Stress News

February 18, 2026

Top Headlines

Depression May Be the Brain’s Early Warning Sign of Parkinson’s or Dementia

Feb. 11, 2026 Depression in older adults may sometimes signal the early stages of Parkinson’s disease or Lewy body dementia. Researchers found that depression often appears years before diagnosis and remains ...

Menopause Linked to Grey Matter Loss in Key Brain Regions

Feb. 7, 2026 A major study suggests menopause is linked to changes in brain structure, mental health, and sleep. Brain scans revealed grey matter loss in areas tied to memory and emotional regulation, while many women reported increased anxiety, depression, and ...

Scientists Discover Protein That Could Heal Leaky Gut and Ease Depression

Feb. 2, 2026 Chronic stress can damage the gut’s protective lining, triggering inflammation that may worsen depression. New research shows that stress lowers levels of a protein called Reelin, which plays a key role in both gut repair and brain health. ...

Patients Tried Everything for Depression Then This Implant Changed Their Lives

Jan. 20, 2026 Researchers report that vagus nerve stimulation helped many people with long-standing, treatment-resistant depression feel better—and stay better—for at least two years. Most participants had ...

Scientists Discover Why Mental Disorders so Often Overlap

Jan. 3, 2026 A massive global genetics study is reshaping how we understand mental illness—and why diagnoses so often pile up. By analyzing genetic data from more than six million people, researchers uncovered deep genetic connections across 14 psychiatric ...

Anxiety and Insomnia Linked to Sharp Drops in Key Immune Cells

Dec. 15, 2025 Natural killer cells act as the immune system’s rapid-response team, but the stress of anxiety and insomnia may be quietly thinning their ranks. A study of young women in Saudi Arabia found that both conditions were linked to significantly fewer ...

Fast Depression Relief? Nitrous Oxide Shows Remarkable Potential

Dec. 2, 2025 Nitrous oxide may offer quick, short-term relief for people with major depression, especially those who haven’t responded to standard medications. The meta-analysis found rapid improvements after a single dose and more sustained benefits after ...

Your Anxiety May Be Controlled by Hidden Immune Cells in the Brain

Nov. 13, 2025 Researchers have uncovered surprising evidence that anxiety may be controlled not by neurons but by two dueling groups of immune cells inside the brain. These microglia act like biological pedals—one pushing anxiety forward and the other holding ...

Scientists Find Brain Chemical Tied to Trauma and Depression

Nov. 10, 2025 Researchers identified SGK1 as a key chemical connecting childhood trauma to depression and suicidal behavior. High SGK1 levels were found in the brains of suicide victims and in people with genetic variants linked to early adversity. Drugs that ...

Scientists Discover a Surprising Way to Quiet the Anxious Mind

Oct. 27, 2025 Generalized anxiety disorder affects millions, often trapping sufferers in cycles of fear and isolation that conventional medications barely relieve. At UCSF, neuroscientist Jennifer Mitchell is testing a pharmaceutical form of LSD called MM120, ...

A Single Dose of Psilocybin May Rewire the Brain for Lasting Relief

Oct. 2, 2025 Penn researchers found that psilocybin can calm brain circuits tied to pain and mood, easing both physical suffering and emotional distress in animal studies. The compound works in the anterior cingulate cortex, bypassing injury sites and offering a ...

Sleepless Nights May Raise Dementia Risk by 40%, Mayo Clinic Reveals

Sep. 14, 2025 Chronic insomnia may do more than leave you groggy, it could speed up brain aging. A large Mayo Clinic study found that people with long-term sleep troubles were 40% more likely to develop dementia or cognitive impairment, with brain scans showing ...

Latest Headlines

updated 2:07am EST

A Hidden Brain Problem May Be an Early Warning for Alzheimer’s

Jan. 3, 2026 Researchers discovered that clogged brain “drains” show up early in people at risk of Alzheimer’s disease. These blockages, easily seen on standard MRI scans, are tied to toxic protein buildup ...

Scientists Uncover Meditation’s Hidden Side Effects

Nov. 5, 2025 Meditation is widely praised for its mental health benefits, but new research shows that it can also produce unexpected side effects for some people—from anxiety and dissociation to functional ...

Feeling Stressed? Science Finds a Simple Way to Take Back Control

Oct. 20, 2025 Feeling in control may be the key to conquering daily stress. Penn State researchers found that people were 62% more likely to resolve everyday hassles on days when they felt greater control. This ...

Your Type of Depression Could Shape Your Body’s Future Health

Oct. 12, 2025 Different types of depression affect the body in different ways. Atypical, energy-related depression raises the risk of diabetes, while melancholic depression increases the likelihood of heart ...

Study Finds Cannabis Improves Sleep Where Other Drugs Fail

Sep. 2, 2025 A long-term study following insomnia patients treated with cannabis-based medical products revealed sustained improvements in sleep quality, mood, and pain management over 18 months. Most ...

This New Drug Could Help PTSD Patients Finally Let Go of Trauma

Aug. 3, 2025 Researchers discovered that PTSD may be driven by excess GABA from astrocytes, not neurons. This chemical imbalance disrupts the brain’s ability to forget fear. A new drug, KDS2010, reverses this ...

People With Eating Disorders Say Cannabis and Psychedelics Help More Than Antidepressants

July 24, 2025 A massive global survey has revealed that people with eating disorders often turn to cannabis and psychedelics like magic mushrooms and LSD to ease ...

