How Does Practicing Gratitude Affect the Brain?
Our brains scan for and notice negativity without conscious thought. Scientists believe that this negativity bias is a remnant of a survival mechanism from pre-historic days when the sound of a rumbling bush might be something that could cause us harm. Back then, increasing our awareness of the worst case scenario helped us survive.
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Today, it is possible to rewire our brains for positivity vs. negativity. In neuroscience research, Hebb’s Law says that “neurons that fire together wire together.” A gratitude practice is an effective way for us to rewire for positivity. It works because the more you practice gratitude, the more you strengthen the brain’s neural circuits for gratitude. For example, when you focus on things that you already have in your life, your brain gets better, noticing similar positive things.
Overcoming a negative way of experiencing the world requires us to intentionally focus on the positive. A daily gratitude practice is a powerful means to do this, helping to rewire our brains for positivity.
Your Brain on Gratitude
The same area of the brain that controls emotions and behavior also contains other executive functions such as focus and attention.
If we are constantly thinking negative thoughts, it often triggers a stress response. When stressed, energy is drawn from the pre-frontal cortex, which reduces its function.
A 2008 study to measure the brain of people thinking and feeling gratitude found that gratitude prompted synchronized activation in multiple brain regions and activated the brain’s reward pathways (Zahn et al., 2009).
When we express gratitude, the brain releases dopamine, the neurotransmitter that plays a role in functions such as pleasure, reward, motivation, attention, and physical movement.
Research also shows that gratitude has been linked with increased serotonin production, which is often called the happiness chemical, because it contributes to feelings of well-being, mood stabilization, and feeling more relaxed.
A 2017 study found that practicing gratitude activates the ventromedial prefrontal cortex (VMPFC)—associated with what the researchers describe as pure neural altruism. When this area is activated, your brain craves the experience of giving (Karns et al., 2017).
Bottom line, thanks to the brain’s ability to rewire itself, positive thinking such as thinking and feeling grateful, can improve almost every area of your life. If you’d like more ideas, check out our “Levelhead for Real Life” app which features short exercises to help you boost positivity!
References
Karns, C. M., Moore III, W. E., & Mayr, U. (2017). The cultivation of pure altruism via gratitude: a functional MRI study of change with a gratitude practice. Frontiers in human neuroscience, 599.
Zahn R, Moll J, Paiva M, Garrido G, Krueger F, Huey ED, Grafman J. (2009). The neural basis of human social values: evidence from functional MRI. Cereb Cortex. Feb;19(2):276-83. doi: 10.1093/cercor/bhn080. Epub 2008 May 22. PMID: 18502730; PMCID: PMC2733324.