If you want to stay healthy , try saying 'thank you ' more often . Feeling grateful can improve the health of our hearts , according to a new study . Researchers found that heart patients who expressed gratitude for the positive things in their life had improved mental , and ultimately physical , health . The study involved men and women who had been diagnosed with Stage B heart failure . Heart patients who expressed gratitude for the positive things in their life had better mental and physical health , a study found . Stage B is where patients have developed structural heart disease - they may , for example , have had a heart attack that damaged the heart - but do not show symptoms of heart failure , such as shortness of breath or fatigue . It is important to make beneficial lifestyle changes at this stage because patients are at a high risk of progressing to Stage C heart failure - where risk of death is five times higher - the researchers said . The 186 patients were assessed for their levels of gratitude using standard psychological tests . These scores were then compared with the patients ’ scores for depressive symptoms , sleep quality , fatigue , self-efficacy ( belief in our ability to deal with a situation ) and inflammatory markers . Inflammation can often worsen heart failure . ‘ We found that more gratitude in these patients was associated with better mood , better sleep , less fatigue and lower levels of inflammatory biomarkers related to cardiac health , ’ said Professor Paul Mills , from the University of California . Patients who were more grateful had lower markers of inflammation , which can worsen heart failure . To further test their findings , the researchers asked some of the patients to write down three things for which they were thankful most days of the week for eight weeks . Both groups continued to receive their normal clinical care during that time . ‘ We found that those patients who kept gratitude journals for those eight weeks showed reductions in circulating levels of several important inflammatory biomarkers , as well as an increase in heart rate variability while they wrote , ’ said Professor Mills . ‘ Improved heart rate variability is considered a measure of reduced cardiac risk . ‘ It seems that a more grateful heart is indeed a more healthy heart , and that gratitude journaling is an easy way to support cardiac health. ’ The research was published in the journal Spirituality in Clinical Practice .
Heart patients who were more grateful had better physical health . They had lower markers for gratitude - which could indicate heart disease . They also had better moods , better sleep , and less fatigue , experts found . Writing a ' gratitude marker ' is also linked with better physical health , they said .