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Gratitude is more than just a momentary good feeling. Gratitude practices help us feel more satisfied in life and can boost our self-esteem, according to scientists.
In one study involving nearly 300 adults, one randomized group wrote a gratitude letter each week for three weeks. The gratitude group reported significantly better mental health (compared to the control group) at follow-up, 12 weeks after the last writing exercise.
Another study found that people who wrote down three things that had gone well in their day and identified the causes of those good things were significantly happier and less depressed, even six months after the study ended.
Research also shows that grateful people have fewer common health complaints, such as headaches, digestion issues, respiratory infections, runny noses, dizziness, and sleep problems.
The parasympathetic nervous system (the part of the nervous system that allows our body to “rest and digest”) can help us conserve energy by slowing the heart rate, stimulating digestion, and contributing to overall relaxation.
This soothing of the nervous system may be one mechanism by which gratitude works to calm the body. A study of heart-failure patients who were randomly assigned to either an eight-week gratitude-journaling group or a treatment-as-usual group found that patients in the gratitude group showed more parasympathetic hear trate variability, which is a sign of better heart health.
The takeaway: Cultivating gratitude opens the door to a different perspective: one that values the goodness in our lives. With practice, we can learn to see the bigger picture and navigate adversity with greater resilience.
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