Discover the health benefits of gratitude
Indulging too much at holiday feasts is a tradition rarely endorsed by health care professionals. But there is one thing you can savor in abundance this holiday season: gratitude.
What is gratitude?
Gratitude can involve feeling thankful toward people or having a deep appreciation for things like nature. Studies show that expressing gratitude may not only be a kind gesture but also a beneficial one for your well-being. As Emiliana Simon-Thomas, the Science Director of the Greater Good Science Center at the University of California, Berkeley, explains, gratitude is a simple concept, but it has many facets.
Experts study gratitude as both a natural, consistent part of us and a temporary emotion, said Simon-Thomas, who led an extensive initiative on the science and practice of gratitude. She also says it's not the same as compassion. Compassion is about helping others, while gratitude is more about receiving help.
How gratitude benefits our health
Dr. Christopher Celano, associate director of the Cardiac Psychiatry Research Program at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, says the research on gratitude's benefits hasn't been as deep of an inquiry as some other aspects of psychological well-being. While many aspects of mental well-being have been connected to physical health, Celano points out that it can be tricky to pinpoint how gratitude specifically impacts our health. Still, Celano said, "It's important for people to cultivate gratitude, as it may be beneficial for health, both physically and mentally."
Celano collaborated on a study, published in 2018 in the Journal of Positive Psychology, that revealed individuals who had received treatment for acute coronary syndrome and expressed gratitude two weeks after the incident were more inclined to continue taking their medications six months later. They also displayed increased levels of physical activity.
In 2021 the American Heart Association published the scientific statement “Psychological Health, Well-Being, and the Mind-Heart-Body Connection” which showed a strong connection between mental well-being and heart health, suggesting that how we feel mentally can affect our heart health. In 2022, a study in Scientific Reports also linked gratitude with lower triglyceride levels in adults.
Previous research has also suggested gratitude interventions may improve sleep and stress. Physiologically, when individuals feel gratitude or tend to be more grateful in general, they typically have lower blood pressure and are better at managing stress, according to Simon-Thomas.
Mastering the art of gratitude
Gratitude could be something we are hard-wired to experience. And cultivating gratitude does take work, Simon-Thomas said. But you get better at it with practice. Here’s how:
- Keep a gratitude journal and end each day by writing down at least one positive thing that happened. "It's nice to put things down on paper," Celano said, then go back and see all the good things that have happened over time.
- At family meals, go around the table and ask everyone about something that they're grateful for that day. "Just the act of sharing that with each other will help re-experience the positive feelings," Celano said, and may help those around you feel positive as well.
- State your gratitude when you wake up or think about something you're grateful for.
There’s also a helpful recipe for expressing your gratitude to someone else, according to Simon-Thomas. "When we say 'thank you' in that specific way, we really bring the moment to the forefront of awareness," she said. Give thanks to others in a structured way:
- by spelling out why you're thanking someone.
- Acknowledge their effort.
- Describe the benefit you received.
Even during tough times, it's possible to show gratitude, but according to Celano, this doesn't mean you should ignore real challenges like a severe illness. In such situations, if you only think about your problems, you might overlook positive aspects, and gratitude practices can help you see the bigger picture, he explained. But "it's not that we want folks to pretend that those problems aren't there."
Still, Simon-Thomas mentioned that it's easy to invite some extra gratitude into your life. "Most people already value gratitude," she said. The challenge "is that we're just a little bit out of practice."
