Fred Yager
ConsumerAffairs.com

November 24, 2010

Scientists on both coasts have determined
that being grateful can improve your psychological, emotional and
physical well-being.  

Researchers at Hofstra University in
Hempstead, New York and the University of
California at Davis say that adults who frequently feel
grateful have more energy, more optimism, more social connections
and more happiness than those who do not.

According to studies conducted over the
past decade people who maintain an attitude of gratitude are also
less likely to be depressed, envious, greedy or alcoholics. They
earn more money, sleep more soundly, exercise more regularly and
have greater resistance to viral infections.

Researchers are also finding that gratitude
brings similar benefits in children and adolescents. In fact,
children who feel and act grateful tend to be less materialistic,
get better grades, set higher goals, complain of fewer headaches
and stomach aches and feel more satisfied with their friends,
families and schools than those who don’t, studies show.

Jeffrey J. Froh is an assistant professor
of psychology at Hofstra University who has conducted much of the
research with children. He says a lot of these findings are things
we learned in kindergarten or our grandmothers told us, but we now
have scientific evidence to prove them.

Adding to that, Robert Emmons, a professor
of psychology at the University of California-Davis and a pioneer
in gratitude research says that with the realization that one has
benefited comes the awareness of the need to reciprocate.

The research is part of what the Wall
Street Journal calls the “positive psychology” movement. It focuses
on developing strengths rather than alleviating disorders.
Cultivating gratitude is also a form of cognitive-behavioral
therapy, which holds that changing peoples’ thought patterns can
dramatically affect their moods.

Gratitude can also be misused to exert
control over the receiver and enforce loyalty. Dr. Froh says you
can avoid this by being empathic toward the person you are
thanking—and by honestly assessing your
motivations.

In an upcoming paper in the Journal of
Happiness Studies, Dr. Froh and colleagues surveyed 1,035
high-school students and found that the most grateful had more
friends and higher GPAs, while the most materialistic had lower
grades, higher levels of envy and less satisfaction with life.

Much of the research on gratitude has
looked at associations, not cause-and-effect relationships; it’s
possible that people who are happy, healthy and successful simply
have more to be grateful for. But in a landmark study in the
Journal of Personality and Social Psychology in 2003, Dr. Emmons
and University of Miami psychologist Michael McCullough showed that
counting blessings can actually make people feel better.

The researchers randomly divided more than
100 undergraduates into three groups. One group was asked to list
five things they were grateful for during the past week for 10
consecutive weeks. The second group listed five things that annoyed
them each week and the third group simply listed five events that
had occurred. They also completed detailed questionnaires about
their physical and mental health before, during and after.

Those who listed blessings each week had
fewer health complaints, exercised more regularly and felt better
about their lives in general than the other two groups.

Being grateful also forces people to
overcome what psychologists call the “negativity
bias”—the innate tendency to dwell on problems,
annoyances and injustices rather than upbeat events.

Delivering your thanks in person can be
particularly powerful. One study found that fourth-graders who took
a “gratitude visit” felt better about themselves even two months
later—particularly those whose moods were
previously low.

So check it out. See how you feel this
Thanksgiving as you sit around the table share what you have to be
grateful for and see how it makes you feel.

Report Your Experience

If you’ve had a bad experience — or a good one — with a consumer product or service, we’d like to hear about it. All complaints are reviewed by class action attorneys and are considered for publication on our site. Knowledge is power! Help spread the word. File your consumer report now.

Find the Best Rates