The practice of gratitude remains a hidden gem. Overwhelming amounts of research, books and other publications point to scientific evidence that the benefits of having a grateful outlook on our physical and psychological well being are wonderful, transformative and sometimes very surprising!

And yet, we tend to limit our grateful potential to the two founding words of the practice – “thank you”. As much power as these two words hold, none of it can be truly cultivated without expressing gratitude beyond those two words. Being grateful is a lifestyle, and it might be just what you need to become your best self.

The Perks of Gratitude

According to expert-led research, such as studies by UC Davis professor of psychology and world-leader on gratitude science Robert Emmons, being grateful can get you much more than just a warm smile.

In fact, from over a thousand people of different ages studied, it was concluded that people practicing gratitude consistently and correctly report a plethora of benefits:

Better Physical Health

Linked with optimism, gratefulness has been surprisingly shown to boost the immune system, according to University of Utah psychology professor Lisa Aspinwall, PhD. For example, a study of first year law students found that positive psychology practitioners exhibited higher blood cell count that protects the immune system. Aside from that, research by Robert Emmons concludes that grateful people are less bothered by aches and pain, have lower blood pressure, exercise more often, take better care of their body, sleep better and longer, and generally feel more refreshed.

Better Mental Health

This section’s long – because the list of psychological benefits is long! A good one to start with is a study by University of Pennsylvania academics of the Positive Psychology Centre – it was shown that a one time act of gratitude resulted in an immediate 10% increase in happiness and a 35% reduction in symptoms of depression. If that was a one-time thing, think about what can happen if you do it consistently!

Many studies show that expressive gratitude and counting blessings consistently has “high utility scores and [are] associated with substantial improvements in optimism” (Huffman, Dubois, Healy, Boehm, Kashdan, Celano, Denninger, & Lyubomirsky, 2014). It has also been shown that in adult populations seeking psychotherapy, expressive gratitude has led to better mental health (Wong, Owen, Brown, Mcinnis, Toth, & Gilman, 2016). It enhances peace of mind, and decreases rumination and depressive feelings (Liang, Chen, Li, Wu, Wang, Zheng, & Zeng, 2018).

This can generally be attributed to gratitude being linked to dopamine release, both when receiving and giving it. Dopamine is a neurotransmitter also known as “feel-good” hormone, and it’s produced in the brain areas responsible for movement, speech and reward. When gratitude is expressed, the brain releases dopamine, creating an association between that behaviour and feeling good. So, in a way, being grateful is like a drug – the good kind!

Better Social Health

As humans, we’re social creatures. From non-personal relations at work or on the street, to romance – communication is a large part of our lives. So it shouldn’t come as a surprise that the goodness of gratitude comes in parts from its interpersonal benefits. For instance, studies link gratitude to partners being more responsive to each other’s needs and more satisfied with each other (Algoe, Fredrickson, Gable, 2013).

On a less personal note, a study by psychologists Adam Grant and Francesca Gino shows that expressive gratitude from a supervisory position is linked with higher employee morale, increased trust within the workplace and, in turn, higher productivity. Given that gratitude is an interpersonal emotion, it makes sense that it can transform your relationships in more ways than one.

So what’s stopping us?

The bitter truth to this question is quite simple – the obstacle is not outside us but within us. As good as gratitude is, reaping the fruits of your labour can take quite a bit of time and effort, with some obstacles in the way.

For instance, gratitude goes against the self-serving bias, which is ingrained into human attitude – the phenomenon that when something good happens, we congratulate ourselves, but when something bad happens, we’re quick to blame someone else. To someone who instinctively thinks like that, gratitude does not come easily, as it is essentially giving credit to other people for our success.

Moreover, gratitude forces us to challenge the “just world” hypothesis, by which everyone gets what they deserve in life. To practice gratitude, you must realise that you get more than you deserve – letting go of the feeling that you are entitled to your success is hard to do, but it is crucial to truly be appreciative of your blessings. At the end of the day, what’s the point of gratitude if all of our “blessings” are nothing more than exactly what we deserve?

The bottom line is – through gratitude, we affirm the goodness that exists in this world…

…and in difficult times like what we’re living though now – this is more important than ever. Gratitude not only makes us recognise goodness, but it makes us think about where it comes from, and we realise that it often comes from outside. It is this humble dependence on others that enhances our lives.