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“Keep a gratitude journal.” A common statement made to people who are depressed or experiencing other negative emotions and research says gratitude can increase happiness.And it makes us more altruistic because it biases the brain’s reward system towards rewards for others. [More]

To learn new things, we must sometimes fail because when a challenge is too simple, we don’t learn anything new. According to a study in the journal Nature Communications, learning is optimized when we fail 15% of the time [More]

Recreational cannabis use is associated with the relief of stress, anxiety, and depression. A study in the Journal of Affective Disorders reviews the evidence surrounding inhaled cannabis use for mental health. Most sessions reviewed showed a positive impact on stress, anxiety, and depressive symptoms. [More]

Imposter syndrome has a significant impact on women entrepreneurs as discussed in an earlier post. Moving beyond imposter syndrome isn’t about denying it. While belief about lack of ability may be a real thing in some cases, there are ways to manage it. [More]

A recent study in JMIR found that data from Fitbit and smartphone devices could help identify college students experiencing loneliness. The results suggest “fine-grained behavioral features” from mobile and wearable devices can distinguish between high and low levels of loneliness. Students [More]

Facebook rolled out new photo filters and stickers to “act as an invitation for friends who might be struggling to reach out for support through Messenger.” This is meant to be a tool to encourage users to connect with friends online about mental health. But there are concerns about passive data collection on different platforms, such as Facebook, so it is debatable whether this will help or hurt mental health. [More]

A new survey from the American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM) found that 88% of U.S. adults lose sleep due to staying up late to watch multiple episodes of a show. [More]

A recent study by Barna, an evangelical Christian polling firm, asked 15,000 people aged 18 to 35 across 25 countries about their mental health and how it relates to churchgoing habits. The findings suggest that there are connections between practicing faith and overall well-being. [More]

Virtual reality is one tool for distancing where people create a realistic image of themselves, matching appearance and movement. By virtually “body-swapping”, they can view their virtual selves from a distance. And when there is distance from a problem, people detach from it emotionally and gain a different perspective. [More]

A recent study invited people to engage in both extroverted and introverted behavior, each for one week. Results showed an increase in well-being when participants were assigned to act extroverted and a decrease in well-being when assigned to act introverted. [More]