Let’s Exercise Gratitude On A Stationary Bike

Health advice to get in shape for Thanksgiving’s dinner.

Physical exercise is good for the brain, used to tell me my mother when I was a teenager. Indeed, physical exercise has an impact on our cerebral physiology, as it increases the natural production of serotonin, a natural mood stabilizer in our central nervous system.

At rest, serotonin is stored within the vesicles of our presynaptic neurons. When stimulated by nerve impulses, serotonin is released as a neurotransmitter into the synapse, reversibly binding to the postsynaptic receptor to induce a nerve impulse on the postsynaptic neuron (Fuller, 1980).

Encouraging the production and the release of this neurotransmitter in our brain significantly improves our sense of well-being and inner satisfaction. The quality of our sleep improves, our appetite is regulated, symptoms related to premenstrual dysphoric disorders, anxiety, depression, and aggressive, obsessive and compulsive tendencies decrease.

Interestingly, something similar happens in our brain when we allow ourselves to feel gratitude.

It is said that long time ago, before anyone knew about the benefits of serotonin secretion, in the high plains of the Andes, on the occasion of the festival of the sun, the moon and the three planets, people used to cover their clothes with small mirrors or polished capsules if they couldn’t afford glassware. From what one could hear, this would mean that each man is the mirror of all the other beings that populate the universe. We have received light, we give light. This is what the “mirror-people” were saying. This is what we, in our western language, call gratitude (Gougaud, 1995).

There is a very simple method to facilitate the emergence of the feeling of gratitude, other than with the help of small mirrors; it is so simple that it looks like what we were told when we were children and taught how to cross the street: To stop. To look. To cross. That’s it. Many of us tend to rush through life. We never stop. Sometimes it is necessary to stop. And to look before crossing (Steindl-Rast, 2013).

When we take some time to reflect on the positive aspects of our life, the amount of serotonin released in our brain tends to increase (Frazer & Hensler, 1999).

Pause: What is the best thing that happened to you today?

It appears that physical exercise and gratitude are even interconnected in a virtuous cycle, as reminded to us by Alex Korb, a neuroscience researcher at UCLA University: gratitude improves sleep, better sleep reduces pain, reduced pain improves our mood, improved mood reduces anxiety, concentration and decision-making then improve, which further reduces anxiety and improves enjoyment, which enhances the ability to feel grateful and makes it more likely we’ll exercise more, which, in turn, will make us happier. QED! (Korb, 2015)

As we move through life, as feelings of gratitude develop naturally from childhood, our ability to express appreciation for others in our relationships also grows stronger. We begin to consciously and genuinely share our emotional state through various acts, depending on the social context (a smile, a kind note, a tip, …).

Gratitude becomes a conscious exchange. It leads to genuine relationships.

The feeling of gratitude makes us feel better about ourselves, and when we express it, it creates positive “feedback loops” with those around us. Our social relationships become more positive and enjoyable.

Taking some time to think about who or what we are thankful for forces us to focus on the positive aspects of our life. As soon as we do so, the production of serotonin in our brain increases.

You might say that sometimes life is not fun/easy/simple/sweet and that there is nothing to be thankful for. That’s okay. There’s no need to find anything. It’s the finding that is important.

The feeling of gratitude is something we have to work on and, like the indoor exercise bike, it gets easier with practice. Those who train themselves to identify and appreciate the fruits of their successes, no matter how small, will become motivated to look for new successes to accomplish.

“On a day when the wind is perfect, the sail just needs to open and the world is full of beauty. Today is such a day.” — Rumi (1207–1273)

Pause: What is the best thing that happened to you during this year?

References

Frazer, A., Hensler, J.G. (1999). Serotonin: Understanding the neuroanatomical organization of serotonergic cells in the brain provides insight into the functions of this neurotransmitter. In Basic Neurochemistry (Sixth ed.), Siegel et al. Editors. Philadelphia: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.

Fuller, R.W. (1980). Pharmacology of central serotonin neurons. In Annual Review of Pharmacology and Toxicology, 20, pp. 111–127.

Gougaud, H. (1995). Les sept plumes de l’aigle. Paris: Seuil.

Korb, A. (2015). The Upward Spiral: Using Neuroscience to Reverse the Course of Depression, One Small Change at a Time. Oakland: New Harbinger Publications.

Steindl-Rast, D. (June 14th, 2013). Want to be happy? Be grateful: Brother David Steindl-Rast at TEDGlobal 2013.Retrieved from: https://blog.ted.com/want-to-be-happy-be-grateful-brother-david-steindl-rast-at-tedglobal-2013/