THE SURPRISING BENEFITS OF BEING GRATEFUL

– THE BENEFIT –

Gratitude Is Good For Your Brain!

For those of us who missed that Monday’s biology class; the hypothalamus is a part of our brain that regulates a wide array of bodily functions including our appetite, sleep and growth.

In 2009, Researchers at the National Institute of Health found that subjects who showed more gratitude overall had higher levels of activity in the hypothalamus.

This is important because the hypothalamus also has a significant influence on your metabolism and stress levels. From this evidence on brain activity it starts to become clear how improvements in gratitude could have wide-ranging effects on increased exercise and improved sleep to decreased depression and fewer aches and pains.

Further, acts of kindness and feelings of gratitude flood our brains with dopamine – a chemical that plays a significant role in how we experience pleasure. When we are truly grateful our brains reward us by giving us a natural high. Because this feeling is so good, we can be motivated to feel it again! and so a positive feedback cycle begins!

In this series of posts running to the end of December I explore little facts on the benefits of gratitude. I also invite you to record any moments of gratitude in your day with our confidential gratitude bot. Scroll down to find out more.

– THE BOT –

(?)

WELCOME

Please take a moment to bring your attention into this moment and onto the gratitude you are experiencing right now. Click when you are ready to begin

BEGIN

HELP

You can refer to our help / FAQ section at any time in your session by clicking the (?) button above. It will explain a little more about what the bot is doing and why.

CONTINUE

BOT

– FIND OUT MORE –

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(x)

GRATITUDE JOURNAL

HELP / FAQ

Why Gratitude?

In her book “The How of Happiness” Dr. Sonja Lyubomirsky states that gratitude is now scientifically credited with very key life benefits. It is something we can, and should, expect to experience on a daily basis. The process is very simple to perform starting with a commitment to maintaining a daily gratitude journal. Research identifies that journaling for five minutes a day can enhance our long-term happiness by over 10%. Personally speaking, I’m not sure I can guarantee feeling that much better every day, but I do feel that this bot is encouraging me to approach gratitude almost like a part of some mental health routine … and I certainly feel it improving and maintaining my overall wellbeing

Why "In The Moment"?

Having been involved with interactive software for sometime, I have come to realise that by observing my thoughts and feelings in the moment (when my choices are still fluid), rather than in retrospect (where my choices have been made) I am able to make better choices and take better actions than I otherwise might take. From experience I have found even a momentary break in the often automatic sequence of trigger > emotion > cognition > action, can bring significant advantages.

Why Chatbots?

Chatbot’s are the latest iteration of interactive software. They allow often complex processes to be performed simply over a wide range of devices, and perform a series of functions. In this instance, our bot performs two.

Why Chatbots and Massive, Mundane, Miserable?

The first function for our bot requires the user to simply run it whenever they experience a moment of gratitude. The bot encourages them to not only look for “massive” moments of gratitude, but also look for equally important moments in “mundane” or “miserable” moments. These last two situations are key in helping the user learn and practice positive coping strategies.

Why Chatbots and Feeling, Thinking, Doing

Following on from massive, mundane, miserable, our bot takes the user through a short guided thinking sequence where they explore their gratitude and how it’s making them feel and think. This is a powerful process that tends to break the automatic sequencing of cause and effect on the user and encourages them to explore their next actions and what they would like to do as a result.

Why Email Journaling?

Research identifies that journaling for five minutes a day can enhance our long-term happiness by over 10%. Chatbot’s not only enable in the moment journaling , but optionally email the session to the user so it can be saved in a form resembling a traditional retrospective gratitude journal. This is key in helping them build a evidence base of improvement and successes. The bot session is then deleted from the platform.

December Gratitude