most studies used short sessions: 5 to 20 minutes, a few times.
- Benefits are usually modest. Journaling helps alongside other support, not instead of it.
- Writing about something hard can feel worse for a short while before it feels better.
How strong is the evidence for journaling?
Some benefits rest on reviews that pool dozens of studies, others on single experiments. Each benefit below carries a rating: three dots for a review of many studies, two for a randomized trial, one for a single experiment.
A randomized trial means people were randomly assigned either to journal or to do a comparison task, which is the best way to tell whether journaling caused the change. A review pools many trials, which smooths out the flukes of any one study.
Does journaling reduce stress and anxiety?
Yes, modestly. A 2022 review of 20 randomized trials found journaling reduced anxiety scores by 9%, against 2% in control groups. Putting feelings into words also appears to calm the brain’s alarm response.
Journaling lowers anxiety, by a small but measurable amount
The review, by Sohal and colleagues in Family Medicine and Community Health, pooled 20 randomized trials, mostly of expressive writing. Across all the health measures, journaling produced a 5% greater reduction than the control groups. The authors rated the evidence quality as limited, and most trials lasted only two to four sessions.
Try it: 15 minutes: rate the feeling, name it, write it out, note what you need.
| Journaling groups | 9% |
|---|---|
| Control groups | 2% |
Source: Sohal et al., Family Medicine and Community Health, 2022
Naming a feeling calms the brain’s alarm response
In a 2007 brain-imaging study, Matthew Lieberman and colleagues found that labeling the emotion in a picture reduced the response of the amygdala, the part of the brain involved in alarm, and increased activity in part of the prefrontal cortex. It’s a lab study of looking at images, not of journaling itself, but it suggests why naming a feeling on paper can take the edge off it.
Try it: Write “Right now I feel…” and finish it with one or two precise words.
Can journaling make you happier?
Yes, especially gratitude writing. People who wrote down three good things and why, each night for a week, were happier and less depressed six months later. In another study, weekly gratitude lists over nine weeks went with better ratings of life, more exercise and fewer physical complaints.
Three good things a night, for one week, lifted mood for six months
In a trial published by Martin Seligman and colleagues in American Psychologist, participants wrote down three things that went well each day and their causes, every night for one week. They were happier and less depressed at the three- and six-month follow-ups. The people who kept benefiting were the ones who carried on doing the exercise after the week was up, without being asked to.
Try it: Each night, write three things that went well today and what caused them.
Weekly gratitude lists went with better ratings of life, more exercise and fewer aches
In Emmons and McCullough’s 2003 study, 192 students wrote a short weekly list for nine weeks: things they were grateful for, everyday hassles or neutral events. The gratitude group rated their lives more favorably, reported nearly 1.5 hours more exercise a week and had fewer symptoms of physical illness than the other groups.
Try it: Once a week, list up to five things you’re grateful for.
Does journaling help you sleep?
Writing a to-do list before bed can help you fall asleep faster. In a 2018 sleep study, people who spent five minutes writing a to-do list for the coming days fell asleep faster than people who wrote about tasks they had already completed.
Five minutes on tomorrow’s to-do list helped people fall asleep faster
In the study by Scullin and colleagues, participants were randomly assigned to one of the two writing tasks before bed. The idea is that unfinished tasks keep your mind busy at night, and writing them down gives them somewhere to go. If journaling at night leaves you more awake, switch to a to-do list instead.
Try it: At bedtime, write a specific list of what you need to do in the next few days.
Can journaling improve your physical health?
In some trials, yes. When people with asthma or rheumatoid arthritis wrote about their most stressful experience for 20 minutes on three days, 47% improved meaningfully after four months, against 24% of those who wrote about neutral topics. The effect wasn’t universal, and about half of patients didn’t respond either way.
Writing about stress improved symptoms in asthma and arthritis patients
In the trial by Smyth and colleagues in JAMA, 107 patients took part. Among those with asthma, lung function rose from 63.9% to 76.3% of the predicted level after four months. Among those with arthritis, disease severity fell by 28%. The writing was added to normal medical care, not used instead of it.
Try it: Write about the most stressful thing you’re carrying, 20 minutes a day for three days.
| Wrote about their most stressful experience | 47% |
|---|---|
| Wrote about neutral topics | 24% |
Source: Smyth et al., JAMA, 1999
Does journaling help at work and after setbacks?
Yes, in two well-known studies. Trainees who wrote about what they’d learned for the last 15 minutes of each day scored 22.8% higher on their final test. And after a layoff, professionals who wrote about their feelings were more than twice as likely to have a new job within eight months.
Fifteen minutes of reflection a day improved trainees’ performance
In a field experiment by Giada Di Stefano, Francesca Gino, Gary Pisano and Bradley Staats, described by Harvard Business School, new call-center staff spent the last 15 minutes of each training day writing about the lessons they’d learned. They outperformed a control group on the final test by 22.8%, even though the control group spent those 15 minutes working.
Try it: At the end of the workday, write what you learned and what you’d do differently.
