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.

6 papers

Effects of Singing Bowl Sound Meditation on Mood, Tension, and Well-being: An Observational Study

Tamara L. Goldsby, Michael E. Goldsby, Mary McWalters, Paul J. Mills

This observational study tested Tibetan singing bowl sound meditation with 62 adults (mean age 49.7). After the session, people reported less tension, anger, fatigue, and depressed mood, and higher spiritual well-being. People who had never tried this meditation before showed a larger drop in tension than people who had experience.…

Music Therapy and Health Neuroscience and Music Perception Sleep and related disorders

The impact of exercise on depression: how moving makes your brain and body feel better

Md Najmul Hossain, Jaeeun Lee, Hongseok Choi, Yi-Sub Kwak, Jongnam Kim
www.e-pan.org Summary & key facts 2024 75 citations

This review of research up to October 2023 explains many ways exercise may help people with depression. The authors describe biological changes (for example, more endorphins, less inflammation, and higher levels of brain-supporting molecules like BDNF), plus psychological and behavioral benefits (better sleep, less rumination, more self‑esteem and social contact).…

Psychological Well-being and Life Satisfaction Sleep and related disorders Tryptophan and brain disorders

Impact of Himalayan Singing Bowls Meditation Session on Mood and Heart Rate Variability – An Observational Study

Saharsh Panchal, Fariburz Irani, Gunjan Y Trivedi

This small observational study checked mood and heart-rate measures before and after one 40-minute seated Himalayan singing bowl (HSB) sound-bath. After the session, 77 people reported higher positive affect and lower negative affect on the PANAS mood survey. A smaller group (17) filling the POMS survey reported less tension, anger,…

Heart Rate Variability and Autonomic Control Mindfulness and Compassion Interventions Sleep and related disorders

Cannabis use and sleep problems among young adults by mental health status: A prospective cohort study

Claire Walsh, Ekkehard Euler, A. Lauren, Amy Zheng, Sandrah P. Eckel, Bernard L. Harlow, et al.
Addiction Summary & key facts 2024 5 citations

This study followed 1,926 young adults (age 20–23) in Southern California from 2020 to 2021 to see how cannabis use related to later sleep problems. The researchers found that frequent cannabis use (≥20 days/month) was linked with worse sleep for people without anxiety or depression, but linked with slightly better…

Cannabis and Cannabinoid Research Sleep and related disorders Sleep and Wakefulness Research

Improvements in health-related quality of life are maintained long-term in patients prescribed medicinal cannabis in Australia: The QUEST Initiative 12-month follow-up observational study

Margaret-Ann Tait, Daniel Costa, Rachel Campbell, Leon N. Warne, Richard Norman, Stephan A. Schug, et al.
PLoS ONE Summary & key facts 2025 3 citations

This large Australian real-world study followed 2,353 adults who were newly prescribed medicinal cannabis oil and found that patient-reported quality of life, fatigue, sleep, pain (in people with chronic pain), and mood (in people with anxiety or depression) showed statistically significant and clinically meaningful improvements that were maintained up to…

Bipolar Disorder and Treatment Cannabis and Cannabinoid Research Sleep and related disorders

UK medical cannabis registry: A clinical outcome analysis of medical cannabis therapy in chronic pain patients with and without co‐morbid sleep impairment

Ishita Datta, Simon Erridge, Carl Holvey, Ross Coomber, Rahul Guru, Wendy Holden, et al.
Pain Practice Summary & key facts 2024 2 citations

This study looked at 1,139 chronic pain patients in a UK medical cannabis registry and compared those with poor sleep to those without. Both groups reported improvements in pain, quality of life, anxiety, and other measures over 1, 3, 6 and 12 months after starting cannabis‐based medicines. People with sleep…

Cannabis and Cannabinoid Research Sleep and related disorders Sleep and Wakefulness Research
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