Research: "Gratitude Moments" Brings Health, Happiness
Research: Giving Thanks Brings Health, Happiness
Thanksgiving just once a year? Researchers say regular gratitude
promotes health, happiness
By MATT SEDENSKY
The Associated Press
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla.
Bill Golden survived more than 20 years in the Army and another 30 in
law enforcement. He fell sick with colon cancer, and at 86, he has an
artificial hip and arthritis in his knees.
Golden still gives thanks, though, and researchers say that
appreciative attitude can be good for you, too.
Academics have long theorized that expressions of thanks promote
health and happiness and give optimism and energy to the downtrodden.
Now, the study of gratitude has become a surprisingly burgeoning
field, and research indicates being thankful might help people
actually feel better. There's a catch, however: You have to say thanks
more than just once a year.
"If you don't do it regularly you're not going to get the benefits,"
said Sonja Lyubomirsky, a psychology professor at the University of
California, Riverside. "It's kind of like if you went to the gym once
a year. What would be the good of that?"
In recent years, researchers have tried to measure the benefits of
gratitude. In a National Science Foundation-funded study, Northeastern
University psychologist David DeSteno had participants complete an
arduous data entry task only to have it lost by computer malfunction.
Then, a lab assistant, seemingly unconnected to the study and claiming
to be in a hurry for their own experiment, restores the lost work.
The participant is dismissed, and bumps into the lab assistant, who
asks for help. DeSteno found those who had been helped by the
assistant, and were grateful for it, were more likely to return the
favor, and did so for longer than those in a group not helped.
"Gratitude leads people to act in virtuous or more selfless ways,"
said DeSteno, whose research was published earlier this year in the
journal Current Directions in Psychological Science. "And it builds
social support, which we know is tied to both physical and
psychological well being."
Robert Emmons, a psychology professor at the University of California,
Davis, said those who offer gratitude are less envious and resentful.
They sleep longer, exercise more and report a drop in blood pressure,
said Emmons, who wrote "Thanks! How Practicing Gratitude Can Make You
Happier."
Brenda Shoshanna, a New York psychologist, agreed.
"You can't be depressed and grateful at the same time," said
Shoshanna, the author of "365 Ways to Give Thanks: One for Every Day
of the Year." "It makes a person physically, mentally, in every way
healthier."
As for Golden, he doesn't pay much attention to the academics. He
simply acknowledges he's "one lucky dude," grateful for his two
children, two grandchildren, and his 89-year-old girlfriend.
So on Thursday, he and his family will gather around the table, hold
hands and say thank you.
"It's surprising what those two little words do for a person," he
said. "It's easy to say and it does a lot of good."
Thanksgiving just once a year? Researchers say regular gratitude
promotes health, happiness
By MATT SEDENSKY
The Associated Press
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla.
Bill Golden survived more than 20 years in the Army and another 30 in
law enforcement. He fell sick with colon cancer, and at 86, he has an
artificial hip and arthritis in his knees.
Golden still gives thanks, though, and researchers say that
appreciative attitude can be good for you, too.
Academics have long theorized that expressions of thanks promote
health and happiness and give optimism and energy to the downtrodden.
Now, the study of gratitude has become a surprisingly burgeoning
field, and research indicates being thankful might help people
actually feel better. There's a catch, however: You have to say thanks
more than just once a year.
"If you don't do it regularly you're not going to get the benefits,"
said Sonja Lyubomirsky, a psychology professor at the University of
California, Riverside. "It's kind of like if you went to the gym once
a year. What would be the good of that?"
In recent years, researchers have tried to measure the benefits of
gratitude. In a National Science Foundation-funded study, Northeastern
University psychologist David DeSteno had participants complete an
arduous data entry task only to have it lost by computer malfunction.
Then, a lab assistant, seemingly unconnected to the study and claiming
to be in a hurry for their own experiment, restores the lost work.
The participant is dismissed, and bumps into the lab assistant, who
asks for help. DeSteno found those who had been helped by the
assistant, and were grateful for it, were more likely to return the
favor, and did so for longer than those in a group not helped.
"Gratitude leads people to act in virtuous or more selfless ways,"
said DeSteno, whose research was published earlier this year in the
journal Current Directions in Psychological Science. "And it builds
social support, which we know is tied to both physical and
psychological well being."
Robert Emmons, a psychology professor at the University of California,
Davis, said those who offer gratitude are less envious and resentful.
They sleep longer, exercise more and report a drop in blood pressure,
said Emmons, who wrote "Thanks! How Practicing Gratitude Can Make You
Happier."
Brenda Shoshanna, a New York psychologist, agreed.
"You can't be depressed and grateful at the same time," said
Shoshanna, the author of "365 Ways to Give Thanks: One for Every Day
of the Year." "It makes a person physically, mentally, in every way
healthier."
As for Golden, he doesn't pay much attention to the academics. He
simply acknowledges he's "one lucky dude," grateful for his two
children, two grandchildren, and his 89-year-old girlfriend.
So on Thursday, he and his family will gather around the table, hold
hands and say thank you.
"It's surprising what those two little words do for a person," he
said. "It's easy to say and it does a lot of good."
posted by dan at 7:59 PM
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