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Behavioral Health
An improv class that enriches the mind and soul, even remotely
The Penn Memory Center’s Cognitive Comedy program gives people with memory impairments and their caregivers a no-pressure space to think creatively, socialize, and be part of a community.
Is the threat of COVID vaccine hesitancy getting enough attention?
The ultimate key to ending the coronavirus pandemic is developing an effective vaccine and administering it to the population. But a number of trends are converging in ways that may prevent the achievement of that population-wide herd immunity.
The overlooked effects of fireworks
For veterans living with post-traumatic stress disorder, fireworks and loud pyrotechnics can add stress and trigger physical reactions, as they mimic the stimuli of combat.
Can spending time in nature prevent or lessen postpartum depression?
Nurtured in Nature, a pilot project in Black communities conducted by Penn Medicine’s Eugenia South, aims to find out.
Police killings and Black mental health
Specialists from across the Penn community discuss the mental health impacts of Black people being subjected to videos of African Americans being killed by the police.
When alcohol and a pandemic mix
Edwin Kim, medical director of Penn Medicine’s Charles O’Brien Center for Addiction Treatment, discusses how the COVID-19 pandemic has affected how people use—and misuse—alcohol.
The trauma that underlies student behavior and educators’ responses
As educators work to understand their students’ emotional needs, they must also consider how they themselves are impacted by traumatic events. Says Penn GSE’s Marsha Richardson, everyone is reacting to stressors and trauma in their unique way.
At a community health center, doctors offer COVID testing—and screening for depression
The Sayre Health Center in West Philadelphia is including anxiety and depression screening with COVID-19 testing, a necessity for a population especially at risk for both.
To keep firearms safe from children, look to behavioral economics
Mental shortcuts and cognitive biases may factor into whether a gun gets locked up, separate from ammunition. New findings suggest several ways to positively influence this behavior.
Why do people react differently when confronting the same threat?
In the face of the coronavirus, some people collected household goods. Others ignored the warnings altogether. Two Penn researchers explain why both responses are normal and how to find a middle ground if you disagree with those around you.
In the News
Americans are sleeping more than ever. See how you compare
Mathias Basner of the Perelman School of Medicine says that work and traveling are the major sleep killers, with the majority of traveling being commuting to and from work.
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How does fat leave the body? Experts explain the weight loss process
Colleen Tewksbury of the School of Nursing and Perelman School of Medicine says that waist circumference is a more accessible and potentially more helpful measure for fat loss than stepping on a scale.
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When it’s time for an aging driver to hit the brakes
Lauren Massimo of the School of Nursing says that losing the ability to drive is a major and dehumanizing loss for older adults.
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Many parents give their children melatonin at night. Here’s why you may not want to
Ilene Rosen of the Perelman School of Medicine supports practicing proven-bedtime-routine behaviors and avoiding bright lights and electronics in the bedroom to encourage the body’s natural production of melatonin.
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Why are older Americans drinking so much?
David Oslin of the Perelman School of Medicine says that alcohol use can have much more disastrous consequences for older adults, whose bodies cannot process it as quickly.
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Best CPAP alternatives
Richard Schwab of the Perelman School of Medicine says that obstructive sleep apnea causes breathing to pause during sleep when something like the tongue or relaxed throat muscles blocks the airway.
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