How can feeling thankful influence your brain?
Identifying reasons to feel grateful benefits your emotional well-being and helps reduce stress. Being intentional about finding gratitude creates a cycle of seeking out positive perspectives.SCIENCE SAYS:
Gratitude isn’t just an act of kindness. Feeling thanks can also boost your emotional well-being and reduces stress. Research shows gratitude can increase serotonin and dopamine levels, increasing feelings of happiness, even if you do not share these feelings with others.WAYS TO BEGIN:
- Reflect on what makes you take pause and feel deep appreciation.
- Keep a gratitude journal to help document the reasons you give thanks.
- Practice active listening and meditative strategies for being present in each moment.
- Invent new ways to express or document gratitude in words, like writing letters, taking photographs and practicing acts of kindness.
