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Several nights a week, as Tyler VanderWeele sits at the dinner table with his wife and two young children, the family intentionally pauses during the meal to do something simple but profound. Each member shares different things for which they are grateful — an act that VanderWeele, co-director of the Initiative on Health, Spirituality, and Religion at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, finds changes his family dynamic for the better.
“I think it makes a difference and can be a very powerful exercise,” he says. “Even on those bad days when life seems hard, the effort is worth it.”
Gratitude, health and long life
How can the power of gratitude impact our lives? Recent research has pointed to the numerous positive health effects of gratitude, including greater emotional and social well-being, better sleep quality, lower risk of depression, and beneficial markers of cardiovascular health. Now, new data from the long-term Nurses’ Health Study shows that it may extend lives.
“Gratitude is one of the most studied activities that contribute to well-being, but we could not find any previous studies that examined its effects on mortality and longevity, much to our surprise,” said VanderWeele, a co-author of the new study.
What did the research look at?
Published July 2024 in JAMA PsychiatryThe new study drew on data from 49,275 women who participated in the Nurses’ Health Study. Their average age was 79. In 2016, participants completed a six-item gratitude questionnaire in which they rated their agreement with statements such as, “I have so much in life to be thankful for” and, “If I had to name everything I’m thankful for, it would be a very long list.”
Four years later, researchers combed through the participants’ medical records to determine who had died. There were 4,608 deaths from all causes, as well as from specific causes such as cardiovascular disease, cancer, respiratory disease, neurodegenerative diseases, infections and injuries. Deaths from cardiovascular disease — one of the leading causes of death for women and men in the United States — were the most common cause of death.
What did the researchers discover?
Participants with gratitude scores in the top third at the start of the study had a 9 percent lower risk of dying over the next four years than participants who scored in the bottom third. This did not change after controlling for physical health, economic circumstances, and other aspects of mental health and well-being. Gratitude appeared to help protect participants from every cause of death studied, including cardiovascular disease.
But what does this actually mean?
“A 9 percent reduction in mortality risk is meaningful, but not huge,” VanderWeele says. “But what’s remarkable about gratitude is that almost anyone can practice it. Anyone can recognize what’s around them and thank others for the good in their lives.”
While the study couldn’t determine why gratitude is linked to longer life, VanderWeele thinks several factors may contribute.
“We know that gratitude makes people happier. That in itself has a small effect on mortality risk,” he says. “Practicing gratitude can also make someone a little more motivated to take care of their health. They might be more likely to show up for medical appointments or exercise. It can also help with relationships and social support, which we know contribute to health.”
What are the limitations and strengths of the study?
The study was observational. That means it can’t prove that gratitude helps people live longer — only that there’s a connection. And the specific sample of people analyzed is both the study’s greatest strength and greatest limitation, VanderWeele says. They were all older female nurses of high socioeconomic status. The vast majority were white.
“Does the longevity effect also apply to men, to young people, and to people with lower socioeconomic resources?” asks VanderWeele. “These are all open questions.”
On the positive side, he says, the large size of the study sample is one of its greatest strengths, as is the extensive data collected on potential confounders such as participants’ physical health, social characteristics and other aspects of psychological well-being.
“Given the quality of the data and the size of the sample, we were able to provide reasonable evidence for this modest effect on longevity,” he says.
Try This: Six Questions to Invoke Gratitude
Are you feeling less than grateful today? You have the power to change that. By asking yourself certain questions, you can create gratitude, such as
- What happened well today?
- What do I take for granted that I can be grateful for?
- Which people in my life am I grateful for?
- What was the last book I read, movie, program, or social media clip I saw that I really appreciated? And why?
- What am I most looking forward to this week, month and year, and why?
- What’s the nicest thing someone has said or done recently?
Likewise, a few simple actions can bring gratitude into your days. Try VanderWeele’s family routine of regularly expressing gratitude around the dinner table. Another familiar habit — perhaps forgotten in this digital age — is writing thank-you notes.
“I think writing a thank you letter or a gratitude letter makes your mind dwell on something positive longer, makes you think about it more deeply, because you’re not just putting it out in words, you’re putting it out on paper,” VanderWeele says. “It also deepens the relationship and builds that bond.”
A lesser-known but valuable gratitude practice is a “savouring exercise,” which builds on aspects of mindfulness. All it requires is “pausing, looking around, and taking in and enjoying all that is good in your current environment,” VanderWeele says. “It’s not a big leap to go from recognizing the good to expressing gratitude for what you have.”
