“Thank you”. Thankfulness. Words that you have heard many times, especially during the holiday season. But despite their common occurrence, science tells us that there may be something greater to consider about the healing potential of gratitude. In fact, research shows that the practice of gratitude has a profound impact on health.

Is it possible that our lives might be enriched by focusing on gratitude, not just during the holiday season, but year-round? 

What is gratitude?

Gratitude is a state of being thankful or a way of expressing thankfulness or appreciation. Gratitude brings awareness to the goodness in someone or in life. 

Emmons and McCullough, two gratitude researchers, stated that:  

“Gratitude is associated with a personal benefit that was not intentionally sought after, deserved, or earned but rather because of the good intentions of another person.” ¹

Psychologists suggest that gratitude has 2 parts: 

1. An awareness of some positive outcome or result
2. A recognition that this positive outcome came from somewhere else²

Because of this, throughout the past, people thought of gratitude as a relational virtue. One that connects us to others, in relationships and even in spirituality.

Gratitude is more than an emotion, but rather can be a disposition, an action, or an attitude. 

Gratitude is contagious.  In positive psychology, there is an idea called “reciprocal altruism”, found in other types of animals besides humans, where one goes out of the way to help another, even at their own expense. Theorists think that this action creates an “attitude of gratitude” in which both parties work to help one another leading to generous, grateful relationships.²

But the healing qualities of gratitude reach even further.  Research suggests that practicing gratitude can lead to better health, more meaningful relationships, and richer lives.  

Neuropsychological Impact of Gratitude

Over recent years, gratitude has been increasingly studied because of the benefits that it provides. 

Through looking at brain images while individuals think about things they are grateful for, researchers found changes in the medial prefrontal cortex and anterior cingulate cortex – both regions associated with morals, rewards, and considering the perspective of others. Another study found that gratitude activated the mesolimbic and basal forebrain – areas of the brain involved in reward and bonds with other people.³

This means that when you experience gratitude, your brain activates in ways that lead to physiological change. 

At a hormonal level, research suggests that gratitude is associated with hormones like cortisol, oxytocin, serotonin, and dopamine.⁴

Physical Impact of Gratitude

Practicing gratitude and thankfulness may cause physical changes such as:

• Less inflammation in the body. Inflammation occurs when your body works to avoid an illness. Long-term effects of untreated inflammation can lead to many problems such as cardiovascular disease and hormonal imbalances.⁵
• Lower levels of hemoglobin.  Hemoglobin is an important indicator of kidney disease and diabetes, and lower levels of it may help to prevent chronic illnesses.⁶
• Increased heart rate variability. Heart rate variability (HRV) is important as it contributes to how well the body recovers from stress. Lifestyle factors such as diet, exercise, sleep, and stress levels contribute to HRV. Generally, higher levels of HRV are associated with more gratitude and better health outcomes.  ⁷
• Better sleep and less fatigue. 

By implementing a practice of gratitude, individuals have found it easier to make healthy choices, like adhering to medication, higher activity levels, and balanced food choices.  

Emotional and Relational Impacts of Gratitude

Gratitude interventions, such as thankfulness journals, letters, or kind, affirming words have many positive benefits for well-being and emotional happiness including:

• Greater life satisfaction
• Better mood
• More positive affect and less negative affect
• Decreases in depressive symptoms
• More optimism⁸ 

When practicing gratitude, thoughts of appreciation and gratefulness fill your mind, leaving less space for anxious, worried, or self-centered thoughts.  With a happier and healthier mind, your outlook on life changes. 

Gratitude also encourages you to look outside yourself for ways to help others, resulting in better relationships⁹.  Think about it, if you recognize and feel thankful for the blessings in your life, you are more likely to want to share this experience with those that you love. 

Understanding the benefits of gratitude is the first step. With this newfound awareness, you can now use a few practical tools to increase your level of gratitude. 

