How Gratitude Improves Mental and Physical Health
Written by: Toni Privado, Graduate Student Intern
In America, we often think about gratitude more as the holidays approach, but research reveals that gratitude improves all aspects of our health: physically, socially, and psychologically. I have read numerous articles that provide the benefits of being grateful. Personally, I was intrigued to try to add gratitude into the daily routines. The overall impact on my life was remarkable.
5 Mental Health Benefits of Gratitude
1. Creates More Happiness and Optimism
2. Positively Changes Your Brain
Research shows that by practicing gratitude, we can change our brains to automatically default to an attitude of gratitude. Hebb’s law is a theory that states, “Neurons that fire together wire together.” Each time we think a thought, we are creating neural pathways in our brains. Each time we think of a negative thought, we are building connections in our brains to think negatively in the future. The same happens with positive thoughts.
Ultimately this means whatever we pay attention to grows stronger as the neural pathway connections in our brains grow stronger. Practicing gratitude, our attention shifts and creates pathways for a lifestyle of gratitude and all its benefits.
3. Eases Symptoms of Depression
When we experience gratefulness, our bodies release dopamine, serotonin, and oxytocin, which are all “feel good” hormones. These “feel good” hormones allow a person to experience an overall sense of well-being.
4. Reduces stress
When we think about what we are thankful for, our parasympathetic nervous system kicks in. This decreases the stress hormone, cortisol, and may increase the bonding hormone, oxytocin.
5. Increases Emotional Resilience
Research reveals that gratitude helps people recover from trauma and become more resilient.
As you can see, a lifestyle of thankfulness is powerful. I can attest that in the 30 days that I expressed gratitude, I noticed a difference in how I felt physically and mentally. Now imagine if you were to add gratitude to your lifestyle. You would be able to experience the various benefits of being grateful. Small, healthy habits can have a positive impact on your mental health.
Ways to incorporate gratitude into your life
Keep a written gratitude journal
Write thank-you notes
Send a gratitude text to a friend or loved one
Notice the little things you are thankful for
Replace “sorry” with “thank you” (i.e. “thank you for waiting for me” instead of “sorry I am late”)
Tell your loved ones why you appreciate and love them
For 30 days, I wrote in my gratitude journal. In the mornings, I would write down 10-15 things that I was grateful for in my life currently. Once I started to write, the pen began to flow on the page with ease. I felt warm inside, thinking about everything that I was grateful for in my life. I noticed a remarkable difference in my mood when I was expressing my gratitude. I also took time to write a gratitude list at the end of the day before bed.
Here are a few of the daily gratitude prompts that I utilized:
Today, I am grateful for...
Three things that went well today are...
I am happy to be alive today because…
My favorite thing about today was…
Today, I am most looking forward to…
One person in my life that I am thankful for is…
Something I learned today was…
Would you like to explore ways healthy habits can improve your overall wellbeing?
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