Writing about job loss went with finding work faster
In Spera, Buhrfeind and Pennebaker’s 1994 study, published in the Academy of Management Journal, recently laid-off professionals wrote for 20 minutes a day on five days. Those who wrote about their thoughts and feelings on losing their job found new work faster than those who wrote about other topics or didn’t write at all.
Try it: Write your deepest thoughts and feelings about a setback, 20 minutes a day for five days.
| Wrote about thoughts and feelings on the job loss | 53% |
|---|---|
| Wrote about other topics | 24% |
| Didn’t write | 14% |
The no-writing group wasn’t randomly assigned. Source: Spera, Buhrfeind & Pennebaker, 1994
Does journaling help you remember your life?
It gives you something to rediscover, and people tend to underestimate how much they’ll value that. In a 2014 study, students who recorded ordinary moments underestimated how interesting they’d find them a few months later.
Everyday entries are more interesting to reread than you expect
In the study, published in Psychological Science by Ting Zhang and colleagues, 135 students recorded everyday details like a recent conversation and the songs they were listening to, then reread them three months later. They were more curious and interested than they had predicted. People predicted accurately how they’d feel about revisiting special events, but undervalued ordinary ones.
Try it: Write one line about today, every day, and reread last year’s line.
How big are the benefits of journaling?
Usually small to moderate. A 2006 review of 146 expressive writing studies found a small but real average benefit. Journaling can make a noticeable difference for some people, but it isn’t a cure, and it works best alongside other support.
Across 146 studies, the average benefit was small but real
The 2006 meta-analysis by Frattaroli pooled 146 studies of expressive writing and found a small positive effect on average, with a wide range between studies. A small average can hide bigger effects for some people and none for others, which matches the arthritis and asthma trial, where about half of patients didn’t respond.
What the research doesn’t show:
- That journaling replaces treatment. In the health studies, writing was added to normal care.
- That more is better. Most studies used a few short sessions, not hours of writing.
- That it feels good straight away. A review by Baikie and Wilhelm found that writing about difficult feelings usually brings a short-term rise in distress, which doesn’t appear to cause longer-term harm.
- Popular claims like “journaling boosts your immune system.” We haven’t included claims we couldn’t trace to a study we could read.
Which kind of journaling gives which benefit?
Match the method to what you want: expressive writing for stress and hard experiences, gratitude lists for mood, a bedtime to-do list for sleep, end-of-day reflection for work, and short daily lines for memory. The picker at the top of this page links to a guide for each.
| If you want to… | Try | How long | Evidence |
|---|---|---|---|
| Feel less anxious | Expressive writing: feelings, then what you need | 15–20 min | ●●● |
| Be happier | Three good things and why, nightly | 5 min | ●● |
| Sleep better | Tomorrow’s to-do list at bedtime | 5 min | ●● |
| Support your health | Write about your most stressful experience | 20 min × 3 days | ●● |
| Learn faster at work | End-of-day reflection on lessons | 15 min | ●● |
| Get through a setback | Deepest thoughts and feelings about it | 20 min × 5 days | ●● |
| Remember your life | One line a day | 1 min | ● |
How do you get the benefits of journaling?
Keep sessions short, between 5 and 20 minutes. Write about how you feel and what it means, not just what happened. Be specific. Keep going after the first week, and stop if a session becomes too much. Those habits line up with what the studies above had people do.
- Keep it short. Most studies used sessions of 5 to 20 minutes. The Baikie and Wilhelm review suggests 20 minutes as a maximum.
- Include feelings and meaning. The trials that helped with stress, health and job loss asked people to write their thoughts and feelings, not just events.
- Be specific. Three good things and why. A to-do list with real tasks. A lesson you’ll apply tomorrow.
- Keep going. In the three good things study, the lasting benefits went to people who kept writing after the week was over.
- Stop when you need to. A short-term dip is common. If it doesn’t lift, stop and talk to someone.
New to journaling? The beginner’s guide to starting a journal covers notebooks, timing and building the habit. For every journaling method in one place, see the types of journaling.
Benefits of journaling questions
What are the main benefits of journaling?
Research links journaling to lower anxiety, lasting increases in happiness from gratitude writing, falling asleep faster after writing a to-do list, better outcomes in some health conditions, faster learning at work and recovering from setbacks such as job loss.
How long does it take to see the benefits of journaling?
In the three good things study, people wrote for one week, and the benefits showed up within a month and lasted six. Other studies measured changes after a few weeks or months. Give a new habit at least a month.
Is journaling good for mental health?
The evidence suggests a modest benefit, clearest for anxiety. It works well alongside therapy or other support, but it isn’t a treatment on its own. If you’re struggling, talk to a doctor or mental health professional.
Is it better to journal by hand or type?
The studies on this page don’t settle which is better. Use whichever you’ll keep doing.
How often should you journal to get the benefits?
The studies ranged from a few sessions in a week to weekly lists over two months. Three or four short sessions a week is a realistic habit that sits within that range.
Mike Arnold
Mike is a first-year counselling student who has journaled on and off for most of his life. He writes the how-to guides and the occasional bit of philosophy. About our writers