The Physiology of Gratitude - How to Use The Most Powerful Human Emotion to Improve Your Mind, Body, and Soul

By: Erika Fehrenbach Prell

November is the month of gratitude and gratefulness. You hear it everywhere, perhaps ad nauseum, to be grateful for all you have and to practice gratitude. (Like how I threw a little Latin into the mix? Feeling fancy today!) And, the constant barrage of this important message might actually do the opposite; anyone else tune out when you hear the same thing over and over? Gratitude is too important to tune out my friends, and it should really be something that you practice all year round, not just in November when Thanksgiving shows up on the calendar.

Like many of you, I have heard the claims that gratitude is amazing for your health. But, I also happen to be a bit of a skeptic; call it my science nerd side but show me the evidence! So, I did a bit of research, and it was probably the easiest evidence-based search I have ever done. My browser lit up like the sky on Fourth of July with studies about how practicing gratitude can improve your health from every aspect, not only your body but also your mind and soul. And, get this! Studies consistently show that the positive effects of gratitude are experienced by both the giver AND the receiver equally! Gratitude is hands down the most powerful human emotion, and it is so easy to tap into it.

It’s in our nature, no matter how selfless you are, to want to know what’s in it for me; what will I get from this practicing gratitude thing to make it worth the effort. There is no shame in that game, friends, it’s just how we are wired; if something isn’t worth it, we won’t do it. Here are just a few of the many ways gratitude can improve your health:

1. Body - Decrease stress and stress hormone levels, improved sleep-wake cycles, stronger immune system, better blood pressure and heart function, decrease aches and pains, decreased anxiety and depression
   
2. Mind - Positive emotions and thoughts, feeling more awake and aware, enhanced mood, better communication with others, work better in a team setting
   
3. Soul - Positive sense of self, increased empathy, improved relationships, decreased fear
   

And, as I already said, showing your gratitude to other people in your life allows them to experience the same benefits! There is no other human emotion that has this profound personal effect and is also so easy to pass along to other people.

How does gratitude work exactly? When you experience gratitude, the part of your brain referred to as the “bliss center” releases two powerful chemicals in your system, dopamine and serotonin. Dopamine and serotonin are responsible for making you feel happy; when someone is experiencing clinical depression and anxiety, these hormones are depleted and medications designed for these medical conditions help increase the levels of dopamine and serotonin. Dopamine and serotonin decrease stress by keeping you out of the fight or flight response and keeping the stress hormone, cortisol, from over-releasing. Brain studies have shown that practicing gratitude consistently increases the gray matter of your brain in the “bliss center”; you literally grow more brain cells in the positive center of your brain. You increase the wiring and firing of that area and can restructure your brain to think more positively, just by being grateful. How cool is that???

​With all these positive benefits of gratitude, practicing gratitude is a #nobrainer. Here’s a secret, it is the easiest habit to start with the reward being instantaneous. As you practice gratitude consistently, the benefits compound. Here are 5 ideas to start practicing gratitude in your life taken from an article titled “The Neuroscience of Gratitude: How It Affects Anxiety and Grief” by Madhuleena Roy Chowdhury from PositivePsychology.com:

1. Appreciate yourself - Look at yourself in a mirror and speak out loud 5 good things about yourself to yourself
2. Start a daily gratitude journal - Write 1 or more things you are grateful for daily. Not sure what to write about? Check out these easy ideas to get started!
3. Go on a gratitude visit - Visit someone that you are grateful for. I would suggest that you tell them that you are grateful for them so they can benefit from all that gratitude can do! You can also go to www.findyoursoulshine.com/resources and print out our Gratitooted template to give out.
4. Do not hesitate to feel happy and grateful.
5. Find a gratitude buddy - Accountability is an awesome way to consistently do a new behavior so that it can become a habit. And, why not share the benefits of gratitude with someone else!
6. I am sure you are familiar with that phrase, “An apple a day keeps the doctor away”. It really should be, “A little gratitude a day keeps the doctor away”, not to mention anxiety, depression, stress and negativity (but, that doesn’t quite have the same ring to it). Since gratitude and gratefulness is everywhere right now, this is the perfect month to develop this life-changing daily habit. Grab a pen and get your grateful on!

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As always, shine on, friends!