The benefits of gratitude

By Mary MacVean, Los Angeles Times

November 17, 2012

Before we eat Thanksgiving dinner at my house, along with saying grace, each of the 20 or so people at the table takes a turn lighting a candle and expressing gratitude. The appreciation can be lighthearted — for mashed potatoes or a day off from school. Or the thankfulness may be accompanied by a heavy heart — for the memories of a loved one recently passed.
As it happens, this expression is not an empty exercise. And if we developed the discipline to be consciously grateful on a regular basis, year-round, research shows we’d be happier and suffer less depression and stress. We’d sleep better and be better able to face our problems.

There’s evidence that gratitude is uniquely important to well-being. Long embraced by religion as a “manifestation of virtue,” it’s one of the few things that “can measurably change people’s lives,” says Robert Emmons, a UC Davis professor who has been studying gratitude since 1998 and is the author of the book “Thanks! How the New Science of Gratitude Can Make You Happier.”

“Gratitude implies humility — a recognition that we could not be who we are or where we are in life without the contributions of others,” Emmons writes. Click here to read more.