"Gratitude: The Key To A Happy Brain?"

The formula for better physical health is simple:

Eat, exercise and sleep in the proper amounts equals better health. Simple? Yes. Easy? Noooooo... Especially during the holidays.

But did you know the same can be said for better mental health? Gratitude, positivity and thankfulness makes for a happier 'brain'.

Researchers from Indiana University published a study involving 43 subjects suffering from anxiety and/or depression. Half were assigned a simple gratitude exercise which required them to write letters expressing gratitude. The other half received "therapy as usual" but did not write gratitude letters.

Three months later all 43 underwent brain scans in which the area associated with gratitude and happiness was more active in those who wrote the letters.

What if an attitude of gratitude doesn't come naturally?

According to Shawn Achor, author of The Happiness Advantage "The same brain plasticity that allows you to master simple skills or sports, also allows you to train yourself to be more positive."

Achor contends that while we may think success will bring us happiness, the lab-validated truth is that happiness brings us more success. And who doesn't want that?

According to Got Questions.org:

"Feeling and expressing appreciation is good for us. Like any wise father, God wants us to learn to be thankful for all the gifts He has given us (James 1:17). It is in our best interest to be reminded that everything we have is a gift from Him. Without gratefulness, we become arrogant and self-centered. We begin to believe that we have achieved everything on our own. Thankfulness keeps our hearts in right relationship to the Giver of all good gifts."

November is a good time to do a little Happiness Homework and re-wire our brains to see things more positively. How about we update "You are what you eat" to "You are what you think"?

A wise man once said: "Human beings are prone to covetousness. We tend to focus on what we don't have. By giving thanks continually we are reminded of how much we do have. When we focus on blessings rather than wants, we are happier. When we start thanking God for the things we usually take for granted, our perspective changes. We realize that we could not even exist without the merciful blessings of God." -- Got Questions.org

"In everything give thanks; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus" --                   (1st Corinthians 5:18).

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