5 Practical Ways to Practice Gratitude 

1. Think about your blessings

Take time to contemplate the goodness in your life. Did you wake up in a warm bed? Did you have enough food to eat today? Were you surrounded by someone you love? 

Fill your mind with thoughts of the blessings that you experienced in the last few days or the last week.  From the big things (a career or children) to the small things (a warm cup of coffee) – offer up mental thankfulness for these blessings in your life. 

2. Gratitude Journal

Begin by writing down five things that you are thankful for each day. Either in the morning or the evening. If 5 is too much to start with, write down 3. 

3. Write thank you note to someone you love 

How often do you write letters these days? I know, not often. But there can be a profound impact in physically writing things down. Take a moment, either once a week or once a month, to write a letter to someone you love. Tell them thank you for all the goodness they have brought to your life, what you admire about them, and how much they mean to you. You won’t regret it. 

4. Tell one of your loved ones what you appreciate about them 

Call your mom. Send a text to your best friend. Tell them how much you cherish them.  Tell them thank you for the impact they have had on you. List out the qualities in them that you are grateful for – are they kind, a good listener, have great taste in music, or a phenomenal cook? Tell them.  

A recent study showed that even digital means of expressing gratitude through text or other online measures had a positive impact on emotional states and feelings of connectedness, and led to less loneliness and negative emotions. Never underestimate the power of a kind word.¹⁰

5. Speak to yourself with kindness. Tell yourself things that you value about yourself and thank yourself for holding onto these qualities 

Stand in front of the mirror and look at yourself with intention. In a kind and loving way, talk to yourself about the qualities and characteristics that you see and value in yourself.  From the soft wave of your hair to how you see the good in others, take a moment to acknowledge the goodness in you. 

Throughout each of these practices, try to imagine the emotions associated with each.   When you write, “I am thankful for a warm cup of coffee in your gratitude journal” also think about the way it makes you feel. 

For example, “it makes me feel happy, comfortable, and safe.” Hold on to these feelings – even when the moment of thankfulness passes you by, you can always grasp the emotion of happiness, comfort, and safety.  Your body will remember how it felt to experience these emotions.  

Try these few simple steps to practice gratitude and see how your life changes. Recognize that it’s a practice. Practice makes progress. And progress leads to a habit.  It may take time and lots of rewiring of your brain until it comes naturally – but just as you would with any sport – practice, practice, practice. 

So, in this holiday season, and better yet, all year, say thank you. See goodness. Recognize blessings. Speak kindness. And spread gratitude. 

References: 

1. Emmons, R. A., & McCullough, M. E. (2003). Counting blessings versus burdens: An experimental investigation of gratitude and subjective well-being in daily life. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 84(2), 377–389. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.84.2.377
2. The Science of Gratitude
3. Neural correlates of gratitude 
4. [Thanks for everything: a review on gratitude from neurobiology to clinic] 
5. https://oce.ovid.com/article/00006842-201607000-00005/HTML 
6. Neal Krause, Robert A. Emmons, Gail Ironson & Peter C. Hill (2017) General feelings of gratitude, gratitude to god, and hemoglobin A1c: Exploring variations by gender, The Journal of Positive Psychology, 12:6, 639-650, DOI: 10.1080/17439760.2017.1326520
7. McCraty, R., Atkinson, M., Tiller, W. A., Rein, G., & Watkins, A. D. (1995). The effects of emotions on short term heart rate variability using power spectrum analysis. American Journal of Cardiology, 76, 1089-1093. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0002-9149(99)80309-9
8. Leah R. Dickens (2017) Using Gratitude to Promote Positive Change: A Series of Meta-Analyses Investigating the Effectiveness of Gratitude Interventions, Basic and Applied Social Psychology, 39:4, 193-208, DOI: 10.1080/01973533.2017.1323638
9. Comparing gratitude and pride: evidence from brain and behavior | SpringerLink  
10. What is the Optimal Way to Give Thanks? Comparing the Effects of Gratitude Expressed Privately, One-to-One via Text, or Publicly on Social Media