Practicing gratitude can do far more than boost mood. According to researchers and members of the Sidwell community, gratitude supports emotional well-being, strengthens relationships and may even improve physical health.
Upper School Counselor Patrice Copeland said she considers gratitude an essential part of maintaining mental health. She explained that it has become her “baseline state,” helping her stay grounded in both positive and difficult moments. Copeland begins her mornings by intentionally naming things she is grateful for, and she returns to that mindset throughout the day.
She added that gratitude feels especially meaningful because “it’s one of the great equalizers for [her], just like education, it’s one of the practices that we each can take ownership of.”
The heads of the Girls’ Mental Health Club also emphasized gratitude’s role in shifting perspective.
Junior Club Head Chetty Thomas said that gratitude can remind you to not take for granted what you have.
“Reminding yourself of the good things in your life can help get you out of a hole if it seems as if nothing is going well,” she said. “For me, thinking about how lucky I am to have my family is something that helps me look at the bigger picture and realize my current problems are not as big as they seem.”
Research supports these reflections. Tyler VanderWeele, co-director of the Initiative on Health, Spirituality, and Religion at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, encouraged his family to share what they were grateful for each night. He said the practice meaningfully changed their family dynamic, noting that “even on those bad days where life seems difficult, that effort is worthwhile.” VanderWeele concluded: “I do think it makes a difference and can be a very powerful practice.”
Studies show that gratitude improves sleep quality, reduces depression risk and is linked to better cardiovascular health. New evidence suggests it may even lengthen lifespan.
A July 2024 study published in “JAMA Psychiatry” found that participants who regularly expressed gratitude had a 9% lower risk of dying in subsequent years. According to Harvard Women’s Health Watch Executive Editor Maureen Salamon, “gratitude seemed to help protect participants from every cause of death studied — including cardiovascular disease.”
Gratitude also changes the brain itself. Melissa Madeson, Ph.D., explained that the word gratitude originates from the Latin word gratia, meaning thankful or grateful.
Expressing gratitude toward anyone can significantly improve mood and have a healing effect since it allows people to recognize that others can positively affect their lives and well-being. Scientists have found that gratitude activates the right anterior superior temporal cortex, a region involved in emotional regulation and memory.
These physiological responses help explain why expressing gratitude — even in small, everyday moments — can improve mental health.
“The more time we all take to appreciate and acknowledge things we are grateful for in our lives, the easier it is to wake up every day with a purpose,” senior Romy Ugel added. “A lot of people tend to struggle to find a reason to get out of bed, go to school or work and do what they do every day.”
She added that “we are wrapped up in a cycle, one that is constantly moving, and with that can come moments when we do not see our purpose, but gratitude, and being able to take a moment to appreciate what we have, makes each of our journeys a little bit easier.”
Ugel said that the ability to point out something we are grateful for, “no matter how big or small, won’t only benefit one’s mental health, but it will benefit our appreciation of the world in general.”
Experts and students agree: gratitude is more than a positive feeling. It is a practice that can support emotional resilience and contribute to long-term well-being.