Why Gratitude Is Good for Us

Gratitude has been linked to better physical and mental hhealth, self-awareness, better relationships, and sense of fulfillment.

There was one study measured the benefits of gratitude by asking two groups of people to do journaling every day. One group was asked to write things they feel grateful today and another to record things which they feel hassled or irritated. The gratitude group reported lower level of stress.

In another study, people who were experiencing racing thoughts and worries were told to do a fifteen minutes journal before bed to write what they’re grateful for in the day, and it proved to reduces intrusive thoughts and helped them to sleep better.

We can’t focus on both positive and negative things at the same time. When we feel gratitude, our brain releases dopamine, which makes us happy and to want it to feel it more. We started looking for things that makes us grateful more.

Not only for mental health, gratitude also benefits physical health. Dr. P. Murali, the head of Division of Biologic Psychology told that “If thankfulness were a drug, it would be the world best-selling drug with a health maintenance for every major organ system.”

Benefits:

• Lower stress
• Improved happiness by releasing dopamine and oxytocin.
• Lower blood pressure
• Improves heart health as it’s regulates breathing and heartbeat
• Reduces inflammation
• Can increase the gray matter in the prefrontal cortex which associated with emotional regulation and thinking.
• Better sleep quality
• Lower anxiety and depression