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A new study published in PLOS Biology looked at recommendations for daytime, evening, and nighttime indoor light exposure to best support physiology, sleep, and wakefulness in healthy adults. “It has been known for some time that our daily patterns of light exposure exert important influences on health and well-being by regulating our internal body clock, cycles of hormone release, night-time sleep and daytime alertness,” study author Timothy Brown told us. [More]

A new study says perinatal mental illness rates have tripled during the pandemic. The study looked at the experiences of 670 women in the U.S. between February and July 2020. The women completed an online survey that contained the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale. Researchers found that one in three women screened positive for postpartum depression and one in five had major depressive symptoms. [More]

A significant number of people who die by suicide may have undiagnosed autism. Researchers from the University of Cambridge’s Autism Research Centre and the University of Nottingham found in a study that a notable number of people who die by suicide have evidence of autistic traits at elevated levels. [More]

Those living with disabilities during the COVID-19 pandemic are experiencing high levels of depression and anxiety. Researchers from Yale, Oregon State University, Olin College of Engineering, Hiram College and Macalester College found that there has been a significant increase in the number of people with disabilities living with depression since the start of the pandemic. [More]

March 5th is Dissociative Identity Disorder Awareness Day. Dissociative Identity Disorder or DID for short, is the body-mind response to chronic childhood trauma. When a child experiences abuse or other forms of trauma on a regular basis, often perpetrated by caregivers or loved ones, he/she has no escape and unconsciously draws on this coping strategy. A new memoir titled, Crazy: Reclaiming Life from the Shadow of Traumatic Memory, by author, Lyn Barrett, looks at her life identifying and healing from DID. Barrett is a retired school teacher, principal, and pastor. [More]

A new study published in PLOS One looked at depression, anxiety, and happiness in dog owners and potential dog owners during the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States. “Our study is about the role dogs may have played on owners’ psychological wellbeing when most of the USA was under lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic,” study author Francois Martin told us. “We wanted to know if dog owners would show less signs of depression and anxiety, and if they would report a greater sense of wellbeing.” [More]

A new study published in the Lancet Planetary Health Journal looked at a global survey on climate anxiety in children and young people and their beliefs about government responses to climate change. “We know from smaller studies that young people around the world experience climate anxiety and we also know that young people can feel betrayed by those in power who are failing to act on the climate crisis,” study author Elizabeth Marks told us. “However, large scale research was lacking and we wanted to know how widespread these experiences are.” [More]

Botulinum toxin is a medicine that is often used for wrinkles, to help ease migraines, for muscle spasms, and to assist with incontinence. Now research published in Scientific Reports has found that people who had botox injections across four different areas of the body reported less anxiety than their peers. [More]

A new study published in the Journal of Neuroscience looked at visual processes in the brain. “We were focusing particularly in the older part of the brain or mid-brain, which is important for lower-order animals such as frogs, lizards, and birds,” study author Masatoshi Kasai told us. “The superior colliculus is the center for sensory integration and sensory-motor transformation.” [More]

Carter Weinstein is a freshman at Georgetown University and the author of Conquering Fear: One Teen's Guide to Overcoming Anxiety. Weinstein believes so many teens have anxiety currently because of increasing stress due to the pandemic. “Teens today have an unprecedented amount of stress due to an immense amount of schoolwork, social pressure, and academic competition and college preparation,” Weinstein told us. "Teens are prone to have anxiety already, thus the pandemic (restricting them from seeing their friends, secluding them behind a screen, etc.) has only made matters worse.” [More]