The evidence

Whose research? Here it is.

First, the free starter practices and the papers each one cites inside the app. Below them, the full library of sources behind the wider program. Follow any link and read the study yourself.

Inside the app, each practice also explains what the study found and where its limits are. Where the evidence is smaller than the popular version, the practice says so.

Physical: the practices and their sources

Movement

Quick Pump

Stamatakis et al. (2022). Association of wearable device-measured vigorous intermittent lifestyle physical activity with mortality. Nature Medicine.

Lee, Shiroma, Kamada, Bassett, Matthews, Buring (2019). Association of Step Volume and Intensity With All-Cause Mortality in Older Women. JAMA Internal Medicine.

Diet

Hara Hachi Bu

Most, Tosti, Redman, Fontana (2017). Calorie restriction in humans: An update. Ageing Research Reviews.

Waziry, Ryan, Corcoran et al. (2023). Effect of long-term caloric restriction on DNA methylation measures of biological aging in healthy adults from the CALERIE trial. Nature Aging.

Cold exposure

Contrast Shower

Buijze et al. (2016). The Effect of Cold Showering on Health and Work: A Randomized Controlled Trial. PLoS ONE.

Šrámek et al. (2000). Human physiological responses to immersion into water of different temperatures. European Journal of Applied Physiology.

Sexual health

Secret Muscles

Kegel (1948). Progressive Resistance Exercise of the Pelvic Floor: A Clinical Method. American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology.

Dorey, Speakman, Feneley, Swinkels, Dunn (2005). Pelvic floor muscle exercises for erectile dysfunction. BJU International.

Pastore, Palleschi, Fuschi, Maggioni, Rago, Zucchi, Costantini, Carbone (2014). Pelvic floor muscle rehabilitation for patients with lifelong premature ejaculation: a novel therapeutic approach. Therapeutic Advances in Urology.

Mental: the practices and their sources

Breathing

One Breath

Zaccaro et al. (2018). How Breath-Control Can Change Your Life: A Systematic Review on Psycho-Physiological Correlates of Slow Breathing. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience.

Mindfulness

Mindful Eating

Robinson et al. (2013). Eating attentively: a systematic review and meta-analysis of the effect of food intake memory and awareness on eating. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

Visualization

Your Next Step

Driskell, Copper, Moran (1994). Does mental practice enhance performance? A meta-analysis. Journal of Applied Psychology.

Pham & Taylor (1999). From thought to action: Effects of process- versus outcome-based mental simulations on performance. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin.

Toth, McNeill, Hayes, Moran, Campbell (2020). Does mental practice still enhance performance? A 24 Year follow-up and meta-analytic replication and extension. Psychology of Sport and Exercise.

Learning

One Sentence

Bavishi, Slade, Levy (2016). A chapter a day: association of book reading with longevity. Social Science & Medicine.

Wilson, Boyle, Yu, Barnes, Schneider, Bennett (2013). Life-span cognitive activity, neuropathologic burden, and cognitive aging. Neurology.

Emotional: the practices and their sources

Emotional regulation

Find Your Level

Lieberman, Eisenberger, Crockett, Tom, Pfeifer, Way (2007). Putting feelings into words: Affect labeling disrupts amygdala activity in response to affective stimuli. Psychological Science.

Gratitude

A Wee Bit Grateful

Emmons & McCullough (2003). Counting blessings versus burdens: An experimental investigation of gratitude and subjective well-being in daily life. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology.

Seligman, Steen, Park, Peterson (2005). Positive psychology progress: empirical validation of interventions. American Psychologist.

Cregg & Cheavens (2021). Gratitude Interventions: Effective Self-help? A Meta-analysis of the Impact on Symptoms of Depression and Anxiety. Journal of Happiness Studies.

Connection

Be Human & Connect

Holt-Lunstad, Smith, Layton (2010). Social Relationships and Mortality Risk: A Meta-analytic Review. PLoS Medicine.

Kumar & Epley (2022). Random acts of kindness produce more well-being benefits than expected. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General.

Purpose: the practices and their sources

Goals

One Important Goal

Locke & Latham (2002). Building a practically useful theory of goal setting and task motivation. American Psychologist.

Harkin, Webb, Chang, Prestwich, Conner, Kellar, Benn, Sheeran (2016). Does monitoring goal progress promote goal attainment? A meta-analysis. Psychological Bulletin.

Habit design

Prepare

Wood, Mazar, Neal (2022). Habit formation and behavior change. Annual Review of Psychology.

Productivity

Meaningful Action

Uphoff, Ekers, Robertson et al. (2020). Behavioural activation therapy for depression in adults. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews.

Gollwitzer (1999). Implementation intentions: Strong effects of simple plans. American Psychologist.

Gollwitzer & Sheeran (2006). Implementation intentions and goal achievement: A meta-analysis of effects and processes. Advances in Experimental Social Psychology.

The wider library: 516 sources behind the habits

The habits taught in Thriving draw on a much larger body of research than the starter practices above. This is the full reference list, grouped by the benefit each set of studies looks at. Open any line to see its sources.

A study finding a benefit in the people it tested is not a promise of that result for you. Read them and judge for yourself.

