Behavioral Health

A study co-authored by researchers from the Perelman School of Medicine finds that the brain circuits involved in forming habits can essentially turn offline in people with eating disorders.

A 2022 study by Henry Kranzler of the Perelman School of Medicine and colleagues found that even light-to-moderate drinking levels, such as a couple of glasses of wine or beer per week, could reduce brain volume.

A study co-authored by Matthew Killingsworth of the Wharton School and PIK Professor Barbara Mellers finds that happiness increases when incomes rise above $75,000 for all but 20% of the population, the “least happy.”

Nancy A. Hodgson of the School of Nursing says that social isolation and loneliness are tied to poor health outcomes.

Bart De Jonghe of the School of Nursing says that nausea’s subjectivity makes it difficult to measure in humans, let alone animals.

A 2018 study by Melissa Hunt of the School of Arts & Sciences and colleagues found that lessening social media use to 30 minutes a day can significantly decrease anxiety, depression, loneliness, sleep problems, and fear of missing out.

Katy Milkman of the Wharton School says that people should approach their habit-setting goals one bite at a time with a plan, flexibility, fun, and support.

A 2020 study by researchers from Penn and Georgetown University found that changing how a situation was framed impacted empathic and prosocial responses to another person in distress.

Asaf Mazar of the Wharton School says that one way to establish a new habit is to tag it onto an ingrained one.