{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,1]],"date-time":"2026-06-01T20:07:33Z","timestamp":1780344453677,"version":"3.54.1"},"reference-count":51,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"11","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2023,11,8]],"date-time":"2023-11-08T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1699401600000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"NIH\/NHLBI","award":["1R15HL165308-01"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["1R15HL165308-01"]}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Brain Sciences"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Research has indicated strong associations between post-traumatic stress and cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk. Individuals with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) tend to show patterns of elevated CVD risk earlier in life than the general population. The need for developing effective interventions for CVD risk reduction in PTSD is increasingly evident. The purpose of the present pilot study was to examine the effects of a healthy lifestyle intervention that addresses CVD-related heath behaviors (physical activity, sleep, stress) among civilian adults with PTSD. Participants were randomized to the healthy lifestyle intervention condition or a wait-list control. A total of 22 women completed the protocol (11 per group). The mean age was 32 (SD \u00b1 14). Evaluations were conducted before and after the 12-week intervention program in the experimental group, and 12 weeks apart for the control group, and included standardized self-report measures of sleep, physical activity, and general stress. The healthy lifestyle group showed an increase in the amount of sleep pre to post (mean of 1.2 h per night), which was significantly different to the control group, who had no change (p &lt; 0.05; effect size = 1.41). Notable pre to post increases in physical activity were observed between the intervention group (mean increase = 115.8 min over 7 days) and control condition (mean = 4.5 min over 7 days); however, this effect was not significant in the small sample (effect size = 0.70). These preliminary findings suggest that a healthy lifestyle intervention is feasible and can produce desired changes in target behaviors\/outcomes.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/brainsci13111565","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2023,11,8]],"date-time":"2023-11-08T01:54:30Z","timestamp":1699408470000},"page":"1565","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":4,"title":["Pilot Findings Indicate a Cognitive Behavioral Healthy Lifestyle Intervention for PTSD Improves Sleep and Physical Activity"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"13","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-9295-0649","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Jeffrey","family":"Kibler","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Clinical and School Psychology, College of Psychology, Nova Southeastern University, 3300 S. University Dr., Ft. Lauderdale, FL 33328, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Mindy","family":"Ma","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Clinical and School Psychology, College of Psychology, Nova Southeastern University, 3300 S. University Dr., Ft. Lauderdale, FL 33328, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Jacquelyn","family":"Hrzich","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Psychological Dimensions, 6595 S. Dayton St., Greenwood Village, CO 80111, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Jessica","family":"Choe","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"James A. Haley Veterans\u2019 Hospital, 13000 Bruce B. Downs Boulevard, Tampa, FL 33612, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2023,11,8]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"2116","DOI":"10.1093\/tbm\/ibab116","article-title":"Diet quality and exercise in older veterans with PTSD: A pilot study","volume":"11","author":"Browne","year":"2021","journal-title":"Transl. Behav. Med."},{"key":"ref_2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"147","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jad.2018.08.007","article-title":"Cardiovascular risks in relation to posttraumatic stress severity among young trauma-exposed women","volume":"241","author":"Kibler","year":"2018","journal-title":"J. Affect. 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