How the Body Responds: Stability vs. Change

The Capability to Keep Things Stable: Homeostasis

Our bodies generally have an average physical standard to maintain.

For example, your average temperature, average blood pressure, and the pressure to keep body fluids flowing throughout the body, theses are all kept at a standard of each person. This capability to keep things stable is called Homeostasis.

However, our physical body changes its standard when there’s a breakthrough change. As we grow, our physical standards change from a baby to adulthood. Another simple way to look at it is to notice what happens when we continually stimulate the body through exercises. There is always a way to break through our current homeostasis.

The Brain’s Capability to Change: Neuroplasticity

We have the ability to change as a result of the various stressful experiences we go through.

Our brain determines what experience is stressful or how a person should cope with it. This capability is called Neuroplasticity (also known as brain plasticity) where the neural networks in the brain change and adapt through growth and reorganization. These functional and structural changes range from individual neuron pathways to systematic adjustments.

Stress: Allostasis and Allostatic Load

If we have a system in place that keeps our body stable, what keeps it intact or causes the breakthrough and adaptation for change?

Allostasis

The driving force that pushes for an adaptive process forward is called Allostasis. Allostasis is the “stress” that impacts the production of mediators such as adrenalin, cortisol, and other chemical messengers. The response of these mediators promotes adaptation to the acute stress we experience.

Once stress (allostasis) hits us, the body responds by creating a new baseline of homeostasis so that it can anticipate and prepare for the next coming stress. Essentially, the body works naturally like an AI (Artificial Intelligence) where it learns from previous experiences. Once new homeostasis is created, we are capable of tolerating or handling the same situation with less stress.

Allostatic Load

On the other hand, allostasis can change to allostatic load.

The changes and stressors that impact our life can have both positive and negative effects. Excessive stress over a long period of time can have detrimental effects on the body and permanently alter the architecture of the brain. This negative effect is called the Allostatic Load.

Allostatic overload keeps us “stressed” while it wears and tears away at the body and brain. This happens when our body undergoes constant stress while the homeostasis fails to create a new baseline to adapt.

The 4 Types of Stress That Becomes Allostatic Load

There are 4 circumstances as to why the allostasis can change into allostatic load:

1. Repeated “hits” from multiple stressors
2. Difficulties in adaptation
3. Delayed shutdowns and prolonged responses in the aftermath of the stress incident
4. Inadequate response leads to compensatory hyperactivity of other mediators

The best way to prevent these circumstances is by learning how to mitigate stress through techniques that we can practice every day.

An “Active Recovery” From Stress

Stress mitigation through physical activity is called Active Recovery. Active recovery is said to be the best way to prevent allostasis from becoming allostatic load.

There are no strict measures on what counts as active recovery, but generally speaking, you want to keep a 30 minute physical activity that will keep 70% of your maximum heart rate. This includes running, swimming, biking, yoga, dance, etc. When an enjoyable activity increases the heart rate and fully uses the brain and muscle, it relaxes our mental state more than if we just rested. This allows a state where we can prepare to welcome the next stressful event.

If incorporating a rigorous exercise routine seems difficult for you right now, you can start by just taking daily walks around your neighborhood.

If “exercise” sounds less exciting, you can always take on an active hobby like dancing. Music that heightens the mood and a sense of accomplishment that comes from learning a new skill will surely satisfy those that want a sense of stimulation and growth.

Learn How to Cope With Stress

Review your day to see how you can incorporate small actions to break your thoughts away from stress. At work, you should never keep still in your office chair for hours. If you want to use allostasis to your advantage, try to stand up and stretch at least once an hour. Talk to your coworkers, friends, or family if something is bothering you. Small stress relief habits will prevent allostasis from becoming allostatic load.

As long as we can keep stress at healthy manageable levels, we can use it to our advantage to strengthen our brain for future life adversities.

References:

Ganzel, B. L., Morris, P. A., & Wethington, E. (2010). Allostasis and the human brain: Integrating models of stress from the social and life sciences. Psychological Review, 117(1), 134–174. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0017773


McEwen, B. (2005). Stressed or stressed out: What is the difference? Journal of Psychiatry and Neuroscience, 30(5), 315–318. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1197275/


McEwen, B. S., & Gianaros, P. J. (2011). Stress- and Allostasis-Induced Brain Plasticity. Annual Review of Medicine, 62(1), 431–445. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-med-052209-100430


Ratey, J. J., & Manning, R. (2021). Go Wild: Free Your Body and Mind from the Afflictions of Civilization by John J. Ratey Richard Manning(2014–06-03). Little, Brown and Company.

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Gratitude is associated with all sorts of positive emotions and we generally regard it as a good thing, but do you actually know how a “thank you” creates neurological change? Maybe you’ve already tried to cultivate daily habits of giving thanks because you heard it was a healthy habit. However, maybe it didn’t stick, or perhaps you just want to know more to better practice it. Either way, once you understand how the effects work, it may give you a better chance in making that permanent transformation you’ve been needing. Consequently, there is a lot of science on giving thanks and its promotion for better mental wellbeing. Below, I will explain the shifts created through neurological changes when we give thanks to others.

