Gratitude is one of the easiest ways to change our state of mind. It has been estimated that enjoying something you are grateful for, for at least fifteen seconds, can broaden and improve your perspective on life, can turn problems into possibilities and irritation into curiosity.
Usually, we focus easily on imperfections, on everything that is wrong with our lives, on what we want and lack, rather than on what we have. But, when we shift our awareness to the present moment, we can find many moments of gratitude in everyday life: for a meal, an event or an act of kindness.
Gratitude thus has the value of offering us a broader perspective, in which we still see the imperfections of life, but we also recognize the beautiful things that surround them.
We can define gratitude as the conscious appreciation of any aspect of our life. It’s the ability not to take things for granted and rather, marvel, savor and look at the positive side of situations.
What are the benefits of practicing gratitude?
Thanks to advances in neuroscience and positive psychology, we now have the scientific evidence to show that practicing gratitude offers many emotional and physical well-being benefits, including:
- decrease in anxiety, depression and other psychological discomforts;
- greater appreciation and fulfillment from life, and greater achievement of goals.
Let’s take a closer look at some of these benefits.
Increased optimism
Research conducted by Barbara Fredrickson, a psychologist at the University of North Carolina, has shown that gratitude increases the brain’s ability to overcome negative emotional states, widening the range of positive thoughts and actions that come to mind. For example, if you get frustrated while in traffic, gratitude can help broaden your experience. You can start noticing the flowers blooming on the trees, relax your breath, or use the delay as an opportunity to listen to your favorite music or an audio book.
Research shows that the practice of gratitude is related to an increase in the experience of positive emotions and a reduction in negative ones. This change is not only psychological. Neuroscience evidence suggests that the effects of this practice extend deep into the neural pathways of the brain, and according to studies by neuroscience researcher Dr. Richie Davidson, it strengthens the ventromedial prefrontal cortex, a key brain region associated with reward processing. .
Anxiety reduction in times of crisis
In studies following the September 11 attacks on the World Trade Center and elsewhere, Fredrickson found that practicing gratitude decreased the intensity and frequency of traumatic memories.
Improved physical health and sleep
Gratitude helps lower blood pressure and improves the quality of our sleep. Researchers have found that by practicing gratitude we sleep more, fall asleep easier, and feel better when we wake up.
Helps relieve stress and pain
Brain regions associated with gratitude are part of the neural networks that light up when we socialize and experience pleasure. These regions are also strongly linked to parts of the brain that control basic emotion regulation, such as heart rate and arousal levels, and are associated with stress relief and thus pain reduction. Feeling grateful and recognizing the help of others therefore creates a more relaxed body state, a reduction in stress and an increase in psychophysical benefits.
It helps those suffering from depression
Researcher Prathik Kini and colleagues at Indiana University conducted a study examining how practicing gratitude can alter brain function in depressed individuals. Such an achievement tells how the mental practice of gratitude may even be able to change the brain.
Improving relationships
Robert Emmons and Michael McCullough theorize that gratitude within relationships can create something of an upward spiral. As we become more grateful for our friends and family and more we will treat them with more kindness and respect. This will make them feel better and encourage them to be nicer to us and in general.
Facilitates acceptance of change
Often the habit of living or doing something in a certain way creates a routine that satisfies our need for security and which, at the same time, makes it difficult to accept things when they change. But, thanks to the practice of gratitude, we learn to notice the positive change that accompanies the various situations and this teaches us to become more flexible and to accept new things more easily.
Taking a moment to be grateful for the good things in life has incredible and far-reaching effects, it can improve mental health, help you cultivate a healthy work life, manage stress, and develop a deeper connection with people, especially in difficult situations. difficult.