This month, we here at Good News Pest Solutions are focusing on Thankfulness. Last week we talked about how, if you spend just 15 minutes a day, five days a week practicing gratitude, it can actually improve your physical and mental health.

That’s one broad example of the benefits of adopting a thankful posture whenever possible. This week, let’s dig deeper.

Gratitude on the Brain

It seems obvious that focusing on what we’re thankful for should result in more positivity and less stress. But did you know gratitude can literally alter the chemistry of your brain? You might remember from biology class that we all have various chemicals causing synapses to fire in our brains. Some are “good,” some are “bad,” but they’re all necessary. For example, if we’re in the midst of being chased by a mountain lion, cortisol, the stress hormone, is a good thing to have sparking our adrenaline for a fight or flight response.

But cortisol when we don’t need it just makes us sick to our stomachs. Remembering what we’re thankful for reduces unneeded cortisol while causing an abundance of dopamine and serotonin, brain chemicals that give us a warm, comfortable feeling that all is well. They also improve brain function in critical areas.

An attitude of gratitude also encourages the restructuring of our cognitive processes – it reduces our desire to stress eat, lets us see our bodies as the beauty God created, and, it should be no surprise, keeps us in that positive attitude longer. Thankfulness begets more thankfulness.

Gratitude Can be Shared

If you’ve ever been stirred emotionally by a shared story of gratitude on social media, especially from groups like Humans of New York or the magazine Guideposts, you may already understand this on some level.

But in 2014, doctors took things one step further. They used MRIs and stories of people who survived the Holocaust to prove that we actually develop heightened empathy when we experience tales of other people’s gratitude. Reading the stories of how these World War II victims experienced thankfulness lit up areas of the brain connected to moral cognition and positive emotion that accompany the experience of benefitting from the goodwill of others.

Feeling it in Our Bones

In addition to better mental health, thankfulness makes us feel better physically. Gratitude has been scientifically linked with reduced inflammation and can literally make our hearts work better. People with chronic injuries and pain have found thankfulness can make managing their symptoms significantly easier.

The Mayo Clinic reports gratitude decreases depression, helps sleep, and reduces your risk of disease.

In addition to greater happiness, satisfaction with life, and optimism about the future, thankfulness helps you get a better night’s rest. More than 400 adults – 40% with sleep disorders – were asked to focus on gratitude before they laid down each night – and the results were overwhelmingly positive. Researchers concluded they need to conduct more studies, but recommended making thankfulness a daily practice.

The Gift of Gratefulness

The Christian Alliance for Orphans points out that, even more than the many health benefits, being thankful is the gift that keeps on giving – and opens our hearts to receive more gifts.

For them, thankfulness is a kind of gateway drug to happiness. “Gratitude opens our eyes and hearts, enabling us to see all gifts and delight in both their goodness and their Giver.”

But it cannot be a one time or casual thing. You must choose gratitude and thankfulness every day, every hour of the day. Sure, we talk about it mostly in November, but we can always find something to be grateful for if we take the time.

And given the benefits, why wouldn’t you want to look for reasons to give thanks? We’ll start. We are grateful for all of our hard-working employees, our customers, our families, and for all the ways we’re able to do good in our community. In addition to our green pest control solutions, we give back to various charities on the Gulf Coast of Florida, share the true good news, and offer prayer for anyone interested.

As we gear up for the official Thanksgiving Day, we’re happy to talk to you – about our pest solutions and what we’re thankful for. Please feel free to give us a call!