The science and soul of gratitude

Nov 18, 2025
3 min read

By Dr Nesrine Nasseur

The science and soul of gratitude, by Dr Nesrine Nasseur.

Gratitude can be felt, said, or shown. In my culture, it’s often shown; through presence, through service, through the simple act of pouring a fresh glass of mint tea. In my culture, gratitude is less about words and more about how we show care. Yet in the pace of modern life, it’s easy to forget these gestures, to delay that message of thanks or overlook the people who ground us.

I often find myself reflecting on what gets in the way of gratitude. We are all so busy, moving from one task to another, that we may even forget to pause and acknowledge the people who help us feel steady. A small tip I share with clients is simple: reach out to someone you are grateful for. The act of expressing thanks (and allowing ourselves to receive it) can shift the entire nervous system.

Gratitude can help us stay grounded during stress and uncertainty. Scientifically, gratitude shares the same neural pathways as mindfulness meditation, mediating the relationship between our amygdala (the brain’s internal threat detector) and the regions that regulate emotion, such as the medial prefrontal cortex and anterior cingulate cortex (Fox et al., 2015). This connection helps calm the stress response, lower cortisol, and enhance heart-rate variability, which is the body’s natural recovery rhythm.

Research in compassion-focused therapy (CFT) shows that both giving and receiving gratitude activate the body’s soothing system, part of the parasympathetic nervous system (Gilbert, 2014). This slows the heart rate, increases oxytocin, and promotes a felt sense of safety and connection. In essence, gratitude is not just a mindset; it’s a biological intervention rooted in emotional and relational wisdom.

But gratitude is not new. It has been part of ancient spiritual traditions for centuries - from Buddhism, where gratitude and loving-kindness sit at the heart of compassion practice, to the Abrahamic faiths, where giving thanks is woven through daily worship. Across many communities, gratitude is expressed communally, through shared meals, hospitality, and acts of service that reinforce belonging. These practices are more than politeness; they are centuries-old ways of regulating the nervous system through connection.

Practically, gratitude can be woven gently into the day without grand gestures. I often suggest micro-moments of mindful gratitude:

Noticing one small thing your senses enjoy; the warmth of tea or the sound of a friend’s laughter.
Sending a message of thanks to someone who made your day easier.
Reflecting before sleep on something you learned or survived today.

We can also thank the parts of us that helped us through the day; maybe our eyes that took in beauty, or our legs that carried us. At one psychiatric hospital where I worked, our team ended each team meeting by naming “one good thing that went well this week.” It never failed to shift the mood in the room and gave staff a chance to connect to something within themselves and often others.

I’ve learned that gratitude doesn’t deny pain; it holds it differently. It allows us to look at what has gone wrong without forgetting what is still good. Of course, gratitude is also about perspective. The very position of having things to list (a roof, a meal, a moment of rest) is itself something to hold gently, especially given the challenges people face globally. Gratitude reminds us not to take stability for granted but to see it as something sacred and shared.

Gratitude is something we can all practice with intention. It connects us back to ourselves, to others, and to the quiet truth that we have more within us (and around us) than we often realise.

References:

Fox, K. C. R., Kaplan, D. M., Damasio, H., & Damasio, A. (2015). Neural correlates of gratitude. Frontiers in Psychology, 6, 1491.

Gilbert, P. (2014). The Compassionate Mind. London: Constable & Robinson.

Connect With Dr Nesrine