A healthy dose of gratitude | Corewell Health

Practicing gratitude involves more than saying thank you.

Shifting the mind to gratitude can change a person’s outlook on life, Asha Shajahan, MDmedical director of community health at Corewell Health’s Beaumont Grosse Pointe Hospital and physician at Corewell Health in southeast Michigan, said.

“A practice of listing three things you’re grateful for each day can lead to improved mood and positive thoughts in just three weeks,” she said.

It can even improve your physical health.

“Several studies link gratitude to improved physical health by improving sleep quality, lowering blood pressure and increasing mood-enhancing endorphins,” Dr. Shajahan said.

Countering negative self-talk

Faced with stress at work and other daily life challenges, many people may struggle with negative thoughts.

“Gratitude is a simple exercise to destroy those negative thoughts that affect a person’s well-being,” Dr. Shajahan said.

“Anxiety and stress are linked to negative thought patterns. Worrying, worrying, complaining and focusing on the negative can amplify anxiety and increase stress.

“When you find yourself in a negative spiral of thoughts, challenge yourself to find something to be grateful for,” she said.

Being grateful can help break the negative feedback loop often triggered by stress.

Having a grateful attitude can have a positive effect on overall well-being.

MRI evidence shows that gratitude can activate parts of the brain that impact memory and cognitive function and even reduce inflammation.

Gratitude and positive thoughts can release a chemical called dopamine, known as the feel-good chemical, in the brain.

For older adults, feelings of gratitude can help improve cognitive functions, emotions, and memory.

Neuroimaging studies have shown that gratitude activates the hippocampus and amygdala, which are the parts of the brain that regulate emotion and memory, Dr. Shajahan said.

“These areas of the brain require higher cognitive functioning, so exercising these brain muscles is a great way to keep the brain young,” she said.

Practicing Gratitude

Practicing gratitude can include keeping a journal or writing thank you letters, whether delivered or not.

The practice calls for focusing more on what is good than bad, acknowledging the positive aspects of others and counting the blessings. It can even involve the act of smiling, whether we feel happy or not.

“Take time to appreciate the gratitude in others as well as in yourself,” Dr. Shajahan said. “Acknowledge what you do well. Too often we forget to think about what is good about us.

One of the most effective ways to express gratitude: keep a gratitude journal.

“Writing can make those good things in our lives more tangible,” she said. “A gratitude journal can create accountability to take that break in our day to reflect and focus on positive things.”

Looking for awesome gratitude journal prompts? Dr. Shajahan offered these suggestions:

• What has made you laugh uncontrollably in the past month?
• Name a friend you like who lives far away.
• What was a simple kind act you saw a stranger perform today?
• What objects from nature are you grateful for?
• Remember three things that happened today that you appreciated or are grateful for.
• Acknowledge something your body did today that you are grateful for.
• Write a letter to someone in your life who has had a positive impact on you. (There are benefits even if you don’t send the letter.)
• Describe something you are looking forward to.
• Write about the last time you laughed deeply or felt deep joy, excitement or wonder.
• Who is someone who has done something to make your life easier recently, and how can you thank them?
• What are you grateful to have learned recently?
• What skills, characteristics or abilities do you have that you are grateful for?
• What do your senses allow you to experience that you are grateful for? For example, listening to your favorite song, smelling freshly cut grass, smelling clean sheets. Imagine savoring this experience.
• Describe something from your outside world – in nature, your city, etc. – for which you are grateful?