Your brain on gratitude
“If the only prayer you said in your whole life was, ‘thank you,’ that would suffice”.
~Meister Eckhart
Okay, before we get started, I would to take a moment of shared gratitude. Let’s both bring awareness to our breath, feeling it move in and out, as we bring to mind the emotion of gratitude. Hold in your mind’s eye how appreciative you are for the opportunity to learn new things about yourself and your brain as well as the amazing fact that you can alter your brain chemistry with just your thoughts, like you are doing right now! And I am sending those same thoughts back to you in the form of appreciation that you came to my blog, that you are interested in what I have to say and how profoundly grateful I am for the ability to write and share. Give yourself a pat on the back for giving yourself a biochemical shot of “feel good” chemicals and read on to to discover what just happened.
It’s that time of the year when we all gather together, stuff ourselves to the gills and profess all the things we are grateful for. But what really is gratitude and why do we feel it is important to make a national holiday around the action of gratitude? Why don’t we just get together for a national football day, or national parade day, why do we call the fourth Thursday in November Thanksgiving? I am not here to give a history lesson–although I did just learn the first Thanksgiving was in St. Augustine Florida in September 8th, 1565–but that is not the point. The point is what is gratitude and why do you need it?
For a good definition I went to one of the most direct sources I could find, http://www.gratefulness.org. This website gives a definition of gratitude from the perspective of Robert Emmons, PhD and Professor of Psychology at UC Davis, who is perhaps the world’s leading expert on gratitude. He explains that gratitude has two components: “First, it’s an affirmation of goodness. We affirm that there are good things in the world, gifts and benefits we’ve received.” The second component is the act of recognizing “that the sources of the goodness are outside of ourselves…we acknowledge that other people…gave us many gifts, big and small, to help us achieve the goodness in our lives”. I feel a third component of gratitude would include this appreciation being given freely from the heart. Gratitude helps us to see and acknowledge the interconnectedness of all things by understanding that all we have and are has come to fruition because of things other people have done for us.
In my own life, I am immediately reminded of my feelings toward my biological father. He left me and my mother when I was around one. I have spent a lifetime feeling the pangs of woundedness every time I believe I am being abandoned. And if you ask my close friends, they will say it used to come up A LOT. Gratitude has helped me shift this perspective and be grateful for the things my father was able to give me. Ultimately, the fact that he gave me life. And in the end, that is all I needed from him, although he gave me more than that. He (and my mom) gave me my green eyes, athletic skills and creative intellect. I would not be writing this blog today if it were not for my father, and for that I can be grateful.
Scientific research has confirmed the many benefits of gratitude. Research led by Glenn Fox, a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Southern California, has found that brains on gratitude show enhanced activity in two primary regions of the brain: the anterior cingulate cortex and the medial prefrontal cortex. These areas of the brain are associated with emotional regulation and processing, interpersonal bonding, the cultivation of empathy as well as physiological functions such as blood pressure and heart rate. The research has shown that gratitude is more than just an emotion; it is a complex internal emotional experience that is intimately tied to our feelings of social connection. In other words, gratitude is much deeper than just doing or thinking a nice thing; it involves propagating a feeling of connectedness and contribution to the greater good and welfare of fellow human beings.
This is translated into some rather fascinating chemical alterations that occur in your brain when you are experiencing gratitude. Repetitively expressing gratitude lowers cortisol, a stress hormone whose functions include but are not limited to: increasing blood sugar, suppressing the immune system and increasing the metabolism of fat, protein and carbohydrates. Cortisol is helpful in the short run because it helps us mobilize for quick action when we are in immediate danger. Problem is, most of us are so stressed out with no immediate threat and therefore experience a chronic release of cortisol, which creates abdominal obesity, impaired cognitive function, blood sugar imbalances, sleep disturbances, elevated blood pressure, lowered immune function and increased anxiety. So having a grateful attitude can improve your health (see below for more examples) and help you lose weight…at least that stubborn weight that seems to like to hang out around your belly.
A daily gratitude practice also increases levels of dopamine in the brain. Dopamine is known as the “feel good” chemical in the brain. Dopamine has the enormous job of regulating mood, behavior, sleep and cognition. It also is associated with motivation, reward, decision-making and creativity. It is the primary reason most of us cannot turn down our favorite dessert, because our brain knows how good the reward of a dopamine release will be once we’ve eaten something we love. In fact just thinking about your favorite dessert will create a mild dopamine release. Regular doses of dopamine improve our interpersonal relationships as it helps us cultivate empathy; which helps us connect and trust one another.
Gratitude has many health benefits as well. Dr. Emmons notes “Gratitude works because, as a way of perceiving and interpreting life, it recruits other positive emotions that have direct physical benefits, most likely through the immune system or endocrine system.” Studies have shown a daily practice of gratitude reduces the intensity of reported pain, improves heart health by reducing blood pressure and can even have protective effects against stress, anxiety and depression. Participants who were actively engaging in gratitude showed better management of negative emotions such as guilt and anger, while producing more positive emotions such as patience, kindness and empathy.
Lastly, a daily gratitude practice creates resilience. Amazingly, study after study has shown higher levels of optimism and appreciation translate into better life skills, including adaptability, managing adversity, and reframing difficult situations as periods of personal growth and challenge, not defeat.
Have I convinced you yet to try to incorporate gratitude into your daily life, not just on every fourth Thursday in November? If so, here are a few tips on how to create a grateful life even easier:
Create a gratitude journal. I would recommend a book called The Five Minute Journal, it is very simple, quick and user friendly. Emmons’ research showed that people who kept gratitude journals on a weekly basis exercise more regularly, report fewer physical symptoms, feel more content about their lives and feel more optimistic about the future.
Start monitoring your self talk, and when you find yourself in a negative space, start reframing the conversation. Actively stop asking “why” and turn things around by asking “how can I make this better or see it differently so I feel better?” And if things seem so dire that you can’t turn your thoughts around, just focus on your breathing, and be grateful for each breath. If you are facing a challenge right now, use your imagination to envision how this situation may help you learn something new or change your life for the eventual good.
Lastly, use the perspective of gratitude everyday. I sometimes will make it a game to see how many positive ways I can spin something that feels bad. Shift your perspective and imagine seeing it through another person’s eyes. A great example is traffic. If you find yourself stuck in traffic, instead of allowing yourself to collapse into frustration and anger, use it as an opportunity to listen to a podcast you have been saving or to take some time for mindful breathing.
Gratitude takes practice like any other skill. This holiday season is a good time to start, but if you want to maximize the benefits, start making it a daily practice, thinking of at least one thing every day that you’re grateful for. I’m going to write in my journal tonight how grateful I am for the orange smelling candle I have burning right now that helps keep me alert and relaxed while I write, for the researchers whose hard work and curious natures contributed to the creation of this article and for my readers. Thank you for reading all the way to the end of this blog post. Now go have a grateful day and remember to say “thank you”.
For a more personalized approach on maximizing the benefits of daily practice, contact Lara Kain at TORCH Center for Wellness.