A gratitude mindset is a gift you can provide to yourself this year because it is neuroscientifically proven to prime your brain for joy and happiness. When you practice gratitude, at least 3 things happen that have immediate effects on your brain. They include increased happy neurotransmitters, increased neuroplasticity, and regulation of stress hormones. How does this happen and what are the details? Check out what happens with a regular and sustained gratitude practice here:
1. Neurotransmitters including serotonin and dopamine are released, improving one’s mood and making you instantly happier. Mental health is protected with production of these natural “feel-good” neurotransmitters which can set us up for improved emotional regulation and stable mood. Why does this matter? Our moods can be impacted by low self-esteem, negative thoughts or emotions, stressful reactions to life events and more difficult feelings. With gratitude, we create windows of happiness opportunity allowing more sunlight into our lives and increasing our chances to feel happy and good.
2. When practicing gratitude, we increase neuroplasticity or our mind’s ability to create new neural pathways focused on positive emotions. In effect, our brain is rewired priming us for greater joy and happiness. Somewhat like exercise, gratitude’s ability to “rewire” the brain can create opportunity to feel good more often, improve our resilience when challenges arise like loss of a loved one and prime our lives to manifest more positivity via genuine reflection. Why is this important? Life has numerous ups and downs, and through a gratitude point-of-view, we deliver ourselves hope and opportunity to thrive despite the lows or even humility in the high points of living. This is critical to thriving in life and feeling satisfied and joyful despite setbacks.
3. A gratitude mindset can help improve regulation of stress hormones such as cortisol. Lower levels of cortisol help us maintain a more positive and joyful state thereby improving our satisfaction of ourselves and our lives. With stressful life events unfolding almost daily, cortisol is indeed a chemical that our bodies become overloaded by, however, that amount doesn’t need to be so high as regularly. With gratitude, we cope better. Our bodies can thank us for feeling more at peace and in a state of calm rather than fear and anxiety. A gratitude practice such as a journal or using stop-look-go can help us achieve this milestone.
Is it possible to use gratitude to heal and improve in 10 seconds each day? Yes. But, how?
1. Type 3 things you are grateful for in under 10 seconds each day. Reread these at the end of the week, at the end of two weeks, and whenever you want.
2. Use stop-look-go to reflect in gratitude on your immediate surroundings and introduce grateful thoughts and feelings for at least 10 seconds daily. Include reflection during a nature walk to feel fully immersed in gratitude as a result of sensory input from nature.
3. Use the Gratitude Zone (https://gratitude.zone/) to post a message of gratitude to someone in your life you are truly grateful for taking 10 seconds to simply say, ‘thank you’.
Use 2025 to make your life more grateful than ever before. Start with a journal, mindset-building, or the zone and you’ll be well on your way to introducing positivity and true joy in your life!
References
1. https://www.calm.com/blog/the-science-of-gratitude#:~:text=Gratitude%20may%20have%20the%20power,changes%20in%20response%20to%20experiences
2. https://positivepsychology.com/neuroscience-of-gratitude/#brain-changes