Making efforts to have a positive outlook can be good not just for your mental health, but for your heart, too, results of a recent study suggest.
Researchers from four universities looked at data from 18 “randomized controlled trials.” Each trial involved between 50 to 200 people who were assigned “structured positive psychology programs” that ranged from use of apps and texts to keeping a journal.
The programs were delivered through weekly sessions and daily at-home activities, allowing the researchers to measure changes in cardiovascular health and behavior.
“In some cases, we saw people in positivity programs lower their blood pressure by about seven to eight points and take an extra 1,800 steps per day,” said study co-author Soonhyung Kwon, an assistant professor at the University of South Florida. “Our findings show short-term cardiovascular benefits are most consistent when interventions are delivered frequently, often daily, over an eight- to 12-week period,”
Helpful activities include:
- Writing down what you’re grateful for each day.
- Taking part in mindfulness or breathing exercises.
- Reframing negative thoughts into more constructive ones.
- Following these habits regularly.
The study was published in the journal Cardiology Clinics.
