How is it November already?! What a year it has been. As I start to head into the holidays and the final stretch of 2024, gearing up for 2025, I deeply recognize the need for gratitude. For some of you, this notion of emphasis on being grateful may feel like a bit of a platitude, but I promise you that the benefits of gratitude are rooted in science. As always, I want to help you to understand neuroscience in ways that can guide you to the changes you want to create. Gratitude can scientifically and neurologically change your perspective and shift your life.
Today’s world gives us messages of scarcity daily: “You need more money! You need a better body! You need to be successful! You need to find a partner!” You get the picture. Too often we focus on what’s missing, which makes embracing gratitude into a revolutionary act. When you dig into the science behind gratitude, you’ll find it does far more than simply make you feel warm inside. It’s an ally to your brain and mental well-being, working quietly but diligently behind the scenes to help you lead a happier, more resilient life. Neuroscientists and psychologists have been investigating gratitude’s impact for years, and the findings reveal why this simple practice deserves a place in your everyday life.
In the short term, when you express gratitude, your brain gets a remarkable and immediate boost. Studies show that when you think about what you’re thankful for, your brain releases dopamine and serotonin, the two “feel-good” neurotransmitters. These chemicals instantly make you feel happier, and over time they improve your focus, memory, and general outlook. Practicing gratitude is like doing a workout for your brain. Each time you recognize something you’re thankful for, you’re strengthening the neural pathways that lead to positivity. As you develop these paths more deeply, it grows easier to recognize the good in your life, and you become less and less likely to get bogged down by stress and negativity. Enough trips down these neural pathways, and you are quite literally becoming a more positive and optimistic person.
Gratitude also taps into the brain’s prefrontal cortex, the area responsible for complex decision-making, empathy, and emotional regulation. When you reflect on positive experiences or people in your life, the prefrontal cortex strengthens its control over your emotional responses. This effect reduces impulsive reactions, helping you navigate difficult situations with a calm and collected mindset. With time, practicing gratitude makes it easier for your brain to shift away from immediate, reactionary responses to a state of reflection and consideration. This rewiring is known as neuroplasticity—your brain’s ability to adapt and form new connections based on experiences and thoughts. Through gratitude, you’re essentially training your brain to identify and appreciate the positive, which becomes easier and more automatic the longer you practice.
One of the most fascinating findings about gratitude is its effect on your resilience. Gratitude profoundly influences the amygdala, the brain’s emotional center and primary source of the “fight-or-flight” response. Life is full of challenges, and when you’re stressed or overwhelmed, your body releases cortisol, the stress hormone. I’m sure you’ve been hearing a lot about this dreaded cortisol. While it is helpful in small amounts, constant exposure can wear down your immune system and your mental health. But gratitude offers a natural (and free!) way to counteract this. When you practice gratitude regularly, your cortisol levels drop, allowing you to handle stress with greater ease. It’s like having an internal shield against the onslaught of challenges that life inevitably brings.
Gratitude can also deepen your social connections, all of them, from your loved ones to your neighbors. By recognizing and appreciating the people in your life, you’re actively building a support network. Your brain will pick up on this and begin to crave more of it. When you thank someone or express appreciation, your brain releases oxytocin, the bonding hormone. This hormone strengthens your social connections, creating trust and helping you feel a deeper sense of belonging. I used to live in New York City, and when I was grateful for even my small exchanges at a newspaper stand or nodding acknowledgement to a stranger on the subway, it made the city feel less lonely. I felt more connected every time I offered the extra “Have a good day” or someone shot it my way. I began to see myself as a more connected person, at home in the unfamiliar city, and it helped to fast track my ability to build solid relationships there.
Gratitude has another impressive neurological benefit, one that most of us desperately need —it enhances your sleep. Neuroscience research has found that people who spend a few minutes each night focusing on what they’re grateful for fall asleep faster and enjoy more restful sleep. This happens because when you focus on positive thoughts before bed, your brain reduces its “threat detection” mode, which would otherwise keep you alert to potential dangers. By quieting these neural pathways, gratitude primes your mind for relaxation and better rest.
Practicing gratitude each day doesn’t need to be elaborate. Writing in a gratitude journal, mentally listing three things you’re thankful for, or even expressing thanks out loud can all bring measurable changes to your brain over time. The law of compounding applies heavily here; the snowball effect where something small becomes bigger and bigger over time. Each moment of gratitude compounds, strengthening the neural pathways that help you identify positives, manage stress, and form stronger relationships. Gratitude is one of the simplest yet most powerful ways to nurture your brain, encouraging it to see possibilities over limitations and creating a resilient, connected, and deeply fulfilled life.
An unusual and fascinating way that gratitude affects us is through its impact on physical pain perception. While gratitude is often associated with emotional well-being, research shows it can also significantly alter your brain’s response to pain.
For instance, people with chronic pain who practice daily gratitude exercises often report reduced pain levels over time. Neuroscientists believe that gratitude alters the “pain circuitry” in the brain, essentially desensitizing your perception of pain. This happens because gratitude lowers stress hormone levels, again the troublesome cortisol, which exacerbates pain sensitivity. As a result, pain signals are not as amplified, and the brain’s threshold for pain tolerance increases.
This effect is particularly interesting because it suggests that gratitude doesn’t only change your mood or mindset but can actually alter how you physically experience discomfort. It’s a reminder of the deep connection between mind and body—and how a simple mindset shift can create powerful, unexpected changes throughout your entire system.
Once you start looking, there are so many things to be grateful for. How are you reading this article, on your phone or a tablet or computer? Lucky you! Did you eat today and will surely eat again tomorrow? Lucky you! Does the sun still come up every day? Lucky all of us! For many of us, we have barely noticed how much we have allowed ourselves to focus on our perceived places of lack in our lives, rather than the endless things and people we have to be grateful for.
Heading into what is sure to be a busy season for all of us, do yourself a favor and begin to create intentional gratitude practices in your life. To deepen your commitment to your changes and intentions, please check out my growing cadre of books, dedicated to the Graytness that is waiting to come fully alive in you. Take a look at: https://www.jamesgrayrobinson.com/books/ and begin to uplevel your life!