The Science of Gratitude & How to Build a Gratitude Practice | Huberman Lab Podcast #47

Summary

• Gratitude can have large positive effects on mental and physical health, including cardiovascular health, relationships, mental health, and physical and cognitive performance
• An effective gratitude practice does not necessarily involve writing or thinking about things one is grateful for, but rather a different approach
• A study found that different subjects listening to the same story had coordinated variations in heart rate
• The hormone oxytocin is released during acts of kindness and increases trust, empathy, and prosocial behavior
• Gratitude practices should involve actively expressing gratitude, not just thinking or writing about it
• One effective gratitude practice is to perform a kind act or express gratitude to another person and then reflect on the experience
• Reflecting on positive social interactions and expressing gratitude for them can lead to increased feelings of connectedness, happiness, and well-being
• Gratitude journaling can be effective if it involves actively expressing gratitude and reflecting on the experience, rather than simply listing things one is grateful for
• Practicing gratitude can lead to a more positive outlook and help to reframe negative situations
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• A regular gratitude practice can have long-lasting positive effects on subjective well-being, including increased happiness, joy, and meaning
• Gratitude practice can provide resilience to trauma and stress, as well as improve relationships and physical health
• Expressing gratitude to others and reflecting on positive social interactions can lead to increased feelings of connectedness, happiness, and well-being
• An effective gratitude practice involves actively expressing gratitude and reflecting on the experience, rather than simply listing things one is grateful for
• It is important to engage in gratitude practices consistently over time to see the benefits
• Writing a thank-you note to someone and reflecting on the experience can be an effective gratitude practice
• Gratitude practices can be incorporated into daily routines, such as before meals or bedtime.
• The brain has both pro-social and defensive circuits that influence behavior and emotions
• Gratitude is a pro-social behavior that brings people closer to others and enhances sensory experiences
• Sigmund Freud believed that happiness was difficult to achieve due to our own bodies, the external world, and relationships with others
• The positive psychology movement focused on understanding the neural circuits for positive emotions like happiness and awe
• The brain has a negativity bias that makes it more responsive to negative stimuli than positive stimuli
• An effective gratitude practice involves actively expressing gratitude and reflecting on the experience, rather than simply listing things one is grateful for
• It is important to engage in gratitude practices consistently over time to see the benefits
• Incorporating gratitude practices into daily routines, such as before meals or bedtime, can be helpful
• Expressing gratitude to others and reflecting on positive social interactions can lead to increased feelings of connectedness, happiness, and well-being
• Gratitude practices can help to reframe negative situations and improve relationships.
• The brain has neuromodulators that can influence behavior and emotions
• Serotonin, released from the raphe nucleus in the brainstem, is associated with pro-social behaviors and gratitude
• The anterior cingulate cortex and medial prefrontal cortex are activated when experiencing gratitude
• The medial prefrontal cortex sets the context for experiences and defines their meaning
• The medial prefrontal cortex connects the past, present, and future in the brain and allows for perspective-taking
• An effective gratitude practice involves expressing gratitude and reflecting on the experience from multiple perspectives
• Incorporating gratitude practices into daily routines, such as before meals or bedtime, can be helpful
• Expressing gratitude to others and reflecting on positive social interactions can lead to increased feelings of connectedness, happiness, and well-being
• Gratitude practices can help to reframe negative situations and improve relationships.
• The prefrontal cortex plays a role in setting context and defining the meaning of experiences
• Most gratitude practices, like writing or reciting a list of things to be grateful for, are not effective in shifting neural circuitry or chemistry
• Autonomic arousal, or the state of alertness, can be increased to make these practices slightly more effective
• The most effective gratitude practice involves embodied cognition, or experiencing gratitude through the senses and the body
• This can be achieved through immersive activities like immersive exercise, immersive art, or immersive nature experiences
• It is important to not fake gratitude and to truly experience it through the body
• Gratitude can have a lasting impact on mental and physical health, and can even provide resilience to trauma
• Practicing gratitude can improve relationships and communication with others.
• The neural circuits in the brain that are associated with defensive behaviors are reduced when pro-social circuits are more active.
• Gratitude is a pro-social behavior that brings people closer to different types of experiences and enhances the level of detail they extract from those experiences.
• The main neuromodulator associated with gratitude and pro-social behaviors is serotonin.
• The anterior cingulate cortex and the medial prefrontal cortex are activated by serotonergic systems when people experience gratitude.
• The medial prefrontal cortex sets context and defines the meaning of experiences.
• The autonomic nervous system (sympathetic and parasympathetic) influences the effectiveness of gratitude practices.