The Neuroscience that Cultivates Positivity

How does giving thanks work with our mental and physical wellbeing? In 2015, Indiana University conducted a study on how expressing gratitude alters neural activity in the brain for people with anxiety and depression. As a result, gratitude exercises activated neural pathways of the brain correlated to empathy. Furthermore, it had a significant impact on the neuromodulation of the medial prefrontal cortex area. ‘Neuromodulation’ is the alteration of cellular and synaptic properties of neurons that allow change in neurotransmissions. Unlike individual neurons, neuromodulators have the power to affect entire brain regions.

Giving thanks is considered a non-medical “anti-depressant” to some because it naturally affects our mood. The following parts of the brain have measurable changes when we switch into gratitude mode:

Giving Thanks Increases Dopamine & Serotonin

Dopamine is the feel-good neurochemical in our brain that makes us feel pleasure. Above all, it’s responsible for our feeling of happiness, optimism, motivation, focus, and alertness. On the other hand, serotonin is considered the harmonizing ‘mood stabilizer’ in our brain that regulates our anxiety and mood. For example, individuals with depression tend to lack in serotonin. An increase in both dopamine and serotonin, which are known as our ‘happy chemicals’, leads to happiness, better memory, and better sleep.  

Giving Thanks Activates the Prefrontal Cortex

Scientists have found that the medial prefrontal cortex is vital in feeling empathy towards others. In fact, this region of the brain is a processing hub that evaluates risk and rewards. Moreover, it connects to the deeper parts of our brain that produce kicks of pleasurable neurochemicals under the right circumstances. In addition, the ventral and medial regions of the prefrontal cortex abstractly represent the brain area that helps with social processing, complex reasoning, and how we represent ourselves. What’s more, several MRI studies show that continual practice in acts of gratitude activates this ventromedial prefrontal cortex. This part is known to function when we relieve pain, nurture empathy, show prosocial behaviors, and feel satisfaction in life.

Giving Thanks Activates the Hypothalamus

In studies, subjects who showed more gratitude overall had high activity in the hypothalamus. While the hypothalamus is a very small part of the brain in size, it controls essential bodily functions. For example, control in appetite, body temperature regulation, sleep cycles, hormones, and emotional response. It also influences our metabolism and stress levels. For instance, appreciative thoughts can trigger ‘good’ hormones and positively affect the immune system. High activity in the hypothalamus leads to many improvements in the physical benefits of giving thanks, such as better heart rate, blood pressure, and sleep.

Gratitude Builds Resilience to Stress & Pain

Gratitude can enhance the good in our lives, but what about the bad? Remarkably, giving thanks makes us more resilient to stress and pain, therefore helping us cope with difficulties in our life. This seems to be accompanied by the aforementioned neurological shift that occurs when our minds enter a positive state.

In addition, multiple studies indicate that giving thanks can help with mental wellbeing. For example, this includes decrease in suicidal thoughts, resilience to traumatic events, stronger coping strategies towards stress, protection from burnouts, and increase in self-esteem. Conscious practice in giving thanks can build a strong and healthy psychological mentality that can soften the hardship when it hits. In fact, life crises can also in-turn make us a more grateful person too. For example, try to remember the bad times, and how you endured and survived that situation. Then, compare that to where you are in life now. This can aid as a means to enhance your sense of gratitude and happiness. Therefore, looking at past negative memories from the perspective of growth and gratitude can help us through upcoming challenges in life.

Stronger Community Through Giving Thanks

As mentioned above, when our ventromedial prefrontal cortex is activated through giving thanks, altruism (the selfless concern for other people’s wellbeing over yourself), and empathy grow. Simply feeling grateful, empathetically understanding other perspectives, recognizing the beauty in social interactions, and giving more to people can naturally create better relationships. Data also suggest that expressing gratitude lights up our “mu-opioid” (a receptor that triggers our brain’s reward system), which is the same part that activates during close interpersonal touch and relief from pain. In other words, feeling grateful towards others creates a more relaxed, stress-free environment for us and the capacity to bond with others.

Research indicates giving thanks can also create positive influences on relationships. For example, some studies show that one’s grateful attitude towards a person directly correlates with the strength of the relationship and feeling of integration. In other words, the attitude of giving and focusing on others makes a person more desirable, and promotes socially inclusive behaviors. For the same reason, long-term relationships, both in friendship and partnership, expressed feeling more connected and satisfied with each other when an attitude of gratitude was present.

It Takes Time but has Lasting Effects

Yes, a simple act of giving thanks can make a significant impact on our happiness, wellbeing, resilience, and relationships. What’s more, we can even make this change a lasting one! A repeated focus on gratitude can alter how we experience the world, therefore creating a shift towards a more positive trajectory. In other words, the more you activate your feelings of gratitude, the stronger your neural pathways become. Ultimately, you will become a more positive person with a strengthened overall mental wellbeing.

Fitness and physical activity requires time and persistence to create a physical change. Similarly, lasting changes to our brain requires the continual exercise of gratitude. For example, a 2016 study, participants wrote a thank you letter each week for three weeks. Following this, the results were not immediately apparent. However, over time participants started to report significantly better mental health. Moreover, according to their MRI scans, the feeling lasted for up to 3 months after their writing exercise ended. Scientists mention this find was significant because most other positive activities have not had such lasting effects on mental wellbeing.

Practicing gratitude can help train our brain to be more sensitive to the experience of gratitude and eventually improve our overall mental wellbeing over time. 

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Reference:

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