While the activity of gratitude journaling may seem simple, the study of the brain using neuroscience has proven that the activity actually alters the brain. As a person reflects on their positive experiences and writes down their gratitude, the areas of the brain associated with emotional regulation and memory formation light up. Rather than being just a motivational technique, gratitude journaling actually alters the biological processes of the brain.
In recent studies conducted by Harvard Medical School and the University of California, scientists have studied the effects of attention on the brain. As the brain is constantly changing and adapting to the thoughts and attention of the individual, the study of the brain’s ability to change is referred to as neuroplasticity. As the individual continues to focus on their gratitude and write down their positive experiences, the brain begins to prioritize the positive experiences during the events of the day.
This article is intended to inform the reader of the effects of gratitude journaling on the brain chemistry and the ways in which the activity alters the brain using observable changes. Rather than focusing on the motivational effects of the activity, the article will focus on the ways in which the activity alters the brain chemistry.
This has been proven by the functional MRI study of the brain, where the medial prefrontal cortex, the area of the brain associated with decision making and interpretation of meaning, has shown increased activity. This is the area of the brain associated with the evaluation of experience and the storage of memory as a significant event.
Neurochemical Response to Positive Reflection
This practice of consistent gratefulness journaling also reinforces behavior. The brain processes reflection in a positive manner. Many psychology researchers have compared this phenomenon with cognitive conditioning rather than emotional suggestion.
The more we activate our brains with positive thoughts, the more our brains develop a stronger response to rewarding situations. The outcome of gratefulness journaling is not a forced positive attitude but rather a changed attention pattern towards positive stimuli in normal situations.
This is because of survival mechanisms that our brains developed during evolution. The negativity bias is a cognitive survival mechanism that allows us to detect threats in our environment. This negativity bias has become a dominant cognitive pattern in the human brain.
The practice of gratefulness journaling allows us to activate alternative cognitive pathways. The practice of writing positive thoughts in our journal each day allows our brains to develop the habit of diverting our attention from negative thoughts. The more we practice gratefulness journaling, the more our brains develop a competitive pattern between negative recall pathways and positive recall pathways.
Interrupting Automatic Rumination
Rumination is a cognitive pattern of repetitive negative thoughts. The practice of gratefulness journaling allows us to interrupt our negative thoughts. The brain cannot process opposing emotional patterns at the same time.
The practice of gratefulness journaling interrupts our negative thoughts. The more we interrupt our negative thoughts, the weaker our negative recall pathways become. The pathways that we use less often in our brains lose dominance.
Building Balanced Cognitive Processing
The practice of gratefulness journaling does not eliminate negative thoughts but rather allows our brains to develop a wider range of cognitive processing. The more we practice gratefulness journaling, the less extreme our emotional response becomes. Cognitive psychology researchers have compared this phenomenon with increased emotional flexibility.
The practice of gratefulness journaling allows our brains to develop a more balanced cognitive processing pattern. The attention given to gratitude reduces the tendency towards threat response.
Regulation of Emotional Reactivity
Scientists from Harvard Medical School and other institutions note that emotional activities affect the physiological arousal response. The writing of gratitude activates the positive memory, indicating to the brain that there is no danger. This reduces the level of defensive response.
The level of response to minor stressors reduces with time because the brain processes the event with context. The reduced level of stress response enhances the activity of the prefrontal cortex during minor difficulties in the course of the day. This part of the brain regulates the evaluation and decision-making processes.
The parasympathetic system activates the recovery response from the effects of the sympathetic system. The increased response enhances the recovery from the effects of the sympathetic system.
Gratitude and Emotional Memory Formation
It is not a passive recording device; memory is influenced by emotional value. Instead of memories being flooded with highly negative experiences, the brain creates a broader base of meaningful memories. This changes the dynamic of how past experiences inform future expectations.
Emotional memory variety helps to better understand what’s currently happening.
Encoding Positive Experiences
Writing about an experience helps to enhance the encoding process. This means that writing about why an experience was important activates multiple networks in the brain at the same time. Activating multiple networks in the brain helps to enhance the encoding process more than recalling information in a casual fashion.
This process is similar to intentionally rehearsing memories. The written experience signals to the brain that this experience was important enough to store in the brain for later access.
Recall and Perception Interaction
Memories stored in the brain interact with perception through the prediction center. Positive emotional memories being more readily available in the brain causes the brain to anticipate positive outcomes in situations that are otherwise neutral. Anticipation happens before interpretation.
This process affects emotional content rather than actual content. The brain knows reality, but interpretation happens through a broader context based on what’s stored in the memories.
Changes in Sleep and Mental Recovery
Sleep patterns are directly related to emotional content in the human brain. The state of mind before sleep influences the content of slow-wave sleep as well as REM sleep. Writing a gratitude journal before sleep changes the content of what’s being encoded in the brain during sleep.
The human brain replays recent experiences during sleep to better organize memories. Positive emotional content being part of the experience changes the way the human brain organizes emotional content the next day.
Reduced Cognitive Overactivation
This pre-sleep rumination continues to activate the brain’s alertness networks. The structured written reflections provide closure by organizing thoughts into a completed story. The closure stops the brain’s continued scanning for unresolved issues.
The fewer unresolved issues, the more natural it is for brain activity to slow down prior to sleep cycle initiation. This helps to create more stable mental restoration patterns.
Overnight Emotional Processing
The brain processes emotions during REM sleep without activating the body’s stress response. Positive reflections provide balance to this brain state. The brain processes this new, balanced content.
Over time, this processing causes an emotional recalibration. The brain no longer reacts to morning moods as much as it is influenced by leftover tension from unresolved issues of the day before.
Long-Term Brain Plasticity Effects
Brain plasticity is the brain’s ability to reorganize itself. It is able to make new connections as it experiences similar situations repeatedly. Gratitude journaling is an exercise that works on repetition rather than on how intense an experience is.
It is an exercise that is more likely to cause long-term structural brain adaptation. The brain is able to activate attention, memory, and emotional interpretation networks simultaneously. Cognitive neuroscience studies have revealed that mental habits can affect brain structures.
Strengthening Attention Networks
The attention networks filter what is brought to conscious awareness. The brain is forced to search for something positive to write about. It is a search that strengthens attention to more stimuli.
It is not that negative perceptions are eliminated, but how quickly it is processed. Neural pathways that fire often require less effort to use. It becomes automatic to recognize positive details because the brain has been “practicing” daily.
Stability of Emotional Regulation
With the long-term repetition of the activity, the regulation of emotions tends to be consistent. Instead of dramatic changes in the regulation of emotions, the response is now proportional to the circumstances. This is due to the communication and evaluation of the cognitive and emotional centers of the brain.
This has been referred to as a change in the efficiency of the regulation of emotions and not the mood. This is due to the efficient and effective regulation of the brain’s response to the incoming stimuli. This means that the brain processes the incoming stimuli in a much more integrative fashion.
Conclusion
It should be understood that gratitude journaling has a significant impact on the brain. This impact is not due to motivational factors but to the actual changes that the activity has on the brain. This includes the release of reward chemicals, the regulation of stress, memory encoding, and the regulation of attention.
Over time, the brain has learned to process the incoming stimuli using a broader system of emotions. This means that the brain has learned to communicate the different centers of the brain, including the prefrontal cortex, the limbic system, and memory. This has a significant impact on the perception and interpretation of the events of the day.
It should be understood that the impact of gratitude journaling is due to the consistency of the activity and not the intensity of the activity. This means that the activity has a direct impact on the biological processes of the brain and the regulation of the thoughts of the individual.
