The Science of Gratitude: Why Being Thankful Makes You Healthier and Happier

Gratitude is a life-changing habit which is easy to incorporate into your life

As I ponder the habits in my life that I attribute to my success and well-being, daily gratitude is at the top of the list.

This prompted me to research how gratitude impacts our brain and body. It is actually pretty fascinating. I am by no means an expert on the hormones that are released in our bodies, but the many articles I found all agree with each other: Gratitude is powerful.

The Benefits of Living a Grateful Life

Gratitude positively impacts our lives, relationships, and society.

Improved Mental Health

Living a grateful life results in lower levels of depression and anxiety. Gratitude helps us focus on positive emotions and avoid negative mindsets.

Similarly, our happiness and satisfaction with life will increase as we genuinely appreciate the good even more.

Improved Physical Health

When we are grateful, we experience lower levels of the cortisol hormone which is associated with stress. Too much cortisol can result in weight gain, slow healing, and many other complications.

Improved Relationships

When we are grateful, our bodies release oxytocin, the “bonding hormone.” This is the same hormone released after giving birth. This hormone is also found in breast milk. These two things helps bond the mother to the child and the child to the mother. Expressing gratitude to your spouse, kids, coworkers, or anyone else will strengthen your relationship with them and result in an improved relationship.

Increased Productivity and Goal Achievement

I also found an article online that linked gratitude to increase their success when working toward their goals. This research shows that gratitude is linked to success across multiple areas of life. For example, those who practice gratitude are more likely to be motivated to exercise.

Becoming Grateful

Living in gratitude daily may feel like something you are either born with or not. This isn’t the case. Gratitude is a learned behavior that can be acquired at any age. In my experience, it has been one of the easiest habits and mindsets to adopt.

This is how I would recommend you get started, but of course, do what works best for you:

First, Start Gratitude Journaling

You don’t need a special journal or anything like that. I don’t save any of my journal entries for expressing gratitude. It is simply a practice I follow each morning to get in the right headspace. I find it is most effective when I don’t just list three random objects I am grateful for, but actually think and ponder why I am grateful for those things.

Ask yourself, How do they improve the quality of your life in some way? How do they make you feel? Gratitude journaling doesn’t need to take more than 1–2 minutes each day.

Second, Express Gratitude To Others

Say a sincere thank you to others for doing the little things. If your coworker gets you the report on time like they needed to, thank them for always getting the work done on time. Tell your spouse to thank you for doing a chore that they usually do. This simple habit will change the dynamic at work and home. Express gratitude to others in whatever way works best for you. It can be in person, over the phone, via text, or with written notes.

Third, Incorporate Service Into Your Life

When we give up our time, money, or resources our mindset shifts. We become more grateful for what we have. This mental shift is huge and a key element in living a fulfilling life.

Conclusion

Gratitude is one of the easiest habits to incorporate into your life while giving you some of the biggest benefits.

Give it a try, and let me know how it goes!

I hope you feel inspired to incorporate increased gratitude into your life. Please follow me here on Medium for more daily articles to inspire you to build your best life! — Alma Thurber