Gratitude in the Brain
Interacting with other people, involving yourself in nature, doing something for another person.
What are ways to recognize gratitude?
Nine to Twelve Hours
How much sleep do teenagers need?
The two kinds of stress as measured by their duration.
What are acute and chronic stress?
The practice of deliberately focusing on the positive aspects of a relationship rather than the negatives.
What is intentional gratitude for others?
An activity that occurs during Friday morning community meetings in which people express gratitude for one another.
What are (community meeting) "Acknowledgements"?
The area of the brain that is responsible for all emotional experiences.
What is the limbic system?
What a person should try to think about while trying to fall asleep (instead of anxious ruminations).
What is gratitude?
Fiddling with random objects, bouncing their legs, and shaking their hands.
What are physical symptoms of anxiety?
The ability to share in the emotional experience of another person, which is increased by frequently experiencing feelings of gratitude for others.
What is empathy?
A collection of personal writings in which a person reflects on the things they are grateful for.
What is a gratitude journal?
The area of the brain primarily responsible for memory whose function improves by expressing gratitude.
What is the hippocampus?
Sluggishness, heightened crankiness, harder time processing information.
What are symptoms of sleep deprivation?
It kills the brain cells.
What does chronic stress do to brain cells?
Doing this can improve the quality of your relationship.
What is expressing gratitude and/or thankfulness?
A person who helps another express gratitude.
What is a gratitude buddy?
The area of the brain that regulates "executive functioning" and whose function is improved by increasing gratitude.
What is the prefrontal cortex?
11 days.
How many days can a human go without sleep?
The hormone associated with stress that is markedly reduced by practicing gratitude.
What is cortisol?
This is a way to improve trust in relationships.
What is open communication?
An exercise in which a person thinks of something to be grateful for for each letter of the alphabet.
What is "doing the gratitude ABC's"?
The two "feel good" neurotransmitters that the brain releases when you express gratitude.
Dopamine and Serotonin.
The area of the brain that helps regulate sleep and whose function improves when a person displays kindness and gratitude.
What is the hypothalamus?
The two mental illness that are most significantly alleviated by regularly practicing gratitude.
What are anxiety and depression?
This is something you can do with your partner to improve the quality of your communication and overall relationship.
What is doing a gratitude exercise?
A letter sent to a person expressing one's gratitude for something they did.
What is a "thank you note"?