How Saying ‘Thanks’ Can Change Your Health and Your Life

For some time now, it seems we have been bombarded with news of hatred, poverty, brutality, and struggle – at home and around the world. Meanwhile, we are also flooded with reminders of what others have or are achieving. It’s easy to feel overwhelmed, helpless, or worse, hopeless. It’s easy to focus on what we lack rather than what we have.

What’s a person to do? Turns out, emerging research from positive psychology consistently points to a simple, powerful practice that can fundamentally alter our well-being: gratitude.

Cultivating a mindset of thankfulness isn’t just about good manners; it’s a profound tool that acts on your brain chemistry, heart health, and social connections, leading to a richer, happier existence. More than a positive feeling, it’s a complex cognitive and emotional phenomenon that involves recognizing how other individuals contribute to our well-being and enhance our appreciation of positive outcomes in life.

Gratitude improves mental and physical well-being by increasing happiness, reducing stress, and boosting self-esteem. It can also strengthen relationships, improve sleep, and promote healthier habits like exercise and a better diet.

Gratitude, when consistently practiced, rewires your brain by strengthening neural pathways. That alters brain chemistry and structure. It strengthens the prefrontal cortex for better decision-making, calms the amygdala to reduce stress, and increases dopamine and serotonin for improved mood and motivation. The brain becomes more efficient at focusing on positive emotions, counteracting negativity bias.

Gratitude – A Chain Reaction

So why are we, a coworking community in Frederick, Maryland, writing about gratitude? It’s because we just finished a month filled with gratitude at Cowork Frederick and, well, we noticed a “change in the force” (hiya, Star Wars fans 😉).

We began the month by filling an entire whiteboard with things we are thankful for (one of the best brainstorming sessions ever!) Then, each day, we publicly posted expressions of our gratitude.

It made the whole month feel magical, like our hearts were bigger, more open, people were kinder. And I’m saying that about a community of people who are already pretty kind, warm, and generous.

One member wrote one of the best reviews about Cowork Frederick and encouraged others to do so. So much love was sent our way that day. The list of great things that happened this month goes on and on.

Gratitude can reduce negativity

Humans have a natural tendency to focus on negative experiences. Negativity bias, a survival mechanism that helped our ancestors stay alert to danger, often leads to heightened stress, anxiety, and depression in modern life.

Gratitude helps counteract negativity bias by shifting the brain’s focus toward the positive aspects of life. When you actively practice gratitude, your brain becomes less focused on potential threats or past regrets and more attuned to moments of joy and appreciation. Over time, this reduces the brain’s automatic tendency to dwell on negativity, making you more likely to notice and appreciate the good things in life.

Gratitude can rewire your brain for joy

At the heart of gratitude’s power is its ability to activate the brain’s reward system. Both the ventral tegmental area (VTA) and the nucleus accumbens, regions associated with pleasure, motivation, and reward, are triggered when we express gratitude. This process stimulates the release of neurotransmitters like dopamine and serotonin—the brain’s natural mood boosters. (Fox et al., 2015)

Better yet, once started, the process builds upon itself. The feeling of pleasure encourages the brain to repeat behaviors that lead to these rewarding experiences, creating a positive feedback loop: the more we practice gratitude, the more dopamine is released, reinforcing the behavior and making it easier to experience positive emotions. Over time, practicing gratitude becomes a habit, naturally enhancing our overall sense of well-being.

It may be cliche, but I’m going to tell you what I’m thankful for. I came to Cowork Frederick completely burnt out, exhausted, and with a truly unhealthy relationship with work. Over the past 8 months my life has totally transformed – it’s not 100% fixed, but I’m a new person. A huge part of that growth has been because of you all. In this community, I feel seen, cared for, welcomed, enjoyed, and included. I felt like I fit in so quickly, thanks to you. I’m deeply grateful for you all!

