Gratitude's Health Benefits and Practice.

Add this note: It takes 12 muscles to form a human smile and 32 muscles to express a frown, show positive gratitude, and have an attitude of gratitude.

As the saying goes, "Tis the season to be grateful for what you have." This includes things like loved ones, a roof over your head, a steady income, and delicious food. Gratitude is an attitude that should permeate your life, not just during the holidays. Besides being the right thing to do, it could have positive effects on your health.

Gratitude practices may improve heart vagal regulation, according to research published in October 2025 in the Journal of Positive Psychology. That, in turn, may have beneficial effects on cardiovascular health over time. The heart does indeed benefit from thankfulness, so the answer is yes. What follows is information regarding the practice and the advantages it has on health.

An individual's heart health and general wellness can be significantly improved by practicing gratitude. Gratitude writing, whether in a diary or letter, improved cardiac regulation by increasing "vagal flexibility," and the practice provided a more adaptive means of dealing with stress, according to a recent study. "Our cardiac function and how we cope with stress could improve considerably if we express gratitude consistently," says Mirela Loftus, MD, PhD, the medical director at Newport Healthcare.

There are other ways as well that practicing thankfulness can help your heart. According to Cynthia Vejar, PhD, Director and Associate Professor of Clinical Mental Health Counseling at Lebanon Valley College, research indicates that being grateful—that is, feeling thankful right now—is linked to a decrease in the reactivity of systolic blood pressure when confronted with stress. She goes on to say that having a trait of gratitude, or an innate propensity to be thankful, may be associated with a reduced risk of cardiovascular disease in old age.

According to Ashley Zucker, MD, a psychiatrist at Kaiser Permanente in Southern California, practicing gratitude may also improve resting heart rate and heart rate variability, which are indicators of the body's and heart's response to stress. Gratitude also has additional positive effects on one's physical well-being. One possible benefit of gratitude, according to Vejar, is improved sleep quality, along with decreased stress and cortisol. Even more intriguing, Zucker found that grateful people are more likely to regularly engage in healthy behaviors like exercise and eating well.

Expressing appreciation might potentially promote a longer lifespan. In 2024, researchers found that women with the highest levels of gratitude had a 9% lower risk of death from diseases like cancer, cardiovascular disease, and neurodegenerative disorders, according to Zucker. Additionally, "those who practice gratitude are also more likely to seek help when they need it," she adds.

The mental health benefits of practicing gratitude are substantial. Think about something as basic as eating a meal. Vejar says that people can be more mindful, connected, and aware of the many efforts that go into even the simplest parts of their day-to-day lives if they take a moment to appreciate the food's origins, including the farmers who grew it, the workers who processed and transported it, and the people who stock the shelves at grocery stores. This, in turn, leads to less waste and more appreciation for the food.

Expressing thankfulness shifts our attention from the negative to the positive, which in turn can boost our mood and make us feel better physically and mentally. Studies have shown positive effects on mental health, including lessening of symptoms of anxiety and depression, according to Zucker. "While it may not have the same strong effect as medication or therapy, it can certainly supplement these methods and serve as a preventive measure for our mental health," she explains. Additionally, she explains that improvements in physical health, such as the way our hearts react to stress, have a ripple effect on our mental health and our capacity to handle stressful situations.

According to Vejar, practicing gratitude is "healthy" because it allows you to focus on the positive aspects of life rather than dwelling on the negative or stressful ones. "It helps people avoid worrying excessively and calms the mind," she explains, adding that it also gives everyday moments more meaning. "Finding joy in life's little pleasures—the people, places, and things that surround you—is possible through practicing mindfulness and gratitude."