Being Grateful Helps – How Gratitude Improves Your Life

Rebecca Lewis November 27, 2013

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We all know that gratitude is a good thing. It doesn’t just make us feel incredibly great but it also enhances our physical health. Numerous studies can attest to this. But admit it – being grateful is sometimes a difficult task, especially when we are going through something – loneliness, depression, adversity, etc. What we often fail to realise is that gratitude is actually what we need to overcome such kind of challenges. By being extra thankful to every positive thing that happen to our life, no matter how small it is, we can actually feel happier.

The Science of Gratefulness

How does gratitude affect your health? To answer this, let’s take a look at some of the studies recently held about gratitude. In 2003, a group of American researchers carried out a study in which they asked young adults to keep a daily journal of things they were grateful for. For control, they also assigned one group to keep a daily journal of things that annoyed them, and another group to write down reasons why they are better off than others. Participants from the ‘gratitude’ group reported higher levels of determination, attention, enthusiasm and energy compared to the other groups in the study. Whilst these findings showed the clear benefits of gratitude, it also proved that realising that other people are worse off than you is not an act of gratitude and doesn’t have similar benefits.

The benefits of gratitude are not limited to young adults. The same researchers conducted a similar study on adults and found that even a weekly gratitude journal was beneficial. In particular, it made them more optimistic. What’s more, practising gratitude led to reduction in physical ailments – participants who showed gratefulness reported fewer aches and pains.

In 2012, a group of Chinese researchers examined the effects of gratitude and quality sleep on symptoms of anxiety and depression. They found an association between higher levels of gratitude and better sleep quality, and lower anxiety and depression. And even after controlling for the amount of sleep people got, gratitude still had an effect on lower depression scores.

In another interesting research, held by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), scientists looked at the effects of gratitude on the human brain. They found that people who exercised gratefulness had higher levels of activity in the hypothalamus – the part of the brain involved in different body functions, like eating, drinking and sleeping, and has a huge impact on metabolism and stress. Furthermore, gratitude appeared to activate brain regions associated with neurotransmitter dopamine which is linked to feelings of reward. Dopamine is also believed to help in initiating action, which makes you more likely to do the thing you just did.

Indeed, the benefits of gratitude are overwhelming. But what do you do if gratitude seems to be the last thing on your to-do list? What if you are struggling with depression and all you see are negative things? The good news is that you can practise gratitude in your own little ways. You can start by writing down all the good things that happened in your life in the past and at present. You will be surprised to know that there are more things to be happy about.

How do you practise gratefulness? Is it something you do every day? We’d love to hear your thoughts. Share your comment below.