Life in Cyprus can be wonderful – blue seas, mountain breezes, long lunches under vine-covered terraces…

But, let’s be honest, it can also be maddening. There’s traffic on Makariou, another trip to Immigration, deadlines that won’t quit, and a summer heat that melts even the most patient soul. It’s easy to let frustration take the wheel.

Here’s a tiny habit that can flip that script: gratitude. Not the fluffy, Instagram kind that asks you to sit under reams of fairy lights, writing perfect calligraphy in a leather journal. Nor the Pinterest power-mum style that turns gratitude into another performance of having it all together.

No, this type of gratitude is the real, brain-changing practice of noticing what’s good. And the science behind it is surprisingly strong.

One recent study has found that regularly reflecting on things we’re thankful for increases activity in the medial prefrontal cortex, the part of the brain linked to learning and decision-making.

Harvard Medical School reports that people who keep simple gratitude notes for just a few weeks feel happier, sleep better and have stronger immune responses. Other research shows gratitude boosts dopamine and serotonin, the same feel-good neurotransmitters targeted by many antidepressants.

The best part? If you want to see the benefits, gratitude can take less than three minutes!

Each evening – perhaps as you settle down to sleep – pause and bring to mind three things from the day that felt good. They don’t need to be big: the neighbour’s smile, the scent of fresh souvla, the driver who actually waved when you let them out. Let yourself visualise each of these moments, feel what they were like, and say a quiet thank you – or efharistó, a word that’s been anchoring gratitude here for centuries.

Do this often enough and you’re literally rewiring your brain: creating stronger neural pathways for positivity and resilience. Over time, it becomes easier to spot what’s good, even on stressful days.

Tomorrow night, instead of doom scrolling before bed, give this a try. Three minutes, three things. Feel each one, feel grateful, feel good. That’s all.