3 positive practices to increase your well-being

For more than a billion Christians across the globe, Ash Wednesday marks the official start of Lent, 40 days of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving leading up to Easter.

The purpose of the season is to reflect on and change aspects of one’s life to prepare for the Easter celebration. Spiritual renewal and forgiveness are key.

However, the significance of the season is often forgotten by many of us and instead gets boiled down to the one big question: “What on earth should I give up this year?”

“Giving something up” has become synonymous with Lent in today’s modern times. Each year, as the season approaches, many folks spend an inordinate amount of time discussing and deliberating about what to give up.

Alternatively, we might want to think about doing something positive.

It may be beneficial to reflect on the three foundational pillars of Lent: prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. These practices have been central to the season for centuries and are also linked to enhanced well-being.

And, of course, you don’t have to be Christian or observe Lent to fast, pray, or give to the poor. Anyone—the religious and the nonreligious alike—can engage in these practices to reap their inherent physical and mental benefits.

Powerful Well-Being Effects of Fasting, Prayer, and Almsgiving

Fasting

Fasting is receiving a lot of attention lately with many studies linking it to enhanced mental and physical health. For example, in a recent 2024 review article, intermittent fasting was found to improve the cognitive function of older adults.

In another study published in Brain and Behavior, 770 Nigerians who observed Ramadan intermittent fasting demonstrated a significant improvement in their mental well-being during Ramadan as opposed to before. Depression and anxiety dropped during the fasting, and their levels of interest and pleasure increased.

Finally, another 2024 study suggests intermittent fasting can even be a way to extend our life.

Prayer or Meditation

Since the beginning of time, people have engaged in the universal behaviours of prayer and meditation. Some practice alone, while others gather at churches, synagogues, mosques, temples, or secular retreats. Regardless of your preference or method of practice, prayer and meditation provide powerful psychological and physiological benefits to the religious and secular alike.

Devotional prayer has been linked to lower anxiety and a greater sense of connection. And a recent 2024 paper published in the Journal of Religion and Health found that praying with others is associated with greater overall mental health and more positive views of the self.

Similarly, as we discuss in Happy Together, mindfulness meditation has been associated with decreases in depression and anxiety and enhanced moods. Researcher Ken Pargament has dedicated his career to studying the psychology of religion and spirituality and their roles in human flourishing. Among many things, his work has measured the spiritual component of meditation.

In brief, in secular meditation, you focus on something such as your breath or words of self-affirmation (“I am love”) whereas in spiritual meditation, you focus on a spiritual word or text (“God is love”).

Interestingly, in one study comparing spiritual meditation with secular meditation, he and his colleagues found that the spiritual meditation group experienced greater decreases in anxiety, enhanced mood, and a higher tolerance to pain than the secular group. In another study comprised of migraine sufferers, those who practised spiritual meditation over secular meditation experienced greater declines in migraines.

Almsgiving

Donating money or goods to the poor is something heralded by all faiths and non-religies alike. It’s good for others and makes us feel good in the process.

Giving voluntarily and lovingly to charities activates the reward center of our brain, releasing feelings of pleasure, and resulting in what is commonly referred to as a “helper’s high.” Givers experience greater self-esteem and a boost in mood. Giving can also help decrease depression and lower cholesterol.

Studies have found that when we spend money on others, we’re happier than when we spend it on ourselves. This happiness, in turn, further encourages individuals to continue being generous in the future. It’s like compound interest.

Generosity is often used interchangeably with kindness, one of the 24 VIA character strengths. Defined as “giving your time, money, and talent to support those who are in need,” it falls within the virtue category of humanity. It is this category of strengths that is most relevant in our close interpersonal relationships.

So Many Choices: What to Do

Reflecting on the start of the Lenten season this past week, I (“Suzie”) automatically began thinking about what I was going to give up. I was suddenly catapulted back to my childhood to a similar time when I struggled with what to give up for Lent. I recall how my young mind jumped from thought to thought:

Should I be refraining from watching my favourite Saturday morning cartoons? Perhaps going without my beloved chocolate candies? Or maybe taking a reprieve from obsessively pouring over my treasured “Teen Beat” magazines?

I approached my mom for help. After recounting my uncertainty on what to give up, I was surprised by her simple and swift response: “Honey, you can also focus on doing something positive during Lent.”

That had never crossed my mind before. If only it had, it would have saved me a lot of angst. (I now realize what a paragon of positive psychology my mother is. Not surprisingly, I ended up going into the field of positive psychology, having my mom as my first great role model.)

While I plan to give up something this year, I also plan to do something positive each day during the season. Given the powerful personal and relational benefits of fasting, prayer, and almsgiving, I’m going to try my best to practice them this year.

Ultimately, whatever you may choose to give up or practice this season, be intentional about how you want to create positive habits in your life. Take time to reflect on the bigger purpose.

While personal benefits are important, of course, perhaps ask yourself how your actions can also help strengthen your social connections — a key factor to well-being—and build goodness in the world.