Gratitude isn’t just a mindset—it has profound physiological effects that can improve health in measurable ways. From stress reduction to improved immune function, gratitude affects several biological markers that can support recovery and wellness for a variety of health conditions.
Below, we’ll explore how gratitude impacts specific physiological factors like cortisol, inflammation, and brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), and how these changes translate into real health benefits.
- CORTISOL: The Stress Hormone
Cortisol, the body’s main stress hormone, is critical for managing stress responses. While it’s necessary in short bursts, chronic stress can cause consistently high cortisol levels, which are linked to a range of negative health outcomes, including anxiety, hypertension, and metabolic disorders.
How Gratitude Helps:
- Reduces Chronic Stress: Regular gratitude practice has been shown to lower cortisol levels, helping to calm the body’s fight-or-flight response. This reduction can alleviate chronic stress and its associated health problems.
- Improves Sleep Quality: By reducing cortisol, gratitude can also improve sleep, leading to better overall health. Lower cortisol before bedtime helps you fall asleep faster and improves the quality of your rest.
- Blood Pressure Control: Reduced cortisol from practicing gratitude can also lower systolic and diastolic blood pressure, particularly helpful for individuals with hypertension.
- INFLAMMATION: Reducing Chronic Inflammatory Responses
Inflammation is a natural immune response, but chronic inflammation is a driver of many health issues, from cardiovascular disease to diabetes. Gratitude has been linked to reductions in inflammatory markers, helping the body manage chronic inflammation and inflammation-related conditions like heart disease, diabetes, and arthritis more effectively.
How Gratitude Helps:
- Lowers C-Reactive Protein (CRP): Gratitude practices have been shown to lower CRP levels, which are a key marker of systemic inflammation.
- Decreases Pro-Inflammatory Cytokines: Cytokines like Interleukin-6 (IL-6) and Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha (TNF-α) are reduced in people who regularly practice gratitude. High levels of these markers are associated with chronic inflammatory conditions and immune dysfunction.
- HEART RATE VARIABILITY (HRV): The Key to Stress Resilience
Heart Rate Variability (HRV) measures the variation in time between heartbeats and is an indicator of your body’s ability to adapt to stress. Higher HRV is associated with greater emotional regulation, stress resilience, and overall cardiovascular health.
How Gratitude Helps:
- Increases HRV: Gratitude has been shown to increase HRV, which is linked to better stress management, emotional regulation, and a reduced risk of cardiovascular disease, anxiety and PTSD symptoms.
- Improves Sleep Quality: A higher HRV is also connected to better sleep, as it indicates a more relaxed, adaptive nervous system.
- SEROTONIN AND DOPAMINE: Enhancing Mood and Well-Being
Gratitude is also linked to the release of key neurotransmitters, such as serotonin and dopamine, which affect conditions like anxiety and depression by regulating mood, motivation, and feelings of well-being.
How Gratitude Helps:
- Increases Serotonin: Gratitude practices are linked to higher serotonin levels, helping individuals feel happier and more content. Serotonin is often referred to as the “feel-good” neurotransmitter.
- Boosts Dopamine: Gratitude can enhance dopamine production, which plays a role in motivation and reward. This reinforces positive behavior, encouraging the continuation of gratitude practice.
- RELEASING WEIGHT: How Gratitude Supports Weight Loss
Gratitude profoundly impacts several physiological and psychological factors that contribute to weight loss. Through stress reduction, improved emotional regulation, and better sleep quality, gratitude helps create the optimal conditions for maintaining a healthy weight.
How Gratitude Helps:
- Cortisol Regulation: By lowering cortisol levels, gratitude reduces stress-driven overeating and minimizes fat storage, particularly around the abdominal area.
- Improved Sleep: Better sleep, aided by reduced cortisol, helps regulate hunger hormones like ghrelin and leptin, leading to fewer cravings and more mindful eating.
- Reduced Emotional Eating: Gratitude fosters emotional resilience, helping individuals cope with negative emotions without turning to food for comfort.
- Inflammation Control: Lower levels of systemic inflammation, linked to gratitude, can support metabolism and reduce the risk of conditions like insulin resistance that contribute to weight gain.
- IMMUNE FUNCTION: Strengthening the Body’s Defenses
Gratitude has been linked to improved immune system functioning, partly through the reduction of stress and inflammation, which both suppress the immune response.
How Gratitude Helps:
- Reduces Pro-Inflammatory Cytokines: Lower levels of cytokines like TNF-alpha and IL-6 help support a stronger immune response by reducing chronic inflammation that can weaken the immune system.
- BRAIN-DERIVED NEUROTROPHIC FACTOR (BDNF): Cognitive Protection
BDNF is a protein that supports neuroplasticity, the brain’s ability to form new connections. Higher levels of BDNF help protect against conditions such as cognitive decline and dementia, preserving better memory, learning, and overall cognitive function as you age.
