Research ExplainedCounting Blessings: What Gratitude Research Really Found
The famous gratitude-journaling studies are real, but the effects are more modest than the headlines. Here's the honest version.
Jillian Schafer·
Selfpause Journal
Gratitude
10 articles
Research Explained
ResearchGratitude May Ease Anxiety and Depression in People With Diabetes, Review Finds
An integrative review of six studies found that gratitude practices, like journaling, letters, or reflection, are feasible for people with diabetes and may ease the emotional load: lower anxiety and d
Jillian Schafer·
ResearchGratitude May Prompt Teens to Defend Bullied Classmates, Research Finds
Research on Chinese early adolescents found that more grateful teens were more willing to defend classmates who are being bullied, and that gratitude can be deliberately built. A gratitude curriculum
Jillian Schafer·
ResearchExercise Plus a Mental Practice Boosts Well-Being Most, Big Review Finds
Pooling 183 trials of nearly 23,000 adults, one of the largest well-being reviews found most approaches beat doing nothing, but combining exercise with a psychological practice produced the biggest ef
Jillian Schafer·
ResearchNew Study Finds Just 10 Days of Gratitude Makes Students Kinder Online
A ten-day gratitude practice made college students noticeably kinder online, more helpful and less hostile, and the shift lasted at least a month. Gratitude seemed to work by boosting "relational ener
Jillian Schafer·
ResearchGratitude and Optimism Exercises Lifted Student Wellbeing, Study Finds
A five-week program of gratitude journaling, "best possible self" visualization, and kind acts lifted gratitude, optimism, and life satisfaction and cut depression among 661 Spanish university student
Jillian Schafer·
ResearchNew Research Links Gratitude and Giving to a More Meaningful Life
Research on gratitude and prosocial behavior suggests that turning outward enriches your own life. People who regularly expressed gratitude reported greater meaning in life than a neutral comparison g
Jillian Schafer·
ResearchNew Study Links a Gratitude Practice to Better Emotional Control in Leaders
Four weeks of self-directed loving-kindness meditation plus gratitude journaling significantly improved one specific skill in working leaders: regulating their own emotions, the facet most tied to buf
Jillian Schafer·
ResearchBrain Scans Reveal How Gratitude Wires You for Well-Being, Study Finds
A 2026 brain-imaging study of 363 young adults found grateful people had stronger connectivity between reward, emotion, and higher-thinking regions. One pathway between the right amygdala and putamen
Jillian Schafer·
ResearchNew Research Links Gratitude to Less Burnout in Healthcare Workers
A scoping review of 12 studies found that practicing gratitude was linked to improvements in burnout and depression among healthcare workers, whether done alone or alongside other practices. It is a l
Jillian Schafer·