A Study of Positive Emotions With Long COVID-19

NCT ID: NCT05676008

Last Updated: 2025-12-05

Basic Information

• Recruitment Status: ACTIVE_NOT_RECRUITING
• Clinical Phase: NA
• Total Enrollment: 400 participants
• Study Classification: INTERVENTIONAL
• Study Start Date: 2023-01-12
• Study Completion Date: 2026-04-30

Brief Summary

This study is testing a new brief mindfulness practice for people suffering from long COVID-19 symptoms. People suffering from long COVID are particularly vulnerable to negative emotions, as they must also cope with the long-term uncertainty of physical and psychological stress beyond the acute infection. The goal of the study is to measure the ability of a brief mindfulness practice to promote a sense of well-being in people suffering from long COVID.

Detailed Description

This is a pilot randomized waitlist-controlled clinical trial (RCT) testing a new brief self-care intervention for people suffering from post-acute sequelae SARS-CoV-2 infection (PASC). The overarching goal of this study is to establish the feasibility and early efficacy of microdosing mindfulness as a self-care intervention. The purpose of the intervention is to promote a sense of well-being among PASC patients who currently have limited access to other proven self-care modalities.

Our research question is whether our newly developed training can assist PASC patients to self-microdose mindfulness (5-15 seconds activities in everyday life) and improve on perceived metrics of well-being (primary outcome). Our hypothesis is that self-microdosing mindfulness will evoke positive emotions that can improve well-being on patients suffering of PASC-related symptoms beyond 3 months post COVID-19 infection. If effective, an increased frequency of the mindfulness activity will then help buffer negative emotions (e.g., anger, loneliness, etc.) experienced during the pandemic and associated with ongoing stress and/or somatic symptoms.

Conditions

Post-Acute COVID-19 Syndrome

Study Design

• Allocation Method: RANDOMIZED
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Primary Study Purpose: SUPPORTIVE_CARE
• Blinding Strategy: SINGLE

Study Groups

Waitlist control

Group Type: NO_INTERVENTION

No interventions assigned to this group

Treatment

Group Type: EXPERIMENTAL

Microdosing of mindfulness

Intervention Type: BEHAVIORAL

The intervention consists of two parts: 1) four structured training sessions offered as online synchronous classes, and 2) self-microdosing of mindfulness activities in everyday life.

Interventions

Microdosing of mindfulness

The intervention consists of two parts: 1) four structured training sessions offered as online synchronous classes, and 2) self-microdosing of mindfulness activities in everyday life.

Intervention Type: BEHAVIORAL

Eligibility Criteria

Inclusion Criteria

• Able to participate in online zoom sessions and complete online surveys for 3 months
• English speakers
• Had a mild to moderate in severity COVID-19 infection > 3 months ago, feeling unwell, and are still experiencing in the present at least one PASC-related symptoms:
• Coughing or feeling short of breath
• Loss of smell or change in taste
• Recurrent Fever
• Body aches, headaches, chest pain, or stomach pain
• Brain fog (feeling like you can't think clearly)
• Having trouble sleeping
• Feeling very tired
• Mood changes

Exclusion Criteria

• Adults that were admitted to an intensive care unit or placed on a respirator, had invasive heart (heart catheterization) or lung tests (bronchoscopy) performed.
• Prisoners

• Minimum Eligible Age: 18 Years
• Eligible Sex: ALL
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No

Sponsors

University of California, Davis

OTHER

Sponsor Role: lead

Responsible Party

Responsibility Role: SPONSOR

Principal Investigators

Javier E Lopez, MD

Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

University of California, Davis

Locations

University of California Davis

Sacramento, California, United States

Countries

United States

References

Monroy M, Amster M, Eagle J, Zerwas FK, Keltner D, Lopez JE. Awe reduces depressive symptoms and improves well-being in a randomized-controlled clinical trial. Sci Rep. 2025 May 12;15(1):16453. doi: 10.1038/s41598-025-96555-w.

Reference Type: DERIVED

PMID: 40355653 (View on PubMed)

Other Identifiers

1840049

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id