KaITE (nOVEMBER 2025)

Gratitude can build resilience to stress

The release of “feel-good” neurotransmitters like dopamine and serotonin decreases activity in the amygdala, the brain region involved in processing fear and stress. This rewiring strengthens neural pathways, making you better equipped to manage stress, think more positively, and increase overall emotional resilience by lowering the intensity of the stress response and promoting a sense of calm. This increased resilience not only helps protect against anxiety and depression but also fosters emotional stability. It rewires the brain to cope with difficult circumstances with more awareness and broader perception. It can even reduce cortisol levels (the stress hormone) and improve cardiac function (McCraty & Childre, 2004).

At the neurochemical level, feelings of gratitude are associated with an increase in the neural modulation of the prefrontal cortex, the brain site responsible for managing negative emotions like guilt and shame. By reducing stress hormones and managing the autonomic nervous system functions, gratitude also significantly reduces symptoms of depression. (Emmons & McCullough, 2003).

Gratitude can improve your physical health

The benefits of gratitude aren’t limited to the mind; they ripple through your entire physical being. Chronic stress takes a heavy toll on the body, elevating blood pressure and taxing the immune system. Gratitude serves as a powerful antidote.

Gratitude research has demonstrated that individuals who have higher levels of gratitude have fewer common health complaints, such as headaches, digestive problems, infections, dizziness, and congestion. It may also downregulate threat responses from the amygdala, decreasing cellular inflammatory responses linked to health (Hazlett et al., 2021).

One of the most immediate physical benefits is better sleep. Actions like acts of kindness and expressing gratitude activate the hypothalamus, which regulates bodily mechanisms that control sleep. That regulation helps us get deeper and healthier sleep naturally every day. (Zahn et al., 2009). When you end your day focusing on positive thoughts rather than anxiously replaying worries, you fall asleep faster, sleep deeper, and wake up feeling more refreshed.

By fostering calm and reducing stress, being thankful lowers blood pressure and improves heart rate variability—key markers of cardiovascular health. It also helps the immune system function more effectively. (Zahn et al., 2008).

Gratitude can improve relationships

Perhaps the most life-altering aspect of gratitude is its impact on relationships. Humans are inherently social creatures. Gratitude is the “social glue” that strengthens bonds by fostering feelings of connection, trust, and mutual appreciation. When we take the time to acknowledge the positive impact others have on our lives, it deepens our relationships and builds stronger emotional support networks.

Healthy relationships are crucial for mental health. Studies have shown that people who regularly express gratitude toward others experience greater relationship satisfaction, stronger connections, and less conflict. This is especially important, as we find ourselves in the midst of an epidemic of loneliness.

Gratitude can strengthen positive neural pathways

Gratitude helps us tap into one of the brain’s most remarkable features: neuroplasticity, or the ability of the brain to reorganize itself by forming new neural connections. When we consistently focus on positive experiences, we strengthen neural pathways associated with positive thinking and emotional regulation.

Gratitude can improve cognition

Gratitude activates and strengthens the prefrontal cortex, which is responsible for complex tasks like decision-making, planning, impulse control, and emotional regulation. Consistent practice can physically increase gray matter volume in this area, making you feel more level-headed and organized.

Research has found that individuals who experience higher levels of gratitude have increased gray matter volume. Gray matter is where the brain processes sensation, voluntary movement, perception, speech, learning, and cognitive tasks. (Zahn et al., 2014)

Gratitude promotes a growth mindset

Gratitude encourages the belief that abilities and intelligence can be developed through effort and perseverance. Focusing on what’s going well—rather than dwelling on failures—allows us to view challenges as opportunities for growth and learning.

By appreciating the progress we’ve made and the support we’ve received, we shift our perspective away from shortcomings and focus on effort and improvement. This mindset helps foster resilience and optimism, empowering us to face future challenges with a positive attitude.

Putting it into practice

While a quick shift in perspective can make you feel better, the real power is in developing a daily practice of gratitude. The neuroscience of gratitude confirms that gratitude can reshape the brain and change cognition. The key is finding ways to practice appreciation regularly and gain mental benefits from it. By making gratitude a daily habit, you aren’t just improving your mood for a moment; you are investing in a healthier, happier, and more connected life. It’s a small change with a massive return.

Gratitude costs nothing and requires only a moment of your time. Start a gratitude journal and list three things you are thankful for each day. Write a thank-you note to someone who made a difference in your life. Or, simply pause during a challenging moment and find one small thing to appreciate.

