Say "thanks" . . . your heart may thank you!
Does gratitude prevent heart attacks?
According to Doris Day, it prevents poverty.
Huh?
She said: “Gratitude is riches, complaint is poverty.”
I’ll try to use “Thank You” as currency the next time I go to the store and see how that works for me. Seriously, does it prevent heart attacks?
One research study looked at gratitude and outcomes in 186 heart failure patients. The more grateful the person was, the more likely they were to get better sleep, have a better mood, have more energy, have less body inflammation, were less likely to have heart symptoms and were more likely to maintain their physical stamina.
How did they determine if someone was grateful or not?
The people in the study had to answer 6 questions with the following responses (Figure out your score):
1=strongly disagree
2=disagree
3=slightly disagree
4=neutral
5=slightly agree
6=agree
7=strongly agree
Questions:
1. I have so much in life to be thankful for.
2. If I had to list everything that I felt grateful for, it would be a very long list.
3. When I look at the world, I don’t see much to be grateful for.
4. I am grateful to a wide variety of people.
5. As I get older I find myself more able to appreciate the people, events, and situations that have been part of my life history.
6. Long amounts of time can go by before I feel grateful to something or someone.
Add up the scores on #1, 2, 4, and 5. Reverse your score for 3 and 6 (for example If you said 7 for strongly agree for #3 give yourself 1 point).
Score results
</=38: You ungrateful sap. If by the remote chance you ever walked through the thank you card aisle at Target you would probably vandalize the display.
38-40: Your spouse bought the thank you card for you, wrote it, had you sign your name, and mailed it.
41: You bought the card, wrote the note, and put it in the mailbox all by yourself.
42: You write thank you cards for Hallmark.
If you scored 41 or more, you are in the top 25% of grateful people.
Let’s pretend someone scored less than 38 points, how can that person develop gratitude? Asking for a friend.
Researchers gave these same heart failure patients journals and asked them to write 2-3 things daily they were grateful for. Those that journaled reduced body inflammation and had more variability of their heart rate (this is a good thing).
Does gratitude help people recover from a heart attack?
One researcher took 164 people and measured their gratitude 2 weeks after their heart attack. At 6 months, they found that grateful patients were more likely to take their medications, maintain a healthy diet, do more exercise, report a better quality of life and have less depression and anxiety.
Summarize it for me doc!
Be grateful – your heart will thank you. Write a letter today to thank someone. Say thank you (and mean it – that was meant for my teenagers). Write in a journal regularly about what you’re thankful for. Pray. Not only may gratitude prevent a heart attack – you’ll be rich.
Awesome, timely, and TRUE. Thanks for giving it an added boost with science and research.
As the Red Baron said to Snoopy, Merry Christmas, my friend!
Hugs to all,
Karla (and Tim)
RIght on, with the gratitude! I really enjoy each and every article you post, keep them coming! Merry Christmas and Happy 2020 from Mended Hearts of Boise, Chapter 380.
Doc,
You are one funny man!! Always enjoy reading your emails.
Merry Christmas!!!