How gratitude changes your brain

 It's that time of year. 30 days of thankfulness and a whole month focused on gratitude. Does it ever feel like life isn't so great as everyone else's? Well, stay tuned, friends. I'm going to show you the way to a grateful heart and how it changes your brain.

I don't know about you, but I always check my Facebook memories.  It's a repository of the seasons of my life, both good and bad.  And I remember one November, I accepted the challenge to post 30 days of thankfulness.  And about this time of the month, I posted, "Today, I am thankful that I resisted the urge to run over someone in the grocery store with my cart."

Nothing like a little honesty. Let's be real. Sometimes, the holidays can make you feel down and anxious. There's cooking and shopping and parties to go to.  Or, maybe not, and that's equally depressing.  This has everything to do with your health. Not only is social connectedness super important but gratitude can literally change your brain.

So, instead of fantasizing about ramming that person who irritated you in the grocery store, how about a changed heart?  Out of the overflow of the heart, the mouth speaks.  So, that's a pretty good diagnostic tool about where you are right now. And listen, if you're struggling, you're in the right place.

I've been there and I can help you see the bright side. But first, let's go to mini medical school and learn some brain anatomy and physiology. And by the way, if you want to meet some cutthroat people, hmm, med school is the place. But, we won't dwell on that.

I've had the privilege of working with so many wonderful doctors and nurses during my career, and I'm grateful for it.  Let's start in the middle of the brain. Now move down below the thalamus, but above the brain stem, and you'll find an area of the brain called the ventral tegmental area.  Now why are we here in this deep place in the brain?

Well, you see, This area of our brain is our built in reward center. It's involved in not only reward and pleasure, but also motivation, emotional regulation, learning and cognition, which is a fancy word for thinking. Hopefully, if you've been listening to this podcast for very long, some of this is going to sound familiar.

 The ventral tegmental area contains dopaminergic neurons.  That just means nerve cells that make and release  dopamine. Yes, good old dopamine. That fuels our sensation of pleasure, motivates us to seek more and feel that good reward. 

If you've missed some of the recent episodes of Mood, you might want to go back and listen to them. And, by the way, don't miss another episode. Sign up for the email list, and I'll send them straight to your inbox, so all you have to do is push play.  You know where the ventral tegmental area is, what it does.

Now, what does that have to do with gratitude? Think of it as buried treasure. Deep in the brain, this connection of pathways is a treasure trove of pleasure. Dopamine gets released when you practice gratitude, and it just feels good to be grateful.

 A friend of mine always told her children, put that in your treasure chest of memories. I think that's good advice. In other words, make deposits so you'll have something special to pull out. This reward circuitry is like buried treasure with connections to other structures in the brain called the mesolimbic pathway. 

This network includes the nucleus accumbens, the prefrontal cortex, the amygdala, and the hippocampus.  Okay, before we get lost, Suffice it to say, gratitude activates the ventral tegmental area to release dopamine to the nucleus accumbens. And listen, you're gonna like it. In fact, your brain will like it so much, it'll make you want to do it over and over again.

And just think, being grateful is what activates it.  Gratitude can lead to better mental health, including less depression and anxiety. Overall, emotional well being tends to be higher in people who practice gratitude. Let's face it, when we focus on being thankful, it changes our perspective and helps us be happier, or at least have more positive emotions than negative ones.

Gratitude can also improve sleep quality, which of course affects mood. I mean, who isn't grouchy when they don't get enough shut eye? Sleep is so important, but it can be complicated. And if you struggle to get a good night's sleep, I have some resources for you. Check it out in the show notes.  When you have an attitude of gratitude, it also affects your relationships.

People who are focused on what's right, instead of what's wrong, tend to have stronger bonds with friends and spouses and any romantic relationship.  There's more of a sense of trust, connection, and commitment. And social connectedness is one of the pillars of lifestyle medicine because it's crucial for good health, both physical and emotional.

In fact, the effects on physical health are so significant.

People who are full of gratitude tend to have a stronger immune system, as well as lower blood pressure.  Gratitude makes us more resilient, so we can control our emotions when we are faced with stress and trauma.  Now, I'm going to give you some practical ways to start practicing gratitude. But first, a little neurochemistry. 

Gratitude has the power to reduce cortisol levels. Now, who remembers what cortisol is nicknamed?  If you said the stress hormone, you get an A.  Gratitude helps us relax and be more calm and peaceful. In the episode on how food affects mood, I nicknamed all the neurotransmitters to help you remember. And if you forgot or missed that episode, there's a link in the show notes, but all of them are involved in regulating mood and all of them are affected by gratitude. 

Gratitude causes your brain to release dopamine, which is associated with pleasure and reward. This makes us feel happy and satisfied. And guess what happens then? Well, you feel grateful. And that sets it all in motion again.  In health, we often talk about a vicious cycle.  This is a victorious cycle. 

