Science
Neuroscience Reveals: This Is How Gratitude Literally Rewires Your Brain to Be Happier
You might have been hearing stuff about taking the control of your emotions in your hands. Not that it is impossible, but there have been false rumors spreading.
We are used to listening about the power of thankfulness for thriving in a happier mental state.
According to UCLA’s Mindfulness Awareness Research Center, expressing thankfulness to people on a daily basis can literally alter the molecular structure of the brain. It prevents gray matter from forming and makes us healthier.
When you feel the emotion of happiness, the central nervous system is filled with bursting volumes of energy. The outcome is you becoming more relaxed and energetic.
Below you will find some bits of knowledge which will prove the above mentioned things to you. You can follow this philosophy up with practical steps to slowly change the molecular structure of the brain.
In a study conducted by Robert A. Emmons, at the University of California at Davi, along with his associate Mike McCullough at the University of Miami for the human brain, they indiscriminately allocated participants one of the three tasks.
Each of them kept a journal every week, with one group unfolding their discoveries about their emotions. They noted down what caused a change in their neural activity. This process went on for about ten weeks after which the participants in the gratitude group felt 25 percent healthier than the other participants in groups.
Must read: Brain Scans Reveal The World Happiest Man: His Secrets Is Simple
In a later study, with a likewise setup by Emmons, people working with gratitude exercises everyday offered others the comfort of being able to rely on them.
One more study on appreciation was held with adults in conflict with disorders like congenital and adult-onset neuromuscular (NMDs) and post-polio syndrome (PPS).
This was compared with the previous one and they found out that people who expressed gratitude everyday felt refreshed each day in the morning, like it’s a new start. They did not carry the burden of yesterday.
A follow up study done by Chinese experts concluded that expressing gratitude is directly linked to improved sleep and lesser levels of unease and gloominess. Don’t these sound compelling? Maybe you should get big on expressing gratitude starting from today!
If you are looking for ways to do it, simply because you are not so big on emotions, start by simply saying thank you to the other person. Once you make a habit of it, you will find it easy to figure out your every day schedule.
Some easy ways to include gratitude in your life are keeping a diary in which you can note down everything you are grateful for in your life, no matter how small or big, and then go through them every night before sleeping, tell the people who are close to you what you love about them every day. Reflect at your inner self and what you like about yourself.
Within a short time you will surely notice a positive change within yourself!
Image source: Wikipedia
