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.
Researchers surveyed 680 people who followed health-food accounts online. They measured eating behaviour and orthorexia nervosa symptoms with the ORTO-15 questionnaire. Higher Instagram use was linked to more orthorexia symptoms, while other social media did not show this effect (Twitter showed a small link in exploratory tests). About 49% of…
This meta-analysis combined 48 experimental studies with 7,679 people to test how seeing “upward” comparison targets on social media (people who seem better off) affects users’ feelings about themselves. Overall, exposure to upward comparisons produced a small but statistically significant negative effect on self-evaluations and emotions (g = −0.24, p…
This study followed 4,285 U.S. children from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development Study to look at patterns of addictive use of social media, mobile phones, and video games from about ages 11 to 15. The researchers found that high or steadily increasing patterns of addictive use were common. Those high…
This randomized trial tested whether cutting daily smartphone screen time to 2 hours or less for three weeks changed mental health in healthy students. 111 students (mean age 22.7 years, mean screen time 276 minutes/day) were assigned to the 3-week limit (n=58) or to continue usual use (n=53). After the…
This systematic review and meta-analysis looked at studies from 2013–2023 that tested 'digital detox' interventions and their effects on mental health. The authors screened 2,578 records and included 10 studies. Pooled results showed a small but statistically significant reduction in depressive symptoms (SMD = -0.29; 95% CI -0.51 to -0.07;…
The article explains that movement and the brain are closely connected. It reviews research showing movement can help thinking, mood, and stress response, and that being very sedentary is linked with worse cognitive ability and more mental health problems. The piece also notes ongoing studies of brain activity behind movement…
This study had people listen to one short guided meditation voice (human male, human female, synthetic male, or synthetic female) and then rate the voice and the exercise. People who heard a human voice found the voice more enjoyable, and they rated the meditation as more enjoyable, more useful, and…
