Gratitude Is Good For You

A 2023 study published in Einstein (São Paulo, Brazil) reviewed and combined results from many clinical trials to understand whether practices designed to build gratitude can actually benefit people’s mental health and emotions. The authors began with the observation that gratitude and well‑being are logically linked, and that researchers have been trying to use scientific methods to test how gratitude relates to positive feelings and psychological health. The study aimed to evaluate and measure the strength of scientific evidence on gratitude practices, treating gratitude as a potential causal factor that could bring benefits to people’s lives.

To do this, the researchers conducted a systematic review and meta‑analysis of existing literature. They searched major medical and psychology databases (including MEDLINE, Embase, and the Cochrane Central Register) as well as Google Scholar and other manual sources to find studies that tested gratitude interventions.

Sixty‑four randomized clinical trials were included in the analysis. Across these studies, people who took part in gratitude interventions—such as gratitude journaling, daily reflections, or writing daily thank-you and appreciation letters—reported greater feelings of gratitude, improved mental health, and fewer symptoms of anxiety and depression. In addition, participants experienced other positive outcomes such as a more positive overall mood and increased positive emotions compared with people who did not participate in the gratitude practices.

The authors concluded that gratitude practices are associated with meaningful psychological benefits. The findings suggest that acts of gratitude (such as writing about things one is grateful for or engaging in other gratitude exercises) can be used as a therapeutic complement for supporting mental health, including reducing symptoms of anxiety and depression and increasing positive feelings in the general population.