Frontier mental health research: psychedelics & drug studies

Effectiveness of physical activity interventions for improving depression, anxiety and distress: an overview of systematic reviews

Ben Singh, Tim Olds, Rachel Curtis, Dorothea Dumuid, Rosa Virgara, Amanda Watson, et al.

PubMed • Summary & key facts • 2023 • 784 citations

This umbrella review pooled evidence from 97 systematic reviews (1,039 randomized trials, 128,119 participants) to examine whether physical activity affects symptoms of depression, anxiety and psychological distress in adults. Overall, physical activity produced medium-sized reductions in symptoms (median effect size for depression = -0.43, for anxiety = -0.42; distress effect…

Behavioral Health and Interventions Eating Disorders and Behaviors Physical Activity and Health

Making health habitual: the psychology of ‘habit-formation’ and general practice

Benjamin Gardner, Phillippa Lally, Jane Wardle

British Journal of General Practice • Summary & key facts • 2012 • 550 citations

This paper explains how habits form and how doctors might use habit-based advice in routine care. It says repeating a simple action in the same context can make that action automatic, so it needs less attention and may last after motivation falls. The authors report studies (for example, an average…

Behavioral Health and Interventions Health Policy Implementation Science Mental Health and Psychiatry

Physical activity and mental health: a systematic review and best-evidence synthesis of mediation and moderation studies

Rhiannon White, Stewart A. Vella, Stuart Biddle, Jordan Sutcliffe, Justin M. Guagliano, Riaz Uddin, et al.

International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity • Summary & key facts • 2024 • 126 citations

This paper reviewed studies that tested how and when physical activity (PA) relates to mental health. The authors searched four databases up to July 2024 and kept 247 studies. They found strong evidence that 12 specific factors help explain the PA–mental health link (for example, mood, self-esteem, and social support).…

Behavioral Health and Interventions Physical Activity and Health Psychological Well-being and Life Satisfaction

Benefits from one session of deep and slow breathing on vagal tone and anxiety in young and older adults

Valentin Magnon, Fréderic Dutheil, Guillaume T. Vallet

PubMed • Summary & key facts • 2021 • 124 citations

This clinical trial tested one session of deep and slow breathing (DSB) in 47 adults (22 older, 25 younger). After the single DSB session, high-frequency (HF) heart rate variability increased and self-reported state anxiety went down in both age groups. The rise in HF power was significantly larger in older…

Anxiety, Depression, Psychometrics, Treatment, Cognitive Processes Behavioral Health and Interventions Heart Rate Variability and Autonomic Control

A Meta-Analysis of the Effects of Social Media Exposure to Upward Comparison Targets on Self-Evaluations and Emotions

Carly McComb, Eric J. Vanman, Stephanie J. Tobin

Media Psychology • Summary & key facts • 2023 • 100 citations

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…

Behavioral Health and Interventions Impact of Technology on Adolescents Media Influence and Health

The Long-term Effects of Self-Esteem on Depression: The Roles of Alcohol and Substance Use During Young Adulthood

Kiwoong Park, Tse‐Chuan Yang

Sociological Quarterly • Summary & key facts • 2017 • 37 citations

This study followed people from the National Longitudinal Surveys of Youth 1979 to see how self-esteem in young adulthood links to depression later on. The authors found that, for men, alcohol and drug use in young adulthood partly explained how low self-esteem led to more depression. They also found that…

Behavioral Health and Interventions Psychological Well-being and Life Satisfaction Substance Abuse Treatment and Outcomes

Attention deficits linked with proclivity to explore while foraging

David L. Barack, Vera U. Ludwig, Felipe Parodi, Nuwar Ahmed, Elizabeth M. Brannon, Arjun Ramakrishnan, et al.

Proceedings of the Royal Society B Biological Sciences • Summary & key facts • 2024 • 21 citations

This pre-registered study tested whether ADHD-like traits relate to how people search for rewards. In an online task, participants chose either to keep collecting from a depleting patch or to leave and go to a new one. They also completed a well-validated ADHD self-report screen. People left patches sooner when…

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder Behavioral Health and Interventions Neural and Behavioral Psychology Studies

Avoidant attachment attenuates the need-threat for social exclusion but induces the threat for over-inclusion

Tsubasa Izaki, Wei Wang, Taishi Kawamoto

Frontiers in Psychology • Summary & key facts • 2022 • 4 citations

Researchers tested 133 undergraduate students to see how anxious (AX) and avoidant (AV) attachment styles change people’s feelings after being excluded, equally included, or over-included in a ball-toss game. They measured threats to four needs (belonging, self-esteem, control, meaningful existence). People high in avoidant attachment felt less threat to self-esteem…

Attachment and Relationship Dynamics Behavioral Health and Interventions Death Anxiety and Social Exclusion

Associations Between Physical Activity, Sedentary Behaviour, Sleep Quality, and Anxiety Among Healthy Pain-Free Adults in Saudi Arabia: An Online Cross-Sectional Survey

Mansour Abdullah Alshehri, Areej Ali Alzylai, Joree Abdulrahman Alshehri, Lana Zaid Alsharif, Wafa Saleem Almalki, Hammad Alhasan, et al.

Sports • Summary & key facts • 2025 0 citations

This online study surveyed 185 healthy, pain-free adults in Saudi Arabia between December 2024 and April 2025 using validated Arabic questionnaires for physical activity, sleep quality, and anxiety. On average participants reported 1730.02 MET·min/week of physical activity and 6.77 hours/day of sedentary time. The researchers found no significant links between…

Behavioral Health and Interventions Physical Activity and Health Sleep and related disorders

Roots and Shoots: A Pilot Parallel Randomised Controlled Trial Assessing the Feasibility and Acceptability of a Nature-Based Self-Help Intervention for Low Wellbeing

Matthew Owens, Claire Houghton, Paul Beattie, Hannah L. I. Bunce

Behavioral Sciences • Summary & key facts • 2025 0 citations

This small randomized study tested two 20‑minute nature-based audio exercises — guided imagery (GI) and a nature‑based meditation (NBM) — in 40 adults (average age 38.6). Over a 2‑week period with three measurement points, both exercises were linked with statistically significant improvements in well‑being, self‑compassion, and mindfulness, and reductions in…

Behavioral Health and Interventions Mindfulness and Compassion Interventions Urban Green Space and Health