Here are three ways to incorporate storytelling into your life to reap proven health benefits:

1 - Listen to some entertaining stories.

Can listening to a podcast really be good for your health? If it’s sharing a good story—and by good I mean that it’s relatable, engaging, and yearns toward the universal—then, heck yeah, it can.

Doctors explain it this way (well, I’ve simplified it greatly!):

We hear, “Once upon a time…” and, first, our heart rate increases as our attention is piqued.

Then, as the story begins to unfold, a chemical change happens—our brains release oxytocin, a hormone that causes us to really care about the people involved. Oxytocin helps us to feel bonded, and enhances our feelings of empathy.

According to studies, that release can also lower blood pressure, ease gastrointestinal distress, and even promote wound healing and suppress inflammation.

So the physical effect of listening to a good story goes well beyond leaning in to hear better!

And there’s more: Stories positively impact our mental health.

Researchers have found that seniors suffering from dementia who participate in community-based story sharing programs, sometimes referred to as reminiscence therapy, have improved cognitive function. You know what else? They report being happier.

An interesting finding? It doesn’t matter if the story we hear is happy, sad, or dramatic, as long as we’re engaged!

Two of my favorite places to get stories in bite-size pieces:

The Moth podcast
StoryCorps home page, for their animated interview clips, which always tug at my heartstrings

2 - Write about a challenging time in your life to help you make some sense of it.

When bad things happen, we need to find ways to fit them into the stories we have told ourselves about our lives. Journaling is one powerful way to do this.

“Storytelling allows us to take life events that are exceptional, unforeseen, or otherwise out of the ordinary and domesticate them into meaningful, manageable chapters in the ongoing arc of our lives. This act of integration,” Bruce Feiler writes in Life Is in the Transitions, “is storytelling’s greatest gift.”

Have you recently divorced your partner? Lost your job? Are you feeling undermined at work or lost at home? Have you suffered trauma in your past? Or are you just feeling a little “off”?

No matter how big or small your challenge, writing about it with intent—to reflect and find meaning—will undoubtedly be helpful. It’s why so many psychologists recommend the practice to patients working through a difficult experience.

What does the data say? Journaling helps improve well-being after traumatic and stressful events, according to a study from Cambridge University. A host of other research enumerates the benefits of expressive writing, as well, from coping more effectively with stress to improved memory function, from helping us make better decisions to accurately naming our feelings.

What do people say? Simply put, it makes us feel better. Journaling can be cathartic, sense-making, calming. By creating a coherent narrative out of something that was experienced mostly through emotions before—anger, sadness, outrage—we can make sense out of the chaos of our lives.

A few tips to get started writing about painful experiences:

Choose one challenging life event or theme to write about more than once. On day one, free-write—jot down impressions and emotions, and allow your pain to flow through your pen. On day two (a week or so later), try to construct a story about your experience; and during a subsequent writing session, probe for meaning. You might want to try writing a letter to your younger self, or imagining what a compassionate friend might say in response to your narrative. If these writing suggestions do not resonate, check out the writing prompts in this article specifically designed to help individuals cope with symptoms of PTSD.
Be gentle with yourself. While writing may bring clarity, it will also drum up some difficult feelings. Consider reaching out to a supportive friend or therapist if the process becomes overwhelming.
Find gratitude. Even in the most challenging circumstances we may find “silver linings.” Write about something you have learned or gained through your journal practice. Try to be conscious of any healing that is happening along the way.

3 - Ask someone you love to tell you stories from their life.

It’s so easy to get into a rut of routine conversation with our loved ones. Next time, skip the quick text asking, “How was your day,” and instead invite more meaningful conversation.

An eight-decade Harvard study found that those with deeper social connections live longer. “The surprising finding is that our relationships and how happy we are in our relationships has a powerful influence on our health,” said Robert Waldinger, director of the study.

According to an article in The Harvard Gazette, “Several studies found that people’s level of satisfaction with their relationships at age 50 was a better predictor of physical health than their cholesterol levels were.”

Relationships, it would seem, are a key ingredient to our well-being, especially as we age.

And intergenerational connection—that between, say a grandparent and a grandchild—may have even greater health benefits.

As Marc Freedman, author of How to Live Forever: The Enduring Power of Connecting the Generations, writes, “an accumulating body of research on purpose, generativity, relationships, and face-to-face contact suggests that engagement with others that flows down the generational chain may well make you healthier, happier, and possibly longer-lived.”

A few ideas for having deeper conversations with your family elders:

Pick one or two questions from a list of family history interview questions to spark some story sharing. And be a good listener: Ask follow-up questions, make eye contact (if you are physically present together or on video chat), and provide a safe space for reflection.
Grab an old family photo to use as a memory prompt and ask your loved one to tell you about a time from their childhood (or yours!).
Go deep: Ask them thought-provoking questions that are usually relegated to philosophy books these days. How do you want to be remembered? What do you wish you knew when you were 20 years old? What has been the great joy of your life?

My biggest wish for you? That you will do one or more of these suggestions not just once, but that you will make them a part of the fabric of your—even healthier!—life.