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.
10 papers
This 2001 review looked at studies on exercise, anxiety, depression, and stress. It found that short-term emotional effects of exercise are mixed, but many cross-sectional and longitudinal studies report that regular aerobic exercise training reduces anxiety and depression symptoms and may protect against the harmful effects of stress. The clearest…
This review summarizes drug treatments for adult anxiety disorders (panic disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, social anxiety disorder, and specific phobias). It says well-known drugs such as SSRIs and SNRIs are commonly used and approved for some anxiety disorders. The authors found that research into truly new medications is limited, many…
This systematic review looked at human studies of cannabidiol (CBD) for anxiety up to June 2019. Eight studies were included (6 small randomized controlled trials, 1 case series, and 1 case report). The studies tested CBD for anxiety in healthy volunteers, generalized anxiety disorder, social anxiety disorder, and PTSD-related anxiety.…
This 2020 review looks at terpenoids in essential oils and how they might help with anxiety and depression. Animal studies reported that some essential oils and components like linalool reduce anxiety-like behavior. The authors suggest these effects likely come from changes in glutamate and GABA brain signaling. They also note…
This systematic review looked at clinical studies of ketamine for people whose anxiety did not get better with standard treatments. The authors found early signs that single doses of ketamine can reduce anxiety quickly, but the benefits are often temporary (typically lasting days to about a week). The existing studies…
This review looked at animal and human studies of cannabidiol (CBD) for anxiety. In animals, CBD often reduced anxiety-like behaviors at low or medium doses but sometimes increased anxiety at high doses. Small human studies and public-speaking tests suggest CBD might reduce anxiety in healthy people and in social anxiety…
This review looked at human studies up to July 2020 about THC (the main psychoactive part of Cannabis) and its effects on fear-related memories and anxiety. The authors report that low doses of THC can speed up extinction of aversive memories and lower anxiety in people, and that combining THC…
Recent controlled studies find that THC often raises short-term feelings of anxiety in lab-tested adults, especially at higher doses. Results about CBD are mixed: many newer studies report no clear anxiety-reducing effects in healthy people, and findings in clinical groups are inconsistent. Studies differ in dose, how cannabis was given,…
This review looks at what is known about using cannabis chemicals to treat anxiety. It says CBD is suggested to reduce anxiety in some studies, while THC can either reduce or increase anxiety depending on dose, how it is taken, and individual factors. The authors conclude that there is not…
This review explains that smells reach the limbic brain very quickly and can change emotional and stress responses. It highlights evidence that certain essential oils — especially lavender, bergamot, and rose — can alter brain chemistry, lower stress hormones, and shift autonomic markers within minutes. Some studies reported cortisol drops…