Want some tips? Here are a few:

• Start small. If you don’t feel like you have access to gratitude or if things feel too bad to be grateful, it can help to start small, with simple things that might even feel silly to be grateful for. A gratitude practice can feel overly prescriptive for people who are struggling, and it’s important to know you don’t have to be grateful for everything. And, it’s also OK if you can’t access it in a difficult moment, but over time, gratitude for little things can help you notice bigger things.
• Appreciate yourself. Standing in front of the mirror and saying things you appreciate about yourself (try for five) can do wonders for confidence and spark joy. Recognize past achievements, present efforts, or talents and virtues. Compliment yourself and notice how it makes you feel.
• Keep a gratitude journal. Write down the things you are thankful for. Reflecting and recording gratitude forces you to consciously focus on good things rather than bad. Be specific. Provide depth and detail. Write regularly. Include negative things you have avoided as well.
• Express your gratitude, ideally in person. Writing a thank-you letter is great, but a “gratitude visit” may have a powerful effect. Take someone to lunch and tell them why you are thankful for them. Visit and read something you’ve written, perhaps from your journal, about your gratitude for them. The method can vary. Just tell someone, to their face, about the positive impact they have had on your life.
• Meditate on gratitude. Gratitude meditation or mindful breathing can be done daily but may provide benefits in as little as one session. Take time to pause, be present, and reflect on specific people and positive aspects of life.
• Surround yourself with prompts. Use visual reminders like pictures, notes of gratitude or affirmation, reminders of past success, and fond memories to prompt feelings of gratitude. Years ago, I replaced diplomas and awards at my desk with things that mean little to others (like the candy wrapper tacked to a board) but remind me of an act of kindness or the love someone has for me. Each time my eyes fall on them, I feel a little warm glow in my heart.
• Change your language. Incorporate words like “blessing”, “gift”, and “abundance” into your daily language. When asked how you are, instead of saying “Fine”, try “Fortunate”.

These articles/posts were referenced heavily in the writing of this post. I’d like to express my deep gratitude for their informative sharing of information:

• 7 Ways Gratitude Rewires Your Brain: The Science Behind a Powerful Practice
• The Neuroscience of Gratitude & Its Effects on the Brain

Sources reused from The Neuroscience of Gratitude & Its Effects on the Brain

• Emmons, R. A. & McCullough, M. E. (2003). Counting blessings versus burdens: An experimental investigation of gratitude and subjective well-being in daily life. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 84(2), 377–389.
• Fox, G., Kaplan, J., Damasio, H. & Damasio, A. (2015). Neural correlates of gratitude. Frontiers in Psychology, 6, 149–154.
• Hazlett, L., Moieni, M., Irwin, M., Haltom, K., Jevtic, I., Meyer, M., Breen, E., Cole, S. & Eisenberger, N. (2021). Exploring neural mechanisms of the health benefits of gratitude in women: A randomized controlled trial. Brain, Behavior, and Immunity, 95, 444–453. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bbi.2021.04.019
• McCraty, R. & Childre, D. (2004). The grateful heart: The psychophysiology of appreciation. In R. Emmons & E. McCullough (Eds.), The psychology of gratitude (pp. 230–255). Oxford University Press.
• Zahn, R., Garrido, G., Moll, J. & Grafman, J. (2014). Individual differences in posterior cortical volume correlate with proneness to pride and gratitude. Social Cognition and Affective Neuroscience, 9(11), 1676–1683. https://doi.org/10.1093/scan/nst158
• Zahn, R., Moll, J., Iyengar, V., Huey, E., Tierney, M., Krueger, F. & Grafman, J. (2009). Social conceptual impairments in frontotemporal lobar degeneration with right anterior temporal hypometabolism. Brain, 132(3), 604–616. https://doi.org/10.1093/brain/awn343
• Zahn, R., Moll, J., Paiva, M., Garrido, G., Krueger, F. & Huey, E. (2008). The neural basis of human social values: Evidence from functional MRI. Cerebral Cortex, 19(2), 276–283. https://doi.org/10.1093/cercor/bhn080