You’ve probably heard the saying, “You are what you eat.” Turns out, we are also what we think.
The idea about being what we eat is that if we stuff ourselves with empty calories, lots of sweets, high fat, and other garbage - our bodies turn to garbage. The same thing applies to our thoughts or attitudes. If we think negatively, we become negative. If we fill our thoughts and hearts with positive things, we become positive and that leads to better physical and mental health.
Do not mistake me for a Polly Anna. It is very easy for me to take a turn down a dark road. My positive gear is a manual shift, not an automatic one. For me to accentuate the positive requires a conscious effort.
I have established a ritual of counting my blessings every morning and at bedtime. I find this practice helps me sleep better and have more energy when I wake and throughout the day. But, don’t take my word for it. Science backs me up.
“In positive psychology research, gratitude is strongly and consistently associated with greater happiness,” according to Harvard Health Publishing from Harvard Medical School. “Gratitude helps people feel more positive emotions, relish good experiences, improve their health, deal with adversity, and build strong relationships.”
Dr. Robert A. Emmons of the University of California, Davis, and Dr. Michael E. McCullough of the University of Miami are two of the leading researchers on gratitude. One of their primary studies involved three groups of people writing about their experiences with three different objectives.
One group was asked to write about things they were grateful for that had occurred each day. A second group was directed to write about the things that irritated them. The third group was told to write about daily occurrences in any way they chose. After 10 weeks, those who wrote about gratitude felt better about their lives. They also exercised more and had fewer visits to physicians than those who focused on sources of aggravation.
Several studies, such as those by Nathaniel M. Lambert in the Journal of Positive Psychology and Alex M. Wood published in the Journal of Research in Personality show that people who consistently feel and demonstrate gratitude have higher satisfaction with life and experience less stress and depression.
“There is a neural basis for gratitude and happiness,” according to Version Daily, a magazine website published by the research firm Esploro Company. “Researchers Roland Zahn et al examined blood flow in various brain regions of participants who were asked to recall experiences or feelings related to gratefulness. A functional MRI scan revealed that participants who demonstrated more gratitude had higher levels of activity in the hypothalamus.”
The hypothalamus is an area of the brain that manages sleep and stress. Greater activity of the hypothalamus results in improved sleep patterns and reduced stress.
Gratitude and happiness also stimulate areas of the brain that release dopamine, a neurotransmitter associated with pleasurable sensations. In addition, gratitude has been shown to increase serotonin production in the anterior cingulate cortex of the brain.
Serotonin is another neurotransmitter that impacts mood, appetite, and sleep. Increased levels of serotonin elevate mood and the sense of wellbeing.
In his book, The upward spiral: Using neuroscience to reverse the course of depression, one small change at a time, Alex Korb, Ph.D. cites studies indicating that being thankful is a habit that can be developed and self-sustaining. He maintains that because of the good feelings produced through gratitude and the release of dopamine and serotonin, we begin to seek more things to be thankful for.
With the close of what has been a trying year for many, I hope we can all take a moment to stop and recount our blessings. That may be more difficult for some than for others, but I am sure there are blessings there for us all. Stop the hustle and bustle. Take a quiet moment and let gratitude come to you. Breath in and breath out. There’s one we can all count - we’re still breathing. Count the sunshine and count the rain, they are both blessings. We may not have as many old friends and family with us, but we will always have the memories of those we have loved and still love. That is a blessing.
Happy New Year!
The Senior Activist will not publish New Year’s Day. We will be back Tuesday, January 5, 2021, when we will explore more about gratitude, how to develop and maintain it.