Being extra thankful this Thanksgiving might give your heart health a boost, research suggests.
A study from the University of California-San Diego, studied 186 men and women with asymptomatic heat failure to see how gratefulness and gratitude affected their health.
“Somebody once said a grateful heart is a healthier heart, and that’s what we saw in this study,” said Paul Mills, PhD, a professor and researcher at the University of California-San Diego, in a statement.
Results showed that patients who expressed more gratitude were less likely to be depressed and anxious, and they also slept better. As it pertains to the heart, blood tests revealed that the more grateful patients had lower levels of inflammation and better heart health.
“That was a lovely surprise,” Mills said. “Based on past literature, we thought people that had more gratitude would have a better sense of well-being, but we didn’t expect to see changes in the biology as well.”
Senior Writer
As a Senior Writer for TriMed Media Group, Katherine primarily focuses on producing news stories, Q&As and features for Cardiovascular Business. She reports on several facets of the cardiology industry, including emerging technology, new clinical trials and findings, and quality initiatives among providers. She is based out of TriMed's Chicago office and holds a bachelor's degree in journalism from Columbia College Chicago. Her work has appeared in Modern Healthcare, Crain's Chicago Business and The Detroit News. She joined TriMed in 2016.