The science of gratitude.

Creating a daily gratitude practice can have a deeply transformative impact on your life and there are many reasons to start today! However don't just take my word for it, because if you're anything like me, then you will need some valid reasons to convince yourself that forming a new habit is well worth the time!

I'm a Nutritionist and follow the science, if it's in the literature then I'm willing to try it!

Gratitude activates the medial pre fontal cortex regions of the brain. These are the areas that are involved in feelings of reward, morality, interpersonal bonding, positive social interactions, and the ability to understand what other people are thinking or feeling.

Having a gratitude practice is a simple way to increase pleasure, and foster more fulfilling and connected relationships through deeper empathy and compassion.

It has been shown that gratitude increases feel-good chemicals in our brain such as dopamine, serotonin and oxytocin. These all contribute to the feelings of closeness, connection and happiness that come with gratitude.

“Practicing Gratitude has multiple health benefits both physical and emotional.”

Feeling less lonely and deeper sense of connection contributes to our emotional wellbeing as well as our physical health. Did you know that social isolation and loneliness is the single biggest risk factor for disease?

I'm also going to question that as these feel good chemicals directly correlated to forming both good habits or unhealthy addictions; wouldn't gratitude be a great tool to help shift behaviours that no longer serve us and be less inclined to seek reward and pleasure in ways that have a long term adverse effect on health..?

Feeling gratitude towards others makes us inspired and uplifted - these feelings of elevation bolster motivation for us to become healthier and work harder.

When we experience increased happiness and fulfilment in our own lives, it also has a deep impact on those around us.

When when we feel gratitude and as a result more joyful, we are more likely to extend those feelings outwards and help others. similarly at a basic level it reinforces moral thinking and behaviour, encourages pro-social behaviour, and discourages societally disruptive behaviour as a result.

It is no surprise that practicing gratitude boosts happiness and reduces depression and anxiety generating more positive emotions. Therefore contributing to feeling more alive and as a result significantly increases well-being and life satisfaction.

For those of you who love goals and reaching them, you will be pleased to hear that practicing gratitude also increases productivity.

Gratitude transports us instantly from a lack mindset to an abundance mindset. When we are grateful for what we already have, we are focusing on having enough rather than focusing on what we don't have and need more of. For those of you who relate to the Universal laws of attraction then you can see how powerful a shift this can bring in attracting even more to be grateful for!

“Gratitude Increases social connection, empathy and compassion.”

As if leading a happier more fulfilled lives as well as deepening social connection wasn't enough to get you started, here are some of the benefits that Gratitude can have on your physical health.

It strengthens the immune system, lowers blood pressure, reduces symptoms of illness, studies show that we are also less likely to feel bothered by aches and pains.

It Increases resilience helps you bounce back from stressful events and helps you deal with adversity and stress better. Practicing gratitude helps to prevent the internalising of symptoms, so that we can instead process them in a healthy way, this reduces the devastating impact of stress on our health.

It increases heart rate variability - Heart patients who practice gratitude show better moods, better sleep, less fatigue and lower levels of inflammatory biomarkers related to cardiac health!

Gratitude Sparks brain activity critical to sleep, orgasms, mood regulation and metabolism. Thereby improving our quality of sleep.

We know it effects healthy individuals positively but how about those with mental health issues, depression and anxiety? In fact, it seems, practicing gratitude on top of receiving psychological counselling carries greater benefits than counselling alone, even when that gratitude practice is brief.

Did you know that Gratitude helps even if you don’t share it? e.g. writing a letter to someone that you don’t send or keeping your own personal journal.

So no matter how you choose to practice; wether it be telling more people you are grateful for them, or a daily practice of your own, it is equally beneficial. The only key thing with gratitude is consistency!

So if all of this has got you inspired, check out our article on How to Practice Gratitude for some great ways to help you get started and make gratitude a part of your daily routine. Plus you can download your own Gratitude practice guide and worksheet.

We would love to hear how you practice gratitude and how it has improved your life. Feel free to comment below or get in touch with us!

Kezra x