According to Julie Ray (2019) of the Gallup Organization, “The world took a negative turn in 2017, with global levels of stress, worry, sadness and pain hitting new highs.” How can this trend change for the better? Research demonstrates that one way is through practicing gratitude.
The following studies demonstrate the affect gratitude has on one’s mental and physical health.
Writing a gratitude letter and counting blessings had “high utility scores and were associated with substantial improvements in optimism” (Huffman, Dubois, Healy, Boehm, Kashdan, Celano, Denninger, & Lyubomirsky, 2014).
Gratitude letter writing leads to better mental health in adult populations seeking psychotherapy (Wong, Owen, Brown, Mcinnis, Toth, & Gilman, 2016).
Gratitude buffers people from stress and depression (Wood, Maltby, Gillett, Linley, & Joseph, 2008).
Positive reframing underlies the relationship between trait gratitude and a sense of coherence. A sense of coherence is how confident a person feels about potential life outcomes. It is the degree to which a person feels optimistic and in control of future events (Lambert, Graham, Fincham, & Stillman, 2009).
Patients who expressed optimism/gratitude two weeks after an acute coronary event had healthier hearts (Huffman, Beale, Beach, Celano, Belcher, Moore, Suarez, Gandhi, Motiwala, Gaggin, & Januzzi 2015).
Gratitude and spiritual well-being are related to positive affect, sleep quality, energy, self-efficacy, and lower cellular inflammation (Mills, Redwine, Wilson, Pung, Chinh, Greenberg, Lunde, Maisel, & Raisinghani, 2015).
Gratitude may enhance peace of mind, reduce rumination, and have a negative effect on depressive symptoms (Liang, Chen, Li, Wu, Wang, Zheng, & Zeng, 2018).
If a person could do only one thing to increase their health and happiness, expressing gratitude might be it. Martin Seligman, a pioneer in the field of Positive Psychology, has remarked, “when we take time to notice the things that go right – it means we’re getting a lot of little rewards throughout the day” (BrainyQuote, n.d.).
Every time a person expresses or receives gratitude, dopamine releases in the brain. Dopamine, a neurotransmitter, is produced in two areas of the brain: the substantia nigra and the ventral tegmental. The former has to do with movement and speech, the latter with reward (Carter, 2009). When a person expresses or receives gratitude, dopamine releases, thus making a connection between the behavior and feeling good.
The more a person practices gratitude, the more often dopamine releases.
Proven Advantages of Keeping a Daily Gratitude Journal
One of the most popular gratitude exercises is the daily gratitude journal. One study found that materialism among adolescents decreased when they implemented this practice. Participants also donated 60% more money to charity (Chaplin, Roedder John, Rindfleisch, & Froh, 2019).
Fritz and colleagues (2019) learned that after completing a gratitude writing exercise, state gratitude predicted healthier eating behavior among undergraduate students. In a second study, they found that a weekly gratitude letter was associated with better eating habits. The teens in this study also experienced fewer negative emotions during the intervention period, which spanned four weeks.
Gratitude journaling might reduce inflammation in people who have experienced Stage B, asymptomatic heart failure (Redwine, Henry, Pung, Wilson, Chinh, Jain, Rutledge, Greenberg, Maisel, & Mills 2016). In a study titled “Gratitude journaling intervention in patients with Stage B heart failure,” Redwine and colleagues (2016) piloted an 8-week gratitude journaling intervention.
Compared to standard treatment, the intervention group also experienced an improvement in trait gratitude scores.
There is conflicting research about how often a person should journal. Sonja Lyubomirsky and colleagues (2010) found that once or twice per week is more beneficial than daily journaling.
The Benefits of Gratitude in the Workplace
People spend more time per week working than with their families (OECD, 2019). Since this is the case, it is vital that people work in healthy, supportive environments. Instilling and expressing gratitude is a simple way companies can increase employees’ job satisfaction.
Some employers and employees are hesitant to engage in formal gratitude practices. In response, researcher Amie Gordon (2019) identified Four myths about being grateful at work. She outlined the truths about gratitude revealed through scientific inquiry.
The myths and truths are:
Myth #1: It’s forced. Truth: Participants assigned to “be more grateful” are more satisfied, healthier, and happier. People enjoy gratitude interventions even when told to practice it.
Myth #2: It’s fake. Truth: Expressing gratitude when it is felt matters. Being specific about what one is grateful for heightens the experience for both people.
Myth #3: It’s fluffy. Truth: Gratitude is about feeling valued by others and seeing value in others. The majority of employees will leave if they do not feel appreciated and recognized.
Myth #4: It undermines authority. Truth: Grateful leaders inspire trust. They are perceived as having more integrity.
There is no denying that many workplaces or specific jobs induce stress. How can expressing gratitude help?
Focusing on events at work about which one is grateful reduces stress and depression (Cheng, Tsui, & Lam, 2015). In their study titled, “Improving mental health in health care practitioners,” 102 practitioners were divided into three groups:
Group 1: Wrote a work-related gratitude journal 2x/week for four consecutive weeks
Group 2: Wrote about work-related hassles 2x/.week for four consecutive weeks
Group 3: No diary
The researchers collected information about depressive symptoms and perceived stress at baseline, posttreatment, and during a 3-month follow-up. Those who wrote a work-related gratitude journal experienced a decline in stress and depressive symptoms when compared to the other two groups. Groups two and three were nearly the same as each other.
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