How Gratitude Helps:
- Increases BDNF Levels: Practicing gratitude can increase BDNF, supporting neuroplasticity and cognitive resilience.
- Protects Against Cognitive Decline: Higher BDNF levels are associated with reduced risk of neurodegenerative diseases and improved cognitive function in aging individuals.
5 Action Steps for Creating a Gratitude Practice
To reap these physiological benefits of gratitude, it’s essential to develop a consistent practice. Here are 5 actionable steps to help you get started:
- Start a Gratitude Journal
Set aside a few minutes daily to write down three things you’re grateful for. Be specific, and try to focus on unique aspects of your day. Writing them down reinforces positive thinking and sets a routine. Get more out of this practice by writing why you’re grateful for these things. Over time, this practice can help lower cortisol, reduce inflammation, and improve HRV. - Express Gratitude to Others
Take the time to thank someone in your life, whether it’s a loved one, a friend, or even a stranger. Expressing appreciation to others not only improves your mood but also strengthens social connections, and boosts dopamine and serotonin for both you and the recipient, further supporting emotional health.
- Practice Mindful Gratitude
Set aside a few minutes each day to engage in mindfulness or meditation focused on gratitude. Take deep breaths and focus on something you are thankful for, whether it’s a person, experience, or moment in your day. This helps improve HRV and reduce stress.
- Set Gratitude Reminders
Set daily reminders on your phone to take a moment and acknowledge something you’re grateful for. This simple prompt can break the cycle of negative thinking and bring positivity into your day and can help lower inflammation and improve your mood by boosting endorphins and serotonin.
- Reframe Challenges
When faced with stressful situations, try to reframe them in a positive light by finding at least one thing to be grateful for. This mindset shift can reduce the physiological impacts of stress and improve your emotional resilience, enhancing BDNF levels to protect cognitive health.
Gratitude isn’t just an emotional practice—it brings measurable, biological benefits that improve health. UPLEVEL your health by lowering cortisol, reducing inflammation, increasing HRV, and boosting serotonin, dopamine, and BDNF levels with a holistic approach to health management with a consistent gratitude practice. Whether you’re addressing cardiovascular health, diabetes, or chronic pain, gratitude has the potential to improve your well-being from the inside out.
Lexie Ching, ND
Citations:
Zahn R, Moll J, Paiva M, et al. The neural basis of human social values: evidence from functional MRI. Cereb Cortex. 2009;19(2):276-283. doi:10.1093/cercor/bhn080
Wang X, Song C. The impact of gratitude interventions on patients with cardiovascular disease: a systematic review. Front Psychol. 2023;14:1243598. Published 2023 Sep 21. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1243598
Gallagher S, Creaven AM, Howard S, Ginty AT, Whittaker AC. Gratitude, social support and cardiovascular reactivity to acute psychological stress. Biol Psychol. 2021;162:108090. doi:10.1016/j.biopsycho.2021.108090
Sugioka, Y., Endo, H., Nakagi, Y., Saijyou, Y., Oota, S., & Oota, K. (2009). A religious life style centered on gratitude may influence on natural killer cell activity and subjective well-being. Res Rep MOA Health Sci, 13, 5-15.
Christaki EV, Pervanidou P, Papassotiriou I, et al. Stress, Inflammation and Metabolic Biomarkers Are Associated with Body Composition Measures in Lean, Overweight, and Obese Children and Adolescents. Children (Basel). 2022;9(2):291. Published 2022 Feb 21. doi:10.3390/children9020291
Daubenmier J, Kristeller J, Hecht FM, et al. Mindfulness Intervention for Stress Eating to Reduce Cortisol and Abdominal Fat among Overweight and Obese Women: An Exploratory Randomized Controlled Study. J Obes. 2011;2011:651936. doi:10.1155/2011/651936
Akalestou E, Genser L, Rutter GA. Glucocorticoid Metabolism in Obesity and Following Weight Loss. Front Endocrinol (Lausanne). 2020;11:59. Published 2020 Feb 20. doi:10.3389/fendo.2020.00059
Montero-Marin, J., Andrés-Rodríguez, L., Tops, M. et al. Effects of attachment-based compassion therapy (ABCT) on brain-derived neurotrophic factor and low-grade inflammation among fibromyalgia patients: A randomized controlled trial. Sci Rep 9, 15639 (2019). doi:10.1038/s41598-019-52260-z
Hazlett LI, Moieni M, Irwin MR, et al. Exploring neural mechanisms of the health benefits of gratitude in women: A randomized controlled trial. Brain Behav Immun. 2021;95:444-453. doi:10.1016/j.bbi.2021.04.019
Redwine LS, Henry BL, Pung MA, et al. Pilot Randomized Study of a Gratitude Journaling Intervention on Heart Rate Variability and Inflammatory Biomarkers in Patients With Stage B Heart Failure. Psychosom Med. 2016;78(6):667-676. doi:10.1097/PSY.0000000000000316