Gratitude has been scientifically proven to have significant positive effects on a person’s physical and mental health.
On one of my productive procrastination days, I listened to a Huberman’s lab podcast. Andrew Huberman discussed the science, how, and benefits of an effective gratitude practice in this episode.
Continue reading to discover a powerful gratitude practice that can help you improve your life.
What is gratitude
Too often, we think of gratitude as simply being thankful and appreciative. Gratitude, however, is more than just a feeling.
Our brain is made up of circuits, neurons, transmitters, and a variety of other components. And one of them has something to do with our prosocial behavior or mindset.
We literally have neuro circuits in our brains that are wired for prosocial thoughts and behaviors. And these prosocial circuits are distinct from the defensive circuits in the brain.
As it is, our brain is wired to perform prosocial behaviors for the benefit of others. This includes things like assisting others, cooperating, comforting, and donating.
And, according to scientists, gratitude is also a prosocial behavior or mindset.
With gratitude, however, you can be grateful for something without involving other people. And this behavior certainly enables us to be more effective in our interactions with others, including ourselves.
Importance of an effective gratitude practice
Most of us want to be happy. In fact, we go to such lengths as buying unnecessary stuff. Or do certain things in order to feel good and to feel happy.
We definitely work hard for our happiness.
But by practicing gratitude, we can increase our chances of feeling happy.
This is because practicing gratitude improves many aspects of our physical and mental health. And, as a result, we don’t have to work as hard to be happy.
Thus, even though humans are hardwired to be more defensive in order to survive. Having a consistent and effective gratitude practice can definitely change our mindset. So much so that, even on days when we do not practice gratitude, we can still feel its effect on our behavior.
Practicing gratitude even once a week can have a profound effect on a person’s well-being.
Those who practice gratitude regularly report being much happier. They discover more meaning in their lives. And they are filled with more joy, even awe.
Benefits of an effective gratitude practice
Additional benefits of practicing gratitude include:
- Resilience. A gratitude practice can help to protect against the negative physiological and psychological effects of previous negative experiences. Furthermore, gratitude protects against negative events that may occur later in life. This is because it alters the way the brain’s fear and defense networks function.
- Better relationships. Expressing gratitude will help you and the other person feel better about each other.
- Improved networking. Aside from your current relationships, gratitude practice improves your social network as well. Because gratitude inspires new people to want to connect with you.
- Improved health. Practicing gratitude has the same positive health effects as doing high-intensity interval training (HIIT). Or other forms of physical activity. As well as other practices dedicated to personal well-being.
- Strong body and mind. Having an effective gratitude practice is scientifically proven to build up your mental and physical health. And these positive effects are long-lasting.
How gratitude affects your brain
A regular gratitude practice can improve the way our brain works in a variety of ways. And, according to the Andrew Huberman podcast, gratitude has the following effects on the brain:
- Changing the way that your brain circuits work.
- Changing the way the heart and brain communicate with one another.
- Shifting emotional pathways. That is, making the anxiety and fear circuits become less active. And the circuits for feelings of well-being and motivation to be much more active.
- Improving the effectiveness of positive emotion.
- Enhancing the effectiveness of feel-good circuits.
- Improving the efficiency of circuits related to motivation and pursuit. And
- Shifting from resentment and fear to well-being and motivation.
Effective gratitude practice
There are numerous ways to express gratitude. However, according to Andrew Huberman, these well-known gratitude practices may not be effective in providing the positive benefits of gratitude.
According to research, people are more likely to connect with a story. And so, it is more effective for your gratitude practice to be attached to a particular narrative. A story of gratitude.
This story can be something that happened to you or someone else. As long as you resonate with the feelings, the emotions in the retelling of the story. You find it powerful and it inspires you. And you attach a particular meaning in the story to yourself.
Now, when you have a particular story, you can have it outlined. It can be a few bullet points of what the story is about. Note the points that elicit powerful and positive emotions of gratitude within you.
You can then use your story outline for your gratitude practice. Spend around 1 to 5 minutes reading your story outline, feeling the emotional impact, and getting you into gratitude mode.
This will serve as a signal for your nervous system. To change the state of your mind and body. And to activate your prosocial behavior. So that you can benefit from the many positive effects of gratitude.
Do this gratitude practice 3 times a week at any time that is convenient for you. It can be before you retire to bed at night or upon waking up. It can certainly be any time of the day that you can spare a few minutes for gratitude.
Conclusion
To conclude, gratitude is an important practice to have because of the many positive benefits to our overall health.
Although there are many gratitude practices available, they may not be as effective. That is, in terms of providing positive changes in the brain and central nervous system.
So, as Andrew Huberman suggests, the ultimate gratitude practice should be one that is attached to a story. It can certainly be a gratitude story that happened to you or someone else but has deep meaning for you.
This ultimate gratitude practice is as follows:
- Recall a personal story or other people’s story about gratitude.
- Make an outline of the story. What was the struggle and how did things change after receiving gratitude? Recall and note the emotions you felt in the story.
- Spend at least 1-5 minutes for your gratitude practice.
- Read your notes as a reminder and feel the story of gratitude.
- Do the practice 3 times a week at any time of the day.
Even though it is short and simple, the above practice is an effective way you can improve your life. And because it is backed by science, you can definitely reap all the positive benefits of gratitude.
Links
Please share your thoughts or ideas about Effective Gratitude Practice For An Improved Life (Backed By Science) in the comments below. And if you liked this article, you might be interested as well in these articles:
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