How Gratitude Affects the Brain

You are feeling stressed and have too many responsibilities with too little time. You manage to complete a project and are on the verge of burning out — and then someone looks you in the eyes and says, “Thanks.” Suddenly, you have the energy to tackle the next project on your list. Why does this happen? How does gratitude profoundly affect our psychological and physical well-being, and how can you harness it as a business leader for the good of your workforce?

Gratitude Relieves the Pressure of Toxic Emotions

A study from Berkeley asked a group of 300 mentally ill adults to participate in a writing exercise. This exercise was to record their emotional state in addition to receiving counselling. One group was asked to focus their letters on gratitude. They had to thank someone for helping their mental health. As the writing exercise progressed, the group with gratitude letters steadily used fewer negative emotion words. A significant number of positive emotion words were used.  Additionally, “we” words signify their identification with a social group. Twelve weeks following the writing exercise, those who created those letters reported significantly better mental health than the other group, though both received equivalent counselling.

This experiment demonstrates that gratitude is good for mental health. Researchers believe expressing gratitude is beneficial because it allows a person to focus their energy away from toxic emotions like resentment and envy. Furthermore, gratitude does not need to be shared to have these positive effects. In the study, only 23 per cent of participants sent their gratitude letters to their intended recipients, but those who kept their gratitude to themselves benefited the same.

When you and those around you are stressed, you might focus on feeling grateful for the advantages available to you and your company. You can keep your gratitude to yourself, but doing so might deprive others of the opportunity to reframe their thoughts and avoid dwelling on negative emotions.

Gratitude Takes Time to Work Its Magic

A week into the experiment in the study described above, the two groups participating in writing exercises had no discernable differences. It took roughly a month for the groups to report differences in their mental health. After three months, there was a vast improvement for the gratitude letter writers but not for the other participant group members.

Gratitude takes practice; it is not a rapid cure for negative thoughts and feelings. The more you engage with gratitude, the more it can transform your thinking. This is contrary to the effects of a few other standard practices for managing mental health, which tend to decrease effectiveness over time. Because gratitude offers a snowball effect of positivity, you need to be consistent with your expressions of appreciation. You and those around you might not benefit immediately from radically different thought processes. Still, over time, you should see improvements in morale from a consistent recognition program or another tool for sharing your appreciation with your employees.

Gratitude Fundamentally Changes the Brain

Twelve weeks after the start of the experiment, researchers performed fMRI scans on participants. The scans were to obtain more in-depth information about how expressing gratitude affected brain structures. During the scan, participants were given a choice to donate money to a charitable cause.

Scans show that gratitude activates the anterior cingulate cortex and medial prefrontal cortex.  These areas of the brain are tied to moral cognition, empathy, and value judgment. It also stimulates the hypothalamus, which controls critical functions like appetite and sleep. Practicing gratitude, such as through writing letters, can foster positive emotions, especially when helping others. On the other hand, those who rarely express gratitude are more prone to negative feelings, like guilt.

Gratitude reshapes how your brain processes experiences, offering psychological protection from negativity. This habit leads to better sleep, a healthier appetite, less inflammation, and a stronger heart. It all starts with simply thanking your employees for their hard work.