Behavioral Health | Penn Today

Does the Navy SEAL power nap really leave you feeling rested in eight minutes?

Sigrid Veasey of the Perelman School of Medicine says that most people, especially those who do high levels of physical activity, could benefit from trying the Navy SEAL nap position.

College admission: This is not a race

Admissions Dean Whitney Soule explains the reasoning behind a new short-answer prompt for Penn applicants that emphasizes gratitude for others.

A person, Helaine Heggs, standing outside in front of a tree.

‘Trusted messengers’ distill science, debunk myths about COVID-19 vaccine

VaxUpPhillyFamilies, led by Penn’s School of Nursing, engages Philadelphia parents and caregivers as vaccine ambassadors to identify concerns and provide support related to COVID-19 vaccines, increase vaccine uptake, and address social support needs.

An illustration of an old television with a person in sunglasses on it. On top sits a laptop computer with an arm reaching out past the screen, holding a rolled up newspaper. Another newspaper lays flat on top of the screen.

TV news top driver of political echo chambers in U.S.

Duncan Watts and colleagues found that 17% of Americans consume television news from partisan left- or right-leaning sources compared to just 4% online. For TV news viewers, this audience segregation tends to last month over month.

Exercise more than the recommended amounts for the longest life, study says

Katy Milkman of the Wharton School is quoted on the health benefits of adding behavioral incentives and scheduled reminders to workout routines.

A put-out cigarette standing on its end, next to half of another crumpled cigarette. In the background are two whole cigarettes.

Q&A

Parental nicotine use and addiction risk for children

In research done using rats, Penn Nursing’s Heath Schmidt and colleagues found that males that engaged in voluntary nicotine use had offspring more likely to do so, too. Some offspring also developed impaired memory and anxiety-like behavior.

The door of a prison cell open, with closed cells behind it.

Incarceration associated with negative mental health risks for Black men

A review of literature from the past decade found that for this group in the U.S. such a detention was linked to higher levels of psychological distress, more severe symptoms of PTSD and depression, and more.

A hand holding a cigarette with just the torso of the person showing in the background.

How do media depictions of tobacco influence smoking decisions for young adults?

Two studies from the Annenberg School for Communication’s Robert Hornik find that media portrayals of such behaviors can change actions and perception, but how and by how much depends on a range of factors.

graphic of person tending to plants growing out of a person's head, suggesting a flourishing mind

Both nature and nurture contribute to signatures of socioeconomic status in the brain

In the first study of its kind, Penn researchers and an international team of collaborators found that genetics and environmental factors contribute to how socioeconomic status shapes the architecture of the brain.

A blue screen made to look like the inside of a computer, with many small blue lit-up icons, including a person, an @ symbol, an envelope, a pin drop, an hourglass, and a computer screen.

What can browser history inadvertently reveal about a person’s health?

The Penn-CMU Digital Health Privacy Initiative is trying to answer that question by mapping third-party tracking across the online health ecosystem. Their work shows possible implications for ad targeting, credit scores, insurance coverage, and more.

Filters