Tai Chi, Yoga, and Jogging Rival Pills for Beating Insomnia

July 17, 2025 Yoga, Tai Chi, walking, and jogging may be some of the best natural remedies for improving sleep and tackling insomnia, according to a large analysis comparing various treatments. While cognitive ...

Can’t Sleep, Can’t Focus, Can’t Thrive? ADHD and Insomnia May Be a Vicious Cycle

July 16, 2025 Struggling to sleep might be the hidden reason why adults with ADHD traits often feel less satisfied with life. New research reveals a strong link ...

How a Hidden Brain Circuit Fuels Fibromyalgia, Migraines, and PTSD

July 10, 2025 What if your brain is the reason some pain feels unbearable? Scientists at the Salk Institute have discovered a hidden brain circuit that gives pain its emotional punch—essentially transforming ...

Earlier Headlines

New Research Shows Monday Stress Is Etched Into Your Biology

July 7, 2025 Feeling jittery as the week kicks off isn’t just a mood—it leaves a biochemical footprint. Researchers tracked thousands of older adults and found those who dread Mondays carry elevated cortisol ...

Feeling Mental Exhaustion? These Two Areas of the Brain May Control Whether People Give Up or Persevere

July 7, 2025 When you're mentally exhausted, your brain might be doing more behind the scenes than you think. In a new study using functional MRI, researchers uncovered two key brain regions that activate ...

Single Psilocybin Trip Delivers Two Years of Depression Relief for Cancer Patients

June 16, 2025 Psilocybin, the active ingredient in magic mushrooms, might just revolutionize how depression and anxiety are treated in cancer patients. In a groundbreaking trial, a single dose combined with ...

Sustained in the Brain: How Lasting Emotions Arise from Brief Stimuli, in Humans and Mice

May 29, 2025 Humans and mice share persistent brain-activity patterns in response to adverse sensory experience, scientists find, opening a window to our emotions and, perhaps, neuropsychiatric ...

Promising New Way to Modulate Brain Cell Activity to Potentially Treat Major Depressive Disorder in Adults

May 21, 2025 A mechanism involving potassium channels in the brain that control brain cell activity could provide a new and fundamentally different way of treating depression symptoms in adults with major ...

Could Personality Tests Help Make Bipolar Disorder Treatment More Precise?

May 16, 2025 A new study suggests that it might be possible to personalize care for people with bipolar disorder, using the results of detailed personality tests. It finds that such tests might help identify ...

Mindfulness Course Effective in People With Difficult-to-Treat Depression

May 14, 2025 Mindfulness-based therapy can offer significant relief for individuals who are still depressed after receiving treatment, according to a new clinical ...

Postpartum Depression and Bonding: Long-Term Effects on School-Age Children

May 14, 2025 Postpartum maternal mental health and mother-to-infant bonding are well-established as critical factors in a child's psychosocial development. However, few studies have explored the combined ...

Combinations of Chronic Illnesses Could Double Risk of Depression

May 13, 2025 People with multiple long-term physical health conditions are at a significantly greater risk of developing depression, a study ...

New Chronic Pain Therapy Retrains the Brain to Process Emotions

May 6, 2025 Researchers have created an effective therapy for chronic pain that reduces pain intensity by focusing on emotional ...

Neighborhood Stress May Impact Kids' Brains -- And Increase Depression Risk

May 5, 2025 Children who grow up in disadvantaged neighborhoods -- areas with higher levels of crime and deprivation, and lower access to community resources -- are at risk of developing depression, and new ...

PTSD Patients Show Long-Term Benefits With Vagus Nerve Stimulation

May 5, 2025 In a recent clinical study, patients with treatment-resistant post-traumatic stress disorder were symptom-free up to six months after completing traditional therapy paired with vagus nerve ...

New 'Hidden in Plain Sight' Facial and Eye Biomarkers for Tinnitus Severity Could Unlock Path to Testing Treatments

Apr. 30, 2025 Researchers have identified biomarkers for tinnitus severity in subtle facial movements and pupil dilation that can be captured on video recordings. Until now, there has been no objective way to ...

Reasons Why Anxiety and Depression Promote Low Self-Belief

Apr. 29, 2025 Researchers have uncovered why individuals who experience anxiety and depression often struggle with persistent low ...

Dopamine Signals When a Fear Can Be Forgotten

Apr. 28, 2025 A new study shows how a dopamine circuit between two brain regions enables mice to extinguish fear after a peril has ...

What Happens in the Brain When Your Mind Blanks

Apr. 24, 2025 Mind blanking is a common experience with a wide variety of definitions ranging from feeling 'drowsy' to 'a complete absence of conscious awareness.' Neuroscientists and ...

Father's Mental Health Can Impact Children for Years

Apr. 19, 2025 Five-year-olds exposed to paternal depression are more likely to have behavioral issues in grade school, researchers ...

Insomnia and Sleep Medication Use Connected to Disability in Older Adults

Apr. 18, 2025 For adults over the age of 65, higher levels of both insomnia symptoms and sleep medication use were associated with higher risk of disability a year later, according to a new ...

Stress, Depression Factor Into Link Between Insomnia, Heavy Drinking

Apr. 14, 2025 A new study suggests that perceived stress and depression factor into the relationship between insomnia and hazardous drinking -- perhaps not a surprise. But because the relationship between insomnia ...

Police Officers Face Twice the Risk of Traumatic Brain Injuries and PTSD, Survey Finds

Apr. 11, 2025 Police officers are more than twice as likely to have traumatic brain injuries compared to the general ...