If you found out that there was a supplement that would improve your
- Mood
- Sleep
- Immune system
…and that it could help decrease the effects of
- Depression
- Anxiety
- Issues connected to chronic pain
- Your risk for disease
…and with side effects such as
- Nothing
- No, really
- There are no drawbacks at all
…and this supplement
- Costs absolutely nothing
- Is easily accessible
…would you be interested in it? We bet you would be, and we have even more good news. This actually exists and it isn’t even a supplement. All you need is gratitude.
How You Think Affects Your Brain
The Mayo Clinic says that “behavior changes biology” and that “sharing kindness can make you healthier and happier.” What the Mayo calls “positive gestures” releases oxytocin into your brain. You may have heard of this hormone before because many call it the love hormone. It’s why you feel warm and positive when in close physical contact with a loved one. You can also release this hormone simply by taking the time to feel grateful.
And that’s not all. Gratitude also causes your brain to release dopamine and serotonin, the neurotransmitters with the most impact on mood and emotion regulation. In short, being grateful causes your brain to take a warm bath in chemicals that make you feel happier and more content while reducing your stress.
But how much can being grateful really improve your behavioral health? Prepare to be surprised, because the effects are significant.
Reducing Your Stress Level
This overview of 70 studies incorporating feedback from over 26,000 people, including children, adolescents, and adults, shows a clear connection between more gratitude and less stress. We don’t entirely understand the connection, but its existence is clear.
Improving Your Sleep
You spend a third of your life sleeping and that time is absolutely vital to the health of both your brain and your body. Yet despite this importance, The American Sleep Apnea Association describes the state of American sleep as “dismal.” Between 50 and 70 million Americans have sleep disorders while one-third of adults fail to get the recommended hours of uninterrupted sleep.
The University of Manchester study found that those who wrote down a list of things they were grateful for enjoyed more uninterrupted sleep and better sleep quality overall. If you’re one of the 84 million Americans who don’t get enough sleep, gratitude may be the answer.
Lowering Your Anxiety
Studies have shown that gratitude on its own doesn’t affect your anxiety level. However, those who took part in the gratitude studies still showed lower levels of anxiety. If it isn’t gratitude that’s lowering the anxiety, then what is?
Turns out the answer is simply more sleep. By getting more and more effective sleep (which is affected by gratitude, remember), you can lower your anxiety level. So while gratitude only affects anxiety indirectly, you will still enjoy lowered feelings of anxiety by practicing gratitude to get a solid night’s sleep.
How To Be More Grateful
Being more grateful feels like one of those old board games that “takes minutes to learn but a lifetime to master.” It’s going to take daily practice for gratitude to become a habit that happens more automatically, but we have a few exercises that might help you get started in cultivating an attitude of gratitude.
The Gratitude Journal
Get yourself a notebook you use only to record what you’re grateful for. If you’re trying to improve your sleep, set aside time before you go to bed to reflect on what you’ve been grateful for that day. If you’re trying to improve the outlook of your waking hours, start your day with this exercise. This doesn’t have to be a long process, nor do the entries need to be long. If you’re already a journaler, simply add a gratitude section to your entries. If journaling is a new habit, it can just be a list of bullet points. Don’t worry about doing it “right.” There’s no goal other than reminding yourself of everything you’re thankful for each day.
Truly Giving Thanks
Think about how often you reflexively thank people for things each day. We do it because it’s polite and shows appreciation to the person who did something for us. But if we catch ourselves giving a nearly thoughtless thank you, we should take a beat and really focus on the thing we’re thanking someone for. Give it a few serious seconds to really appreciate whatever it is that caused you to say thanks, and you’ll soon be coupling actual gratitude with the words.
Control Your Thoughts
Similarly to how thoughtlessly we say thank you, we are just as reflexive in feeling annoyance or frustration. When you catch yourself having a negative emotion or attitude, especially when it’s about something small, fleeting or petty, stop yourself. Slow down and redirect your thought process to something positive about the situation. It might be tough to do when someone cuts you off on the highway or when someone uses your coffee mug for the third time that week, but the work is the point, so the harder you have to work to find the positive, the more effective this is.
Practice Mindfulness
Mindfulness is simply being present in the moment. This can be a structured meditation practice like Vipassana or simply taking a few moments to redirect your attention to your body and its sensations rather than the endless stream of thoughts constantly demanding your attention. Take note of the sights, scents, and the feel of a breeze or warm sun on your skin. Be grateful for a body that can give you sensations.
Grateful for Help From Beacon Point
Practicing gratitude can have incredible benefits and huge impacts on your mental well-being, but it isn’t a cure-all. If you’re trying to be more grateful but continue to struggle with depression and anxiety, then you may need professional help. Beacon Point connects individuals who need assistance with substance use recovery and behavioral health with those who can help. They’re standing by and are excited to guide you on your behavioral health journey to a more stable and healthy destination. Call 352-255-6985 for 24/7 peer support from Beacon Point.