What happens to your body when you’re thinking? You might think that is a simple question to answer: a thought is just words in your brain that cause you to do something, right? In reality, this question has plagued scientists for decades and the precise answer is still something that is the subject of research.
What Is a Thought?
Not everyone agrees on what constitutes a thought.
- Some believe that thoughts are simply physical entities that can be explained by chemical changes in the brain, while others believe that your mind is separate from your body and your thoughts are not physical parts of your brain.
- Regardless of what you believe, thoughts can influence our bodies and minds.
A Word From Verywell
Thoughts can have a direct influence on reactions in the brain and body
- This is the basis of many forms of talk therapy, such as cognitive-behavioral therapy
- And this is a good thing-because it means that when you make the effort to change your thinking, you are also doing something positive impact on your brain and your body
Anatomy of a Thought
An “I don’t want to get out of bed” thought is likely a reaction to something around you.
- In some cases, thoughts might be triggered by memories, but in other cases, it might be an alarm clock or a garbage truck passing by.
How to Change Your Thoughts and Change Your Body
Get very clear about the triggers of your thoughts and you will have the power to change your emotions and your health
- Change the trigger or break the association with the thought
- One way to do this would be to force yourself to think a different thought each morning for 30 days until that becomes the new reaction to the trigger
Some Neuroscience Terms Defined
Action potential: Sudden burst of voltage caused by chemical changes
- Neuron: A nerve cell through which signals are sent
- Neurotransmitter: Chemical messengers released by neurons that help them communicate with other cells (e.g., dopamine, epinephrine, norepinephrine)
- Prefrontal cortex: Part of the brain involved in planning, personality, decision making, and social behavior
- Hippocampus: Key to memory functions
- Synapse: A structure that allows a neuron (nerve cell) to pass a chemical or electrical signal to a target cell
Brain lesions and Thinking
We know that lesions to specific parts of the brain damage specific cognitive abilities
Thoughts and Emotions
Your thoughts can influence the neurotransmitters in your brain
- Optimism is linked to better immunity to illness while depressive thinking may be linked to reduced immunity
- We don’t yet know all the intricacies of these processes; however, suffice it to say that your thoughts matter.
Regulating Your Thoughts
Thoughts are linked to your emotions in a bidirectional way
- Whenever you have a thought, there is a corresponding chemical reaction in your mind and body as a result
- This means that what you think can affect how you feel
- If you want to start changing your thoughts, you need to be aware of the triggers of your thoughts and also the patterns of thoughts that you have in response to those triggers
