521 - Thanks-Giving 2023 Edition: Science of Gratitude, Thanks-Giving Every Day
Take 3 – Practical Practice Pointers©
From the Greater Good Science Center
1) The Science of Gratitude
Gratitude infuses our religious, cultural, and scholarly traditions. It has been conceptualized as an emotion, a virtue, a moral sentiment, a motive, a coping response, a skill, and an attitude. Most people have an instinctive understanding of what gratitude is, but it can be surprisingly difficult to define, as it can mean different things to different people in different contexts. Some research psychologists categorize three types of gratitude: gratitude as an “affective trait” (one’s overall tendency or disposition), a mood (daily fluctuations) and an emotion (a more temporary feeling). Most of the studies on gratitude focus on it as a trait (or “dispositional” gratitude) and/or as an emotion.
Research suggests that gratitude is not simply a cultural construct. It has deep roots that are embedded in our evolutionary history, our brain structure and function, and in our family and social development. Some researchers suggest that gratitude may have evolved as a mechanism to drive reciprocal altruism, thereby turning strangers into friends and allies who are more likely to help one another. Studies from neuroscience have identified brain areas that are likely involved in experiencing and expressing gratitude, providing further evidence for the idea that gratitude is an intrinsic component of human experience.
Research has linked a variety of factors—including personality factors, cognitive factors, and gender—to one’s likelihood of experiencing gratitude or having a grateful disposition. Research also suggests that social factors—including religion, cultural influences, and parenting styles—may influence a person’s tendency to experience gratitude.
Additionally, it appears that gratitude may be associated with many benefits for individuals, including better physical and psychological health, increased happiness and life satisfaction, and decreased materialism. Gratitude may also benefit people with various medical and psychological challenges. In recent years, studies have examined gratitude’s potential benefits for children and adolescents. For example, studies have found that more grateful adolescents are more interested and satisfied with their school lives, are more kind and helpful, and are more socially integrated.
Gratitude is also important to forming and maintaining social relationships. Research suggests that gratitude inspires people to be more generous, kind, and helpful (or “prosocial”) and strengthens relationships, including romantic relationships. Though there has not been a great deal of research explicitly focused on gratitude in the workplace, a handful of studies suggest that gratitude may help employees perform their jobs more effectively, feel more satisfied at work, and act more helpfully and respectfully toward their coworkers.
A growing number of studies have tested the efficacy of various practices (“interventions”) designed to boost gratitude, such as explicitly noting one’s blessings (gratitude journaling) and writing letters of gratitude to people whom one has never properly thanked (“gratitude letters”). A series of meta-analyses have attempted to determine the efficacy of gratitude interventions, and most have concluded that gratitude interventions do appear to significantly increase happiness, well-being, and positive mood. However, the impact of these interventions on many other outcomes is less clear.
Mark’s Comments:
The season of Thanksgiving always provides a wonderful backdrop for reflection on the place of gratitude in our lives. Studies show that the feeling of gratitude is an important ingredient for overall well-being and will increase with regular practice (it’s a skill!). Research on the science of gratitude is relatively new, and thus there are still many open questions left to explore. The 2nd Pointer provides guidance for one “gratitude practice” that can be easily incorporated into one’s daily routine as well as that of a family. If you want to get a sense of your present “gratitude aptitude” here’s a link to a gratitude quiz from Rick Hanson, PhD - Gratitude Quiz.
References:
· Allen S. The Science of Gratitude. A white paper prepared for the John Templeton Foundation by the Greater Good Science Center at UC Berkeley. May 2018. Link
From PeerRxMed ( www.PeerRxMed.org ) and Corey Martin, MD
2) Celebrate Thanks-Giving Every Day
“I don’t have to chase extraordinary moments to find happiness – it’s right in front of me if I’m paying attention and practicing gratitude”. -Brene Brown
When I ask people what they want more than anything in life, the top answer is always, “I just want to be happy”.
We spend our life chasing happiness and hoping someday we will finally figure it out. In reality, we are the architect of our own happiness. Studies show that only 10% of our happiness can be attributed to the things (good or bad) that happen in our lives, 40% of our happiness appears to be genetically determined (“set point”), and 50% of our happiness is how we process the things that happen to us. So, the good news is, much of our happiness is under our control. That bad news is, that if only 10% of our happiness is due to the people and things that happen around you, it’s pretty hard to blame others for our unhappiness…. (Darn…that would be so much easier.)
The tool I like the most to intentionally increase my happiness is called “Three Good Things”. It is simple, easy and only takes a couple minutes a day. Here’s the process:
- For 21 days before you go to sleep, reflect on three good things that happened to you during the day;
- Write them down in a journal (include the emotion/s you felt with these memories);
- Reflect on why they happened;
- THAT’S IT, then go to bed and let the magic happen.
Research has shown that doing this simple act daily for 3 weeks prior to bed can potentially improve your happiness levels and decrease depression (by as much as taking a SSRI) for at least 6 months.
Why does this work? We know that when we are sleeping, our brain continues to strengthen neural networks AND it strengthens those networks that were our focus within the 2 hours prior to sleep more than anything else. So, the idea with the Three Good Things is that if we focus on positive things in our life before we go to bed, our brain hardwires them during our sleep.
So, why not give it a try! As a warm-up, consider doing a round of 3 Good Things at the start of Thanksgiving Dinner with family and friends. Maybe you could even incorporate it as a bedtime routine with your kids, spouse, or partner. And after experiencing 3 weeks of the magic of increased happiness, at that point, why would you stop?!
Mark’s Comments:
My thanks to friend, colleague, and PeerRxMed buddy Corey Martin, MD, for his guest blog for this week. Corey is a family physician who is absolutely driven through his work to help improve the emotional, physical, and relational health of our colleagues and care teams. As the founder of Innovations in Resilience (www.innovationsinresilience.com) and Bounce Travels (www.bouncetravels.com), one of the ways he does this is by facilitating wellbeing retreats across the US and throughout the world based on the work of Brené Brown and Parker Palmer, and tapping into the experience he has gained in working with thousands of colleagues.
I’ve incorporated gratitude in my journaling for many years, and the benefits continue to be substantial. Regularly sharing your “3 Good Things” from the day with a loved one (an instant answer to the “how was your day?” question) can also quickly transform the conversation. This doesn’t mean you don’t share your struggles and frustrations as well. It does, however, provide some important perspective! And it will likely be something you’ll look forward to sharing, even after a “long day.”
If you know yourself well enough to realize you’ll benefit from an additional “nudge” and/or if you’d like to help advance the science for the practical application of gratitude, consider enrolling in a 2 week “3 Good Things” virtual study through the Duke University Center for Healthcare Safety and Quality. You’ll get a text reminder each day as well as the opportunity to share your 3 Good things: Duke 3 Good Things Study
And for health’s sake, please remember that your daily “Thanks-Giving” is not about the food ….
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Mark and John
Carilion Clinic Department of Family and Community Medicine
Feel free to forward Take 3 to your colleagues. Glad to add them to the distribution list.
Email: mhgreenawald@carilionclinic.org