Harvard study reveals gratitude’s surprising impact on longevity

Genes, a healthy lifestyle, exercise – all of these factors have a positive effect on health and longevity. But now Harvard researchers have found another factor that can apparently significantly extend our lives.

Many people want to live a long life and stay as healthy as possible. It is now known that, in addition to genes, lifestyle factors such as a healthy diet, plenty of exercise and a good social network play a role. Now, for the first time, researchers at the Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health have also investigated the connection between a long life and the factor of gratitude. This paper was published in the specialist journal Jama Psychiatry.

Gratitude reduces mortality by 9 percent

For the study, the researchers used data from the Nurses Health Study with a total of 49,275 participants. Their average age was 79 years. In 2016, the participants filled out questionnaires on the topic of gratitude. They could award points to indicate whether they agreed or disagreed with certain statements, such as:

I have a lot to be grateful for in life.
If I had to list everything I am grateful for, the list would be very long.

A second study was conducted in 2019, at which time 4,608 participants had already died – most frequently from cardiovascular diseases.

Based on the data collected, the scientists were able to determine that those who scored high on the gratitude factor had a 9 percent lower risk of dying – compared to the participants who felt little gratitude in their lives. “Gratitude seemed to protect against all causes of death – but most frequently against cardiovascular disease,” says a press release from the university.

Gratitude can increase life expectancy in older people

“Previous studies have shown a link between gratitude and a lower risk of psychological distress and greater emotional and social well-being. However, the link with physical health is less well known,” said lead author Ying Chen. “Our study provides the first empirical evidence on this topic and suggests that experiencing gratitude can increase life expectancy in older people,” the researcher continued.

What positive effects gratitude has in everyday life

Gratitude is therefore a powerful tool that has a positive effect on our well-being and thus also on our life expectancy. As psychologist Ilona Bürgel explains, gratitude is the awareness of how good life is to us and a feeling that can be clearly located in the heart. According to gratitude researcher Robert Emmons, nine demonstrable effects of gratitude in everyday life can be identified:

1. Gratitude is an orientation towards the good in life: No matter how many difficulties we are currently experiencing, we see the many helps, the beautiful and pleasant things in life.
2. Gratitude improves social relationships: Because we recognize how well other people mean us.
3. We concentrate on the present: The brain needs variety and adapts very quickly to circumstances. This is why we take the pleasant things in life for granted far too quickly. Gratitude practices have been shown to increase activity in the medial prefrontal cortex, an area of the brain associated with learning and decision-making. This suggests that gratitude might enhance cognitive function, particularly in older adults.
4. Gratitude prevents negative feelings: We cannot be angry or jealous and grateful at the same time. Some studies have suggested a link between gratitude and telomere length. Telomeres are protective caps on the ends of chromosomes, and their length is associated with cellular aging. Positive emotions, including gratitude, may help maintain telomere length, potentially slowing the aging process at a cellular level.
5. We become more resistant to stress: Gratitude enables us to place difficult situations in a larger context and thus put them into perspective. This also enables us to recover quickly.
6. Appreciation: When we perceive that other people do good things for us, it means that they are investing in us. This can also develop our own feeling of being worthy of the good things. While the Harvard study focused on an American population, research in other cultures, such as Japan, has found similar positive effects of gratitude on well-being, indicating that this might be a universal phenomenon.
7. The health benefit: Gratitude strengthens the immune system, we perceive pain less strongly, blood pressure drops and sleep improves. Studies have shown gratitude can specifically increase sleep quality and duration, which is crucial for overall health and longevity.
8. Good things attract good things: Looking gratefully at the good things in life means that we notice more and more of them and thus increase our well-being.
9. Grateful people are helpful people: The joy of the good things that happen to us increases our willingness to do good things ourselves. Implementing gratitude practices in the workplace has been shown to reduce stress, increase job satisfaction, and improve overall productivity. This could have implications for organizational health and longevity as well.

Five exercises to practice gratitude

But gratitude is not something we can take for granted, as the brain is only too happy to focus on problems. You have to take time and concentrate on gratitude, says Bürgel. Following positive psychology, she recommends some tried and tested, easy exercises:

1. The daily gratitude diary: Write down three things every evening that you are grateful for today and why.
2. The morning gratitude ritual: Start the morning by thinking about what you are grateful for today.
3. 100 steps of gratitude: Say “thank you” over and over for 100 steps.
4. Gratitude for what we are allowed to give: See what you learn or how much joy you gain by being there for others.
5. Celebrate the good life: Celebrate even small events for which you are grateful to increase the effect.

The Harvard study’s findings on gratitude’s impact on longevity add a fascinating dimension to our understanding of health and well-being. This research not only reinforces the importance of psychological factors in physical health but also offers a simple, accessible way for people to potentially improve their life expectancy. By incorporating gratitude practices into our daily lives, we may not only enhance our mental and emotional well-being but also contribute to our longevity.