It’s no surprise that gratitude can improve your mental health and overall outlook on life, but were you aware of the many benefits of thankfulness when it comes to your physical health? In this blog post, I’ll take you through six ways in which gratitude improves your health. Plus, I’ll leave you with some simple, healthy breakfast recipes that are definitely worthy of thanksgiving.
Gratitude activates key areas of your brain
When you express and practice gratitude, you activate an essential center of your brain known as the hypothalamus. The hypothalamus is responsible for numerous bodily functions, including regulating body temperature, metabolism, circadian rhythm, and releasing important hormones.
Researchers have determined that gratitude releases the “feel-good” chemical dopamine in our brains. As dopamine builds up, we literally give out more positive vibes and end up more inclined to be grateful.
Pain decreases as gratitude increases
Patients who practice gratitude report a decrease in their pain levels and more motivation to get up and go about their day, according to some studies. The patients reported that their symptoms got milder, and they felt more capable and inspired to move their bodies and get some exercise.
Sweeter and deeper sleep
Want to fall asleep quicker and improve your quality of sleep throughout the night? You guessed it: gratitude is a key component of good sleep.
Sleep is essential for our overall health, which means that gratitude’s effect on rest indirectly improves many other aspects of our well-being. Gratitude activates the hypothalamus, which is in charge of regulating your circadian rhythm. Your circadian rhythm tells your body when it’s time to fall asleep, and it also affects many other pathways that influence the quality of your sleep.
More thanks, less stress
Gratitude has clearly been shown to decrease stress, and improved quality (and quantity) of sleep definitely is one of the many factors that positively affect stress. When you’re well rested, you automatically feel more relaxed. Although this sounds like more of a mental health benefit, the impact of reduced stress on our physical health, especially on our hearts, cannot be overemphasized.
Studies have shown that heart disease patients who practiced gratitude, either by meditating or by writing in a gratitude journal, were able to improve their blood pressure significantly.
Improve your mood by expressing gratitude
As you might imagine, being able to stimulate the release of dopamine, that ‘feel-good’ chemical, could have tremendous benefits for individuals needing to boost their mood. Studies have linked gratitude with improvements in mood and increased positive behavior. Similarly, gratitude helps to alleviate anxiety, but studies conclude that this is most likely an indirect result of improvements in the quality of sleep.
Boost your energy level by being thankful
Individuals who practice gratitude report a considerable increase in their energy levels. That benefit could be due to better quality sleep, less stress, a healthier heart, and all the feel-good chemicals being released.
The hypothalamus plays a huge role in metabolism regulation, which is responsible for how food is digested, the absorption of nutrients, and burning up of calories for energy. Since gratitude activates this area of the brain–the hypothalamus–it shouldn’t be surprising that gratitude also improves our metabolism and energy levels.
Gratitude-worthy breakfast recipes
If you choose to journal in the mornings, that’s a great way to get your gratitude on before you really dive into your day. But check out these three recipes that I think will also provoke a grateful response, both from your taste buds and from your belly!
Protein Smoothie Bowl
Protein-packed green smoothies are a great way to start your day. You can use ingredients that you already have on hand, or create a variety of ingredients so you can have a different smoothie each morning. You’ll be less likely to grow tired of your breakfast if you switch it up regularly, and it’s certainly more fun to savor a new flavor each day of the week!
Here’s a suggestion regarding sizes in order to yield a large green smoothie:
- 1 cup nut milk of choice
- 2 large handfuls leafy greens of choice
- 1 cup fruit mixture of choice
- 1/4 cup seeds of choice
- 2 tablespoons nut butter of choice
- 1/2 scoop vegan protein powder of choice
Breakfast Salad
Let your creativity (and available veggies) direct the flow of a healthy salad that you’ll want to repeat.
For a vegetarian/vegan version of the salad, grab some leafy greens and some of your favorite non-leafy veggies (carrots, tomatoes, diced and roasted sweet potatoes, spaghetti squash, red onion, red cabbage. Throw some chia seeds, flax seeds, or hemp seeds on top. You can add a bit of fruit, too, especially berries. Get even fancier with some homemade salad dressing or maple syrup, unsweetened coconut flakes, or sesame seeds, and you’ll be good to go. Lemon vinaigrettes are great with breakfast salads, or you can use oil and vinegar.
However, if you’re a meat-eater, you can add some crumbled chicken sausage or turkey bacon, or simply top the salad with an over-easy egg.
Homemade Granola
- 2 cups gluten-free rolled oats
- 1/4 cup almond butter
- 1/3 cup real maple syrup
- 1 tablespoon cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup of mixed nuts
Mix all ingredients and place them on a baking sheet. Bake at 325°F / 162°C for approximately 30 minutes. Remove and stir granola well about halfway through. Add any dried fruit you may like once it’s cooked.
Enjoy! And be grateful!
Leave a Reply