• Studies have shown that it is more effective to reframe negative experiences into positive ones rather than simply listing things to be grateful for.
• Hearing stories of other people's positive experiences activates pro-social and gratitude neural circuits.
• Expressing gratitude to others activates pro-social and gratitude neural circuits in both the person expressing gratitude and the person receiving it.
• Gratitude practices that involve writing or reciting things that the person is grateful for may not be effective at shifting neural circuitry
• Effective gratitude practices involve a real experience of someone else's experience, often through story
• The medial prefrontal cortex is important in setting the context of experiences and can be activated through gratitude practices
• Observing someone receiving help or receiving gratitude oneself can activate pro-social neural networks and lead to a feeling of chemical and neural circuit activation
• To build an effective gratitude practice, find a narrative that inspires and resonates with the person, take bullet points about the story, and repeat the practice over time
• The most effective gratitude practice involves a real experience of someone else's experience, usually through storytelling
• To build an effective gratitude practice, find a story that inspires and resonates with you and take bullet point notes or shorthand version of it
• Repeat the story over and over again to create a reproducible state of gratitude and shift in physiology
• Gratitude practices must be genuine and cannot be faked to derive benefits
• Giving genuine gratitude is also important and can have positive effects on the giver
• Gratitude practices can be done in as little as 60 seconds and can have long-lasting effects on neural circuitry, neural chemistry, and somatic circuitry
• To enhance the effectiveness of gratitude practices, incorporate a shift in autonomic arousal (heightened sympathetic tone) through techniques such as cyclic hyperventilated breathing
• It is important to reframe and set context on experiences through gratitude practices, but this requires specific techniques and cannot be faked
• Gratitude practices are effective because they activate neural circuits in the brain that are associated with pro-social behaviors and feelings of gratitude
• Gratitude practices can be effective even when the subject is not directly receiving gratitude, but rather observing someone else expressing gratitude or receiving help
• The human brain is particularly receptive to stories, so incorporating a story into a gratitude practice can be especially effective
• An effective gratitude practice should be repeated regularly, and can be as short as one minute or five minutes in length
• A gratitude practice should involve genuine gratitude or observation of genuine gratitude being expressed
• Repeated gratitude practices can have positive effects on emotional pathways in the brain, reducing anxiety and fear circuits and increasing circuits for positive emotions and motivation
• Gratitude practices can be done at any time of day, but may be more effective when done at the same time each day
• The ideal gratitude practice will vary from person to person, and should be tailored to the individual's preferences and needs.
• A gratitude practice should include a story that inspires and moves the individual, and can be repeated over time.
• The practice should be genuine and not forced.
• A gratitude practice can be as short as one minute, but five minutes is enough to see significant effects.
• It is recommended to do the practice three times a week, but timing does not matter as much as consistency.
• A gratitude practice can have immediate effects on reducing fear and anxiety, increasing feelings of well-being and motivation, and decreasing inflammatory cytokines.
• Serotonin and oxytocin are associated with gratitude and can be increased through natural means such as exercise and social connection, or through supplements.
• Zembrin, a plant extract, has been shown to increase serotonin production and improve mood.
• A gratitude practice should involve a story, either about oneself receiving genuine thanks or about observing someone else receiving or expressing genuine thanks
• The practice should involve writing down three to four bullet points about the story to serve as reminders
• The practice should be repeated three times per week for at least 60 seconds each time
• The practice can involve focusing on one's breath or calming techniques before beginning
• Gratitude practices have been shown to have positive effects on neural circuits in the brain, inflammation in the body, coordination between the brain and heart, and anxiety levels
• Enhancing serotonin levels, either through compounds like Kanna or Zembrin or through gratitude practices, can increase neuroplasticity
• The most effective gratitude practices may involve a combination of various approaches, including behavioral practices, neurochemical enhancement, and brain-machine interfaces
• Gratitude can change resting state functional connectivity in the brain, making anxiety and fear circuits less active and wellbeing and motivation circuits more active.
• A gratitude practice should be brief (1-5 minutes) and grounded in a story of genuine gratitude or observing genuine gratitude.
• The most effective gratitude practice involves writing down three or four bullet points that summarize the story, focusing on the feelings and sensations of gratitude, and repeating the bullet points to oneself with feeling and emotion.
• The gratitude practice should be done 3 times per week, at the same time each day, for optimal results.
• Gratitude practices may have rapid effects on reducing inflammatory cytokines and amygdala activation and increasing executive function and reducing anxiety.
• Combining gratitude practices with supplements that increase serotonin and neuroplasticity, such as Kanna and Zembrin, may enhance their effectiveness.
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