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Now that the Thanksgiving week is approaching, it would be a good time to see the benefits of being grateful. If the research is to be believed, it will also help the heart. Gratitude promotes a positive mind which is also good for the heart. You can prevent depression, anxiety and stress by being thankful, which is the core of the heart disease, says Paul Mills, professor of family medicine and public health at University of California, San Diego School of Medicine. Mills is an expert in the heart disease and has been researching behavior that impacts the heart for decades. He conducted a study to observe the effects of gratitude on our heart. For this purpose, he recruited 186 men and women, average age of 66 who have already suffered a little damage to their heart as a result of high blood pressure or heart attack or even infection. Each of these participants were made to fill out individual questionnaire rating how grateful they felt in general for life, things and people. As per the findings of the study, the people that were healthier the most were the ones who were generally grateful. Mills said, "They had less depressed mood, slept better and had more energy," reported American Psychological Association Study.

After getting the staggering results from the study, Mills followed-up to look into the findings more closely. He tested 40 patients with a heart condition and tested for their heart rhythm and inflammation. He asked half of the participants to maintain a journal and write at least 2-3 things that made them feel grateful every day. When Mills tested these patients after two months of study period, he found better heart health for patients who were maintaining a journal. Their inflammation was reduced and there was an obvious improvement in their heart rhythm, reports NPR.