Gratitude
The #1 Predictor of Wellbeing
In a study done in 2015 by Scientific American, it was determined that the #1 predictor of overall wellbeing is gratitude. The study examined 24 character strengths and virtues that have the greatest impact on human prosperity, among those being: love, spirituality, creativity, and social intelligence. Gratitude proved to be the strongest indicator of all of these.
Ideally, gratitude is a state of being in which one is able to recognize the good in life, even during difficult times. In its simplest form, gratitude is the act of giving thanks. Gratitude has proven to have extraordinary benefits on our brains and bodies, given its powerful influence over our social, physical and mental health. It also happens to be one of the least expensive and most accessible forms of natural medicine.
Countless studies show that those with a higher gratitude orientation report increased self-esteem, better mood and sleep, and lower fatigue, inflammation, and stress (the causes of most chronic disease).
Gratitude has also been shown to cultivate resilience, as it trains your mind to find the silver lining in difficult situations. It teaches your brain to reframe your point of focus to appreciate the good in your life. When you practice gratitude, you’re actively choosing to not get emotionally bogged down by the small hassles that life inevitably throws your way. To this end, a consistent gratitude practice has been shown to help lower depression and anxiety, in addition to being an effective tool in helping people recover from substance abuse and PTSD.
In a study done in 1998, researchers measured the baseline Cortisol and DHEA levels of 45 healthy adults. Cortisol is the stress hormone and DHEA is a naturally occurring hormone that acts like an anti-depressant. 30 of the 45 people were trained on gratitude techniques to replace negative thought patterns. The other 15 were controls and did not undergo gratitude training. After 1 month, they tested everyone’s hormones, and those that did the gratitude training had a 23% reduction in cortisol and a 100% increase in DHEA – the “feel good” hormone.
Another study found that people who kept a gratitude journal for 10 weeks reported feeling more empathy, alertness, enthusiasm, determination, attentiveness, and energy. In short, gratitude creates positive brain changes.
how does it work?
Gratitude activates our basic reward systems associated with love and connection. It’s a self-generating reward mechanism that produces a surge of dopamine. It also produces oxytocin, which is another “feel good” hormone and one of the fastest ways to promote neuroplasticity, improve brain function, and build a stronger mindset. It upregulates positive thoughts and emotions, and downregulates negative ones.
No drug in the world can do all of this.
Simple ways to incorporate gratitude into your life
Write down 3-5 things you’re grateful for every night before bed. If 3 feels like too many, just start with one. The most important thing is to be specific and consistent. The more specific you are, the stronger the dopamine release in your brain. The more consistent you are, the longer and more profound the effects will be. The reason I recommend bedtime is because studies show this will also improve your sleep!
Pick someone each week and tell them how much you appreciate them – again, be specific! Not only will it make their day, but it will also make yours.
It’s remarkable how much our mental state can shift by doing simple practices.
I encourage you to make gratitude a practice in your daily life. Start making an active effort to recognize the good in your own life and honor the goodness in other people. You’ll be amazed by the results.