Serotonin levels also increase with gratitude. And remember, serotonin is the happy hormone. It helps alleviate anxiety and improves mood and makes us feel calm. Yes, I'll take some of that, please.  Oxytocin is also released when we feel grateful, especially in social situations. And remember, oxytocin   is the love hormone.

So when we're grateful, levels go up, that strengthens trust, and trust is the foundation of any relationship. So more oxytocin means more connectedness, And that's great for your health.   Another benefit is the release of endorphins. And those are those natural painkillers that lower stress and make you just feel good all over.

And just think, you don't even have to run a marathon to get a runner's high. Now that's something to be grateful for. Okay, now that I've convinced you that gratitude is a mood booster, let's talk about some practical things you can do. But first  You have to shift your focus. If you focus on things that are good, that you can be grateful for, then you can practice gratitude. 

And it may take some practice like anything else.  

Once you've shifted your perspective, and you're looking for things to be grateful for, you'll find them. And here's how you can practice gratitude.

1. Count your blessings out loud to yourself.  There is something powerful about saying it. When I was so sick, I could hardly walk and my life was crumbling around me. This practice was a lifesaver.  Listen, I was at the edge of despair, but every morning before dawn, I'd drag myself to the front porch and sit there and count my blessings out loud, starting with Thank you Lord that I was born healthy, because many are not.

Now this is scientifically proven to improve your life, and one of the studies was even on people with neuromuscular diseases.  The autoimmune disease that I have that caused my illness was a neuromuscular disease and I thought that was pretty cool. 

2. Talk about it with others. Tell other people what you're grateful for and thank them for being in your life.And trust me, they'll want to be around you more if you're focused on the good in life.  Now listen, this is not Pollyanna pretend everything is okay when it isn't. That's called toxic positivity. You need friends in your life who can help you shoulder your burdens. That's real connection. But, if you constantly vomit your story of woes on people, they're not going to want to be around you. And you need to shift your focus. Express your gratitude for friends who help you through the hard times. 

3. Write it down for yourself. Keep a gratitude journal. Write down at least three things every day that you're thankful for, and preferably do this first thing in the morning to start your day with your brain circuitry working for you rather than against you. Studies show that this helps lower depression and alleviate stress and it's associated with positive emotions, life satisfaction, and optimism. And we all need a dose of hope, don't we?  Keeping a bedtime gratitude journal is a great way to improve sleep. This is a fantastic way to start and end the day. 

4. Write it down for others.  Literally send thank you notes or even just a text message to people in your life who you care about. Writing gratitude letters has been proven to improve your health.  And not only that, it will improve the lives of those people who are in your world.  So what are you thankful for?  Here's the deal. One of the areas of the brain in this loop is the prefrontal  cortex. 

This is the area of the brain right behind your forehead where we make decisions, solve problems, and control our emotions.  Think about it.  See what I did there? If you're going to think about it, you're going to think about it in your prefrontal cortex.  

And gratitude enhances the brain's ability to see the world with a positive outlook and improve mood and emotional regulation. All of that happens right there. And gratitude helps your thinking brain dig into that treasure chest in the middle of the brain to activate all those pathways to release feel good chemicals.

The ventral tegmental area will start cranking out dopamine and activate the nucleus accumbens and that floods you with the warm fuzzies.  And then it motivates you to live that way. It becomes a habit. But here's the deal.  You have to choose it.  And, why wouldn't you choose it?     I hope by understanding the neurochemistry of gratitude, You're ready to put it into practice and improve your mental and physical well being, as well as your relationships. Remember, it's all a matter of focus.  Incorporate gratitude into your daily routine with prayer, journaling, and expressing thanks to others.

In fact, I have my own thankfulness challenge for you.  Now, I don't know if you send out Christmas cards, But, how about sending out an actual thank you card to someone just because?  This year, I'm hosting Thanksgiving dinner, and I'll have a card for everyone around the table. And, if my family is tuning in, maybe they'll have some too. 

Wouldn't it be nice to give and receive thank you cards for Thanksgiving and all year round? 

And if you're up for more of a challenge, here's an idea from one of my listeners. A gratitude jar. Start on New Year's Day with some type of jar, and every time you're thankful for someone,  put a little note in the jar. And then at the end of the year, send it to them. I got one of these notes one time, and it was so meaningful. It blessed both of us.  

If you're on my email list, I'll send out a lovely card that you can download and give to those you care about. And if you aren't, it's not too late. I'll send it out every week until Thanksgiving.  You can sign up at www.healthylooksgreatonyou. com  

Download it and pass it on. Give it a try and see if it improves your mood and your health. Because healthy looks great on you.    

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Sleep resources

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