Continuous doses of positive psychological practices can lower the risk of cardiovascular disease, according to a review published in Cardiology Clinics. The paper was coauthored by University of South Florida assistant professor Soonhyung Kwon with collaborators from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine. The team reviewed 18 randomized controlled trials, each enrolling between 50 and 200 participants, and analysed patterns across different delivery methods.
Interventions used structured positive psychology programs delivered by apps, text messages and journaling, and they paired weekly sessions with daily at-home activities so researchers could measure changes in cardiovascular health and health behaviours. Benefits were most consistent when practices were frequent — often daily — over an 8- to 12-week period. Measured improvements included blood pressure reductions of about 7–8 points and roughly 1,800 additional steps per day in some trials.
Common approaches included writing daily gratitude notes, brief mindfulness or breathing exercises, and reframing negative thoughts into more constructive ones. Kwon emphasizes digital platforms as tools to reach people who lack access to traditional services. He is working with colleagues in social work and computing to develop an augmented-reality guided movement program for older adults in the Tampa Bay area, using AR-guided movement, real-time feedback and age-friendly exercises to support cardiovascular outcomes.
- Gratitude journaling
- Brief mindfulness exercises
- Reframing negative thoughts
Difficult words
- cardiovascular — relating to the heart and blood vessels
- intervention — a planned action to improve healthInterventions
- randomize — to assign people by chance to groupsrandomized
- journaling — regularly writing personal thoughts or experiences
- reframe — to change how a thought is seenreframing
- augmented-reality — digital images overlaid on the real world
- feedback — information about performance or effects given back
Tip: hover, focus or tap highlighted words in the article to see quick definitions while you read or listen.
Discussion questions
- How could digital platforms help people who lack access to traditional psychological services?
- What difficulties might older adults face when using an augmented-reality guided movement program?
- Would you be willing to try daily gratitude journaling or brief mindfulness for 8–12 weeks? Why or why not?
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