Regular appreciation (of anything from healthy children or great friends to the sun shining) will boost feelings of contentment and optimism by 25% and it can also improve your well-being in other ways.
- Activity. It can motivate you to exercise. A study found people who kept a gratitude journal for 10 weeks were active for one and a half hours more a week than non-journallers. One theory is that focusing on positive points helps reduce stress and anxiety, which frees up energy for exercise.
- Heart. People who have a grateful mindset tend to have a more toned vagus nerve, which connects the heart to the brain and abdomen. The better its tone, the less risk there is for cardiovascular disease. They are less likely to have a heart attack and to recover faster if they do. Feeling thankful has also been shown to lower blood pressure by 10% and may help to regulate glucose levels and immune responses.
- Willpower. A recent study found that after writing about an event that made them feel grateful, people were much more likely to choose a larger cheque in the post over cash on the spot. This suggests a link between gratitude and thinking about the big picture.
- Fewer colds. Research shows that feelings of gratitude trigger physiological changes. It reduces stress, which boosts the immune system and motivates you to take better care of yourself, so improving physical health.
- Greater resilience. Facing serious challenges like relationship difficulties or financial strain, it can be difficult to see the bright side, but finding things to be thankful for in tough times can really help. Noting postive feelings reduces levels of stress, depression and physical symptoms.
- Fewer aches and pains. People who write a one-page letter every two weeks, thanking someone who has had a favourable influence on their lives, report an improvement in both symptoms of depression and physical aches and pains after just eight weeks - even if they don't send the letters. When we put our feelings into words our brain begins to change. [The fact that we physically write something down may also be important, as shown in educational studies. Blog author.] Recent neuro-imaging studies suggest the possibility of a gratitude-driven neuroplasticity.
- Sleep better. Studies show that people who mentally ran through what's going right in their life last thing at night fell asleep more quickly, and woke up feeling more refreshed than those who just thought about their day in general.
How to practise Gratitude
- Thank you notes. Writing a letter of appreciation to someone who has made a difference to your life, then handing it to them in person, will boost your mood for up to a month afterwards. You'll also reap benefits from sending quick notes, texts and emails.
- Take time to savour. The more you appreciate the good things, however small (a great cup of tea, a clear blue sky, a shared joke), the more you increase your capacity to notice them.
- Pin down grateful thoughts. Jot them down in a gratitude App like Gratitude Journal or Attitudes of Gratitude (free from iTunes or GooglePlay), then simply scroll through them when you need a boost.
- Use the negative. Try imagining what might have happened if you had not met your partner, had your children, changed career or lost weight - it helps counteract the tendency to take benefits for granted.
- Watch a sad film. A tale of tragedy can give you an enhanced sense of gratitude for your own life. And Dutch researchers found that people who cry at films feel sad at first, but experience an upsurge in happiness 90 minutes later.
- Make gratitude a bedtime habit. Its easier to stick to a new habit if you link it to something you already do regularly. So when you brush your teeth at night, ask yourself "What is good in my life today? What went well?"
Feature in
Good Housekeeping, December 2015
