Behavioral Health

Does teen cannabis use lead to behavior problems—or vice versa?

Research led by the Annenberg Public Policy Center finds that cannabis use among teens does not appear to lead to greater conduct problems or greater affiliation with other teens who smoke cannabis, which previous research had suggested to be possible.

Penn Today Staff

Workplace pumping made easier

Listening to employee feedback, Penn Medicine added hospital-grade pumps and doubled its lactation spaces, taking strides to help women meet their breastfeeding goals.

Michele W. Berger

Being well and doing well

Benoit Dubé, the chief wellness officer at Penn, Giang T. Nguyen, executive director of Student Health Service, and Meeta Kumar, deputy executive director of CAPS, discuss Penn’s efforts to strengthen and support the health and wellness of students.

Greg Johnson

The psychology of binge-watching

Though binge-watching—and even the way we crave television at all—is a relatively recent phenomenon, the psychology behind why we become consumed in stories is actually a tale as old as time.

Penn Today Staff

Stigmatizing views and myths about psoriasis are pervasive

New multidisciplinary research involving both psychologists and dermatologists from the Perelman School of Medicine is the first to examine how common this stigma may be among the general population of the United States.

Penn Today Staff



In the News


The Washington Post

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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Women’s Health

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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The New York Times

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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USA Today

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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The New York Times

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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Consumer Reports

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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