How does practicing gratitude physically change your brain?

Do you practice gratitude? As part of my nighttime/wind down routine I like to write down or reflect on three things I am grateful for (or three things that happened that day I am grateful for). I’ve found it has had such a positive impact on my overall mood and well-being. But have you ever considered the impact gratitude has on your brain? Here are some of the ways in which the practice of gratitude can physically change your brain:

1. Expressing gratitude releases dopamine and serotonin, the “feel-good” neurotransmitters. This creates a positive feedback loop, making you feel happier and encouraging further expressions and practices of gratitude

2. Regular gratitude practice can strengthen neural pathways associated with positive thinking. This rewiring enhances your ability to focus on the good, even in challenging situations

3. Gratitude decreases levels of cortisol, the stress hormone, and boosts oxytocin, the “happiness hormone”. This combo lowers anxiety and creates a feeling of calm

4. Gratitude shifts your focus from what you lack to what you have, which creates a sense of abundance

5. Practicing gratitude can positively impact the amygdala, a region of the brain involved in processing emotions (and in charge of activating your fight-flight-freeze-fawn response). This helps enhance your ability to regulate emotions and reframe situations in a more positive light

6. Gratitude can also have a calming effect on your body by decreasing your heart rate, because when you practice gratitude you engage your parasympathetic nervous system aka your “soothing system”

Now that you know some of the research on the impacts of gratitude on your brain, will you incorporate gratitude into your daily routine?

~Kate

Source:
Kyeong, S., Kim, J., Kim, D. et al. (2017). Effects of gratitude meditation on neural network functional connectivity and brain-heart coupling. Scientific Reports, 7, 50-58.