New research from California has found that people who recognise and are grateful for positive aspects of their lives have better mental and physical health than less thankful people. The study involved monitoring 186 men and women who had been diagnosed with structural heart disease. That is where the heart is damaged following a heart attack but the patient doesn’t have specific symptoms of heart failure such as shortness of breath. The team used standard psychological tests to score each individual for gratitude and spiritual well-being. Results showed higher gratitude scores resulted in many health benefits including better mood, better sleep, increased daily energy and lower levels of inflammatory biomarkers associated with poor heart health. Furthermore, when participants kept a gratitude journal to write down things they were grateful for, further heart health improvements were seen. So it seems that Mum was right, we do always need to say thank you!