Mental health: what the research looks at

Increased brain speed · 3 sources

[1] [2] [3]

Increased well-being · 28 sources

[4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] [13] [14] [15] [16] [17] [18] [19] [20] [21] [22] [23] [24] [25] [26] [27] [28] [29] [30] [31]

Increased control of the autonomic nervous system · 9 sources

[32] [33] [34] [35] [36] [37] [38] [39] [40]

Increased amount and strength of neural connections in your brain · 7 sources

[41] [42] [43] [44] [45] [46] [47]

Increased cognition and Intelligence Quotient (IQ) · 5 sources

[48] [49] [50] [51] [52]

Increased focus · 11 sources

[53] [54] [55] [56] [57] [58] [59] [60] [61] [62] [63]

Increased productivity · 6 sources

[64] [65] [66] [67] [68] [69]

Decreased stress · 19 sources

[70] [71] [72] [73] [74] [75] [76] [77] [78] [79] [80] [81] [82] [83] [84] [85] [86] [87] [88]

Physical health: what the research looks at

Ideal body composition achieved · 27 sources

[89] [90] [91] [92] [93] [94] [95] [96] [97] [98] [99] [100] [101] [102] [103] [104] [105] [106] [107] [108] [109] [110] [111] [112] [113] [114] [115]

Lengthened lifespan · 59 sources

[116] [117] [118] [119] [120] [121] [122] [123] [124] [125] [126] [127] [128] [129] [130] [131] [132] [133] [134] [135] [136] [137] [138] [139] [140] [141] [142] [143] [144] [145] [146] [147] [148] [149] [150] [151] [152] [153] [154] [155] [156] [157] [158] [159] [160] [161] [162] [163] [164] [165] [166] [167] [168] [169] [170] [171] [172] [173] [174]

Improved muscle strength, bone density, and tendon strength · 27 sources

[175] [176] [177] [178] [179] [180] [181] [182] [183] [184] [185] [186] [187] [188] [189] [190] [191] [192] [193] [194] [195] [196] [197] [198] [199] [200] [201]

Improved cardiovascular health, heart health, and blood circulation · 33 sources

[202] [203] [204] [205] [206] [207] [208] [209] [210] [211] [212] [213] [214] [215] [216] [217] [218] [219] [220] [221] [222] [223] [224] [225] [226] [227] [228] [229] [230] [231] [232] [233] [234]

Increased fat burning at rest · 13 sources

[235] [236] [237] [238] [239] [240] [241] [242] [243] [244] [245] [246] [247]

Improved immune response and defense against infections · 67 sources

[248] [249] [250] [251] [252] [253] [254] [255] [256] [257] [258] [259] [260] [261] [262] [263] [264] [265] [266] [267] [268] [269] [270] [271] [272] [273] [274] [275] [276] [277] [278] [279] [280] [281] [282] [283] [284] [285] [286] [287] [288] [289] [290] [291] [292] [293] [294] [295] [296] [297] [298] [299] [300] [301] [302] [303] [304] [305] [306] [307] [308] [309] [310] [311] [312] [313] [314]

Improved sexual function in men and women · 29 sources

[315] [316] [317] [318] [319] [320] [321] [322] [323] [324] [325] [326] [327] [328] [329] [330] [331] [332] [333] [334] [335] [336] [337] [338] [339] [340] [341] [342] [343]

Reduced inflammation · 14 sources

[346] [347] [348] [349] [350] [351] [352] [353] [354] [355] [356] [357] [358] [359]

Better sleep quality and duration · 3 sources

[360] [361] [362]

Increased resistance to pain and cold temperatures · 11 sources

[363] [364] [365] [366] [367] [368] [369] [370] [371] [372] [373]

Emotional health: what the research looks at

Increased happiness and life satisfaction · 30 sources

[374] [375] [376] [377] [378] [379] [380] [381] [382] [383] [384] [385] [386] [387] [388] [389] [390] [391] [392] [393] [394] [395] [396] [397] [398] [399] [400] [401] [402] [403]

Increased sense of well-being and quality of life · 15 sources

[404] [405] [406] [407] [408] [409] [410] [411] [412] [413] [414] [415] [416] [417] [418]

Better emotional regulation especially in times of high stress · 29 sources

[419] [420] [421] [422] [423] [424] [425] [426] [427] [428] [429] [431] [432] [433] [434] [435] [436] [437] [438] [439] [440] [441] [442] [443] [444] [445] [446] [447] [448]

Stronger intimate relationships · 22 sources

[449] [450] [451] [452] [453] [454] [455] [456] [457] [458] [459] [460] [461] [462] [463] [464] [465] [466] [467] [468] [469] [470]

Increased resilience to stress · 11 sources

[471] [472] [473] [474] [475] [476] [477] [478] [479] [480] [481]

Reduced stress · 20 sources

[482] [483] [484] [485] [486] [487] [488] [489] [490] [491] [492] [493] [494] [495] [496] [497] [498] [499] [500] [501]

Increased confidence and self-esteem · 8 sources

[502] [503] [504] [505] [506] [507] [508] [509]

Increased Emotional Quotient (EQ) · 4 sources

[510] [511] [512] [513]

Success and purpose: what the research looks at

Avoid the #1 regret of the dying · 2 sources

[514] [515]

Make way more money · 3 sources

[516] [517] [518]

Learn how to stop, start, and alter habitual behavior for the long term · 7 sources

[519] [520] [521] [522] [523] [524] [525]

Define, articulate, and live your highest aspirations, values, and deepest motivations for greater happiness · 7 sources

[526] [527] [528] [529] [530] [531] [532]

Create a custom system and plan to reach goals that align with your deepest values and motivations to increase performance and the improve your chances of reaching your goals · 10 sources

[533] [534] [535] [536] [537] [538] [539] [540] [541] [542]

Execute your personalized goals system daily (with the help of the latest research in behavioral design to make sure you actually show up) creating unstoppable momentum. Enhanced wellbeing, productivity, and goal attainment · 8 sources

[543] [544] [545] [546] [547] [548] [549] [550]

Looking for one problem?

Anxiety & stress · Sleep · Anger · Procrastination · Habits

Try one before you decide

Five practices run right on the free page, before you give an email.