Gratitude gets recommended so often it can sound like a platitude. A recent global experiment put it to a serious test.

The evidence

In a multinational megastudy of more than 10,000 participants across 34 countries, a brief gratitude practice — writing down good things and their causes — increased optimism, positive emotion, and life satisfaction, with benefits lasting six months or more (Coles et al., PNAS, 2026). Gratitude works by retraining attention: noticing what is going right rather than defaulting to what is wrong.

The practice

Each day, write three good things that happened and, crucially, why they happened. Naming the cause is what turns a pleasant moment into a durable shift in how your brain scans the world.

This article is for education and general wellbeing. It is not medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment, and does not replace your physician. mindspan is a wellness screen, not a diagnostic test.