Frontier mental health research: psychedelics & drug studies

Each month our editorial team sifts through hundreds of papers and curates notable findings—for practitioners and informed readers who want to stay current with the evidence. Subscribe to the monthly Research Digest for expert analysis and concise summaries of key papers.

3 papers

Effect of breathwork on stress and mental health: A meta-analysis of randomised-controlled trials

Guy W. Fincham, Clara Strauss, Jesús Montero‐Marín, Kate Cavanagh
Scientific Reports Summary & key facts 2023 158 citations

This meta-analysis looked at randomized trials to see if deliberate breathing practices (breathwork) reduce self-reported stress. Across 12 trials with 785 adults, breathwork was linked with a small-to-medium drop in stress compared with non-breathwork controls (g = -0.35). Similar small-to-medium effects were seen for anxiety and depression. Most included studies…

Health and Wellbeing Research Health, psychology, and well-being Heart Rate Variability and Autonomic Control

Mental health disorders and their impact on cardiovascular health disparities

Viola Vaccarino, Eva Prescott, Amit J Shah, J Douglas Bremner, Paolo Raggi, Olivija Dobiliene, et al.
PubMed Central (PMC) Summary & key facts 2025 7 citations

This review found that mental health disorders are common and closely linked with worse heart health. People with conditions like depression, anxiety, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, or PTSD have higher rates of cardiovascular disease and higher death rates from it. The reasons include biology, behaviours, and problems in health care. The…

Cardiac Health and Mental Health Health, psychology, and well-being Mental Health Treatment and Access

The role of a mindful movement-based program (Movimento Biologico) in health promotion: results of a pre-post intervention study

Stefano Proietti, Manuela Chiavarini, Francesco Iorio, Livia Buratta, Giancarlo Pocetta, Roberta Carestia, et al.
Frontiers in Public Health Summary & key facts 2024 2 citations

Researchers ran an 8-week mindful movement program (Movimento Biologico) with 38 university students (mean age 21.2 years; 60.5% male). Participants completed four questionnaires before and after the program. After the program, several measures of interoceptive awareness and positive mental health improved significantly, while overall psychological well-being and sense of coherence…

Health, psychology, and well-being Mindfulness and Compassion Interventions Psychosomatic Disorders and Their Treatments
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