Hand-written thank you notes have a powerful and lasting impact on both the sender and the receiver. Dr. Christian Jarrett, in The Science of Us , talked about a brain-scanning study published in NeuroImage , “which brings us a little closer to understanding why these [gratitude] exercises have these effects. The results suggest that even months after a simple, short gratitude writing task, people’s brains are still wired to feel extra thankful. The implication is that gratitude tasks work, at least in part, because they have a self-perpetuating nature: The more you practice gratitude, the more attuned you are to it and the more you can enjoy its psychological benefits.” These psychological benefits include a feeling of wellbeing and reduced depression.
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Adapted from “Five Reasons To Write Thank-You Notes,” by Nancy Olson, Forbes.com, January 22, 2017; < https://www.forbes.com/sites/nancyolson/2017/01/22/five-reasons-to-write-thank-you-notes/#7fe5010a2811 >.