The Neuroscience of Gratitude and Its Effects on the Brain

 

The Neuroscience of gratitude has taken root in the 21st century.  However, the concept of gratitude is believed to have started very early in the age of humans. Some theorists believe it evolved as the ancients sat around the first campfires. Their idea is that people began to share scarce food without expecting to receive anything in return. This built a neural pathway in the brains of early humans, which passed along to their ancestors right up to the present day. The first neural pathways got stronger as time passed by.

 

 

Why Should We Be Grateful for, and at, Easter?

 

The next step for humanity was incorporating the idea of gratitude into the various religions that developed thousands of years ago.  Of course, our website, BlessedEaster.com, focuses upon Jesus and how Easter is an opportunity to display gratitude.

On Easter, we reflect on the compassion Christ shown for humanity by making the ultimate sacrifice in our place. We have genuine cause to rejoice because he has indeed risen from the grave! While this particular day serves as a helpful reminder and cause for celebration, it shouldn’t be the only occasion on which we express our appreciation.  This practice has been ongoing for almost 2000 years.

 

Scientists, in particular neuroscientists, recently began to study what gratitude does to the mind and the body.

 

Using various tools, such as imaging equipment, researchers have tested how patients think about gratitude and then take note of what happened in their brains. Imagine if you could hook your brain up to the television and watch a comedy on another television. As you observed, each time you laughed, you would notice different colorations in the area of the brain that responds to gratitude on the first television.

 

 

One area in which researchers saw significant activity is the hypothalamus.  A recent study found that practicing gratitude activates a part of the human brain—the ventromedial prefrontal cortex (VMPFC)—associated with what the researchers describe as neural pure altruism, which basically means that your brain craves the experience of giving.

All this activity in the brain may sound and look interesting if you see it, but more significant things are happening.

 

 

These natural chemicals in the brain can be referred to by different names, such as chemical messengers. They start traveling and producing amazing results in the brain and body.

When we look at getting a dopamine release from expressing gratitude, we start feeling pleasure. Dopamine also helps your body to move and do things that require coordination. Our friend serotonin has a double purpose too. It increases positive emotions and helps with our digestion and our metabolism.

Since dopamine and serotonin are natural chemical wonders, they are often referred to as our “happy chemicals,” which is a positive reference. Gratitude helps to release them, as does laughter, joy, and anything that gives us pleasure.

 

 

Daily Gratitude and Neural Pathways

 

Research has shown that daily gratitude practice strengthens existing neural pathways. These pathways are connections in the brain, and there are some simple examples of how fragile or strong they can be.

When you try something once and don’t do it again, you have a simple neural pathway that, over time, will break. Doing something repeatedly makes a neural pathway strong.

Think of one pencil. Can you break it in half? The answer, of course, is yes, but what about three? Well, it is more difficult, but yes, you should be able to do it. What about 10 pencils? Not many people could grip the ends of ten pencils and eventually snap them in half.

Your neural pathways get to build themselves the same way as layering pencil after pencil. In terms of using gratitude, those neural pathways will stay strong and not crumble so long as you continue to practice daily gratitude.

 

 

Easter and Gratitude

 

You should always try to be grateful. It sounds great. Think about the effects on your brain of not expressing appreciation and other pleasant feelings. Your brain is wired to offer you the things you focus on the most. In this situation, the brain forms the incorrect impression if you believe that your life is inadequate and that nothing ever goes well for you. Your mind starts hunting for new ways to lessen your happiness.

On the other hand, your brain thinks you desire more thankfulness along with love and joy when you practice gratitude. Then, it searches for opportunities to express thankfulness to individuals on a daily basis because it knows that you will always receive back what you give.

While more study is required on the effects of gratitude on the brain and the body, enough has been completed to prove that it is essential for a happy life. Make sure to practice every day.

 

 

Click here for a section covering Gratitude in our site, BeBestU.com

Click here for an excellent overview of Gratitude and the Science of Gratitude in Wikipedia.