Thank You is Good for You

Saying thank you to your partner throughout the day is a powerful way to show your appreciation and gratitude. We take so many little things for granted, such as emptying the dishwasher, getting the kids to school, wiping down the table, folding the laundry, fixing a broken item, taking out the trash. Making a point each time to really notice the act of love and kindness that your partner is doing (even if they are doing it on auto-pilot) and to sincerely say, "Thank you for doing that,” really adds up over time!

If you can say thank you a dozen times throughout the day and really mean it, you'll find that your general level of stress will go down. When we put our attention and focus on positive little things that happen throughout the day, we realize how much is going right for us already. On a neuroscience level, gratitude does amazing things for your brain, so there’s that benefit as well.

Using MRIs, scientists recently discovered that expressing gratitude lights up the pleasure and arousal centers of the brain, as well as increases neural sensitivity in the prefrontal cortex (which they found triggers people to act more generously). Studies have also shown that a daily practice of gratitude helps your heart rate stay healthy too!
 
How many people can you thank today?