“I’m in the same boat as you,” wrote an emailer after my recent column on stress. “If you happen to discover a cure–a pill that stops a person from worrying–please let me know. I’ll help you market that sucker and we’ll both get rich.”

I wished it could be as simple as that. A magic pill that stopped worries. A button to push to stop stress. A solution that didn’t require months in a gym or on a therapist’s couch.

And crazy as it sounds, I just might’ve been granted that wish.

I found it in the pages of Reader’s Digest, in one of those articles I usually skip past, expecting it to be yet another how-to on something so obvious you’d have thunk it didn’t need said.  (”How to enjoy chocolate!” “Ten great, new ways to thicken your thighs!”)

But a few random phrases seemed to leap off the pages, piquing my attention.

“More energy. Fewer illnesses. More sleep. Higher immune response. Less likelihood of being plagued by stress.”

And the one I found most appealing. “Takes just a few minutes a day.”

In the article, “The New Science of Thank You,” (October 2007), author Deborah Norville explains how researchers studied test groups to determine if gratitude plays a role in a person’s physical and emotional well-being. Once a week, one group spent time focusing on the negative experiences they’d had in the past week, while the other group spent an equal amount of time concentrating on the things that made it most pleasant.

I was just about to chalk the research up as another in the “Well, duh” category when I got to the part about the people who focused on the positive having more energy.

You see, having more energy is something I crave. It’s high up on my wish list, sandwiched between Having Only One Mortgage Payment and Fitting in a Size 8 Without Sacrificing a Limb. I continued to read.

The researchers, Emmons and McCullough, took their study a bit further by having their test groups focus on hassles or blessings on a daily basis rather than weekly. Participants also recorded any alcoholic drinks they had during this time, if they took any pain medication, and the quantity and quality of their sleep.

The results among the gratitude group were undeniable. “The people who focused on gratitude were just flat-out happier,” wrote Norville. “They saw their lives in favorable terms. They reported fewer negative physical symptoms such as headaches or colds, and were active in ways that were good for them. They spent almost an hour and a half more per week exercising than those who focused on hassles. Plain and simple, those who were grateful had a higher quality of life.”

But more than the power of positive thinking is at play. There’s actual science behind it. Psychologist Alice M. Isen, a Cornell University professor, explains that expressing or recognizing appreciation triggers a release of dopamine, the chemical in the brain that’s associated with happiness. “It activates the parts of the brain in which complex thinking and conflict resolution are thought to be headquartered.”

A hypothesis that seems logical enough that it just might be legit.

So how does one access the power of gratitude? According to the article, just thinking grateful thoughts isn’t enough, at least not for hard-core neurotics like me. To get the maximum benefits, you must write it down.

The researchers recommend spending a few minutes a day–bedtime works best–to write down three things that happened that day for which you are grateful. Any little thing that made you feel good, even if it was just for an moment. The chocolate-iced donut with sprinkles a coworker left on your desk. The happy dance your dog did when you stepped through the door. The feel of clean sheets on the bed.

After writing down those three things, take a minute to consider why each made you feel good. You can jot that down, too, if you’re so inclined. The important thing is to be consistent, to do it every night, to make it part of your routine. It will help reprogram you into looking at life in a positive way, to notice those who add to the quality of your life and to see what’s going right instead of focusing on the things that went wrong.

My husband and I have made a pact to give it a try. Before long, we should begin to notice that we have more energy, fewer illnesses, better sleep. Less stress.

As I write this, I realize this solution seems so simple and obvious that it very nearly qualifies as a Well, Duh. But that’s okay. After all, we have nothing to lose but our stress.

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