Of the many good habits you can take to positively transform your life, journaling might be one of the best.

Think about it: you take time for yourself, you sit down to take stock, and evacuate the mental clutter.

It’s often a habit that you might have had when you were a teenager, so beyond reflecting on what’s currently going on in your life, it can also be an opportunity to reconnect with the carefree, youthful side of your personality.

Journaling has many concrete positive benefits. Beyond encouraging self-reflection, it is a practice that has been scientifically proven to reduce symptoms of depression and help to manage anxiety. It can also have a positive impact on our blood pressure, lung function, or even liver function (wild, no?) and can be highly beneficial in helping you heal and recover from traumatic events.

Today we are going to highlight three of the top benefits of journaling.

• Unlocking your creativity

One of the challenges you often face as you transition into the adult version of yourself is how to keep that creative spark alight. When the daily grind starts to take its toll and your life fills up with always more responsibilities and to-do lists, you might start to believe that there’s very little time left for creative pursuits. Journaling might be the answer you’re looking for.

Regularly putting your thoughts to paper lets you explore the creative depths of your mind in a totally free and non-judgmental way. You might recall this beautiful quote you came across and jot it down for later use, or you might sketch out this action plan that’s been trotting around your head for the past week, that your mind was about to let loose. It’s the ideal format for brainstorming, where you can let your mind wander to its full extent.

• Get closer to your goals

Committing to your goals is easier with a journal. When you write down your objectives and your plans, you bring them into the sphere of concreteness and give yourself the tools to reach your goals.

Writing also helps you work through some of the mental blockages you might face when dreaming up something big. When you start to commit your ideas to paper, it becomes easier to stay accountable to yourself, as you have something tangible to refer back to.

• Sleep better

At some point, we’ve all experienced the feeling of restlessness in bed. Thinking about your day, ruminating over personal and professional troubles, and struggling to find the much-needed rest that you need.

Journaling before you go to bed helps you purge some of the mental clutter, which should make you fall asleep faster and ultimately sleep better. It’s also a great way to introduce more gratitude into your life. For example, you could try writing down three things that you are grateful for today. This helps you refocus your mind on the good stuff before you contentedly drift away.