Julia Guerrero posted a fascinating article on the 16 benefits of gratitude on LinkedIn on September 10, 2019. Licensed psychologist Senegal Kumar, PHD, says Gratitude is the “practice of making space for appreciation.” It
Is a quality of thankfulness which you choose to focus on and practice, which means you don’t just feel it; you do something about it.
According to scientific research, here are 16 benefits of practicing gratitude regularly:
1. Gratitude can help relieve stress.
According to a 2017 study, practicing gratitude lowers heart rates due to the calmness of a more sedative state. This calms the mind and body, therefore reducing the physical and mental symptoms of stress.
2. Gratitude can make you feel more positive emotions.
A grateful mind will allow you to be less stressed and feel more positive emotions which has an impact on how you feel and behave.
3. Gratitude can help you calm down in tough moments.
When you experience conflict with someone, you tend to easily go into negative thinking. However when you replace those negative thoughts with gratitude, the brain produces more dopamine and Seratonin which increase feelings of pleasure and reward-motivated Behavior. In other words, gratitude helps calm the emotional brain because you have the ability to analyze and respond rather than being reactive.
4.Gratitude strengthens your social relationships.
According to a series of studies published in 2012, they found that gratitude enhances empathy, and in turn, reduces aggression. When individuals are empathetic, they are less likely to be confrontational and more likely to behave in a pro social manner.
5. Gratitude might help you understand others better.
The more you express feelings of gratitude, the easier it is to put other people’s actions into perspective and to interpret how and why they feel or respond to circumstances in specific ways.
6. Gratitude might make you physically healthier.
According to a 2015 study, it found that gratitude can lead to a better mood, better quality of sleep, more self-efficiency as it relates to heart health, and even lower amounts of inflammation in the body.
7. Gratitude can help you sleep better.
When you can’t sleep, adopt a gratitude practice, and you’ll worry less and be able to wind down and get to snoozing moderately improving sleep.
8. Gratitude makes you less materialistic.
When your children see you act in helpful and kind ways to others, they will likely model your behavior. Noticing and participating in acts of kindness as a family allows for more connection and positive experiences, which we can learn be grateful for.
9. Gratitude helps you recognize how much you have.
When we focus on what we have rather than on what we don’t have, we discover more things to appreciate and create new, positive mental habits.
10. Gratitude puts you at a lower risk of depression.
When we focus on our blessings it can cause a ‘ripple effect’ making you more motivated, having goals and improved relationships.
11. Gratitude promotes higher self-esteem.
When a person feels positive, the more likely they are to express happiness to others and less comparing to others.
12. Gratitude promotes a more positive outlook on life.
Many studies have proven regular gratitude logs help us be more positive emotionally, physically, interpersonally and contributes to happiness.
13. Gratitude promotes selflessness.
Gratitude can lead us to a cycle of giving and receiving that becomes reciprocal and can lead to a state of getting along with the world.
14.Gratitude can help us cope through emotional trauma.
When stress happens, and it will, and you can remind yourself that you will get through this, and as long as you are breathing, there is more right with you than wrong with you, you will get through whatever is challenging.
15. Gratitude might teach your brain to make altruism more rewarding.
When you are more grateful, you are likely to be happier to give to those less fortunate.
16. Neurologically speaking, the effects of gratitude might grow over time.
Research shows that making space for appreciation can positively affect your life, physically, emotionally, mentally, and spiritually, and those effects might just add up over time.
