The Washington Post (4/9, Cha) reports, “A growing body of research links heavy social media use not only to declines in mental health but to measurable cognitive effects – on attention, memory and focus – that in some studies resemble accelerated aging.” However, “science also suggests we have more control than we realize when it comes to reversing this damage, and the solution is surprisingly simple: Take a break.” In a study“published in PNAS Nexus and involving more than 467 participants with an average age of 32, even a short time” without Internet access on their phones “produced striking results – effectively erasing a decade of age-related cognitive decline.” The study participants’ “time online decreased from 314 minutes to 161 minutes, and by the end of the period the participants had improvements in sustained attention, mental health as well as self-reported well-being.”

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— “The Washington Post (requires login and subscription)

Psychiatric News (4/9) reports a study found that patients with mental illness “who have severe symptoms or a co-occurring substance use disorder can benefit just as well as their peers from supported employment programs like individual placement services (IPS).” The researchers “analyzed employment trajectories among 1,656 participants in a randomized controlled trial of enhanced IPS services that measured employment, health, and quality-of-life outcomes over three years.” They observed that “individuals who had a history of employment and/or higher educational attainment were much more likely to experience a positive work trajectory (going from low to high employment or staying consistently high). In contrast, individuals approved for disability benefits were more likely to have consistently low employment.” The researchers concluded “that policy and programmatic efforts should focus on early, sustained educational and vocational support, particularly for youths with mental disorders.” The study was published in Psychiatric Services.

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— “Psychiatric Symptom Severity or Presence of SUD Doesn’t Limit Success of Employment Services, Psychiatric News, April 9, 2026

HealthDay (4/7, Thompson) reports a study found that “preschool and kindergarten kids with up to a half-hour daily of unsupervised screen time wind up with poorer communication skills and a lower vocabulary.” According to researchers, “kids who averaged 10 to 30 minutes of solitary screen time a day tended to have worse language skills and were more apt to have problems with their conduct and emotions.” They noted that young children “pick up language from in-person interactions,” and that “video screens simply can’t replace the language exposure and social experience kids gain when they play and engage with peers.” The study was published in Research on Child and Adolescent Psychopathology.

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— “Preschoolers’ Solitary Screen Time Could Mean Behavior Problems, Language Difficulties Later On,”Dennis Thompson, HealthDay, April 7, 2026

NBC News (4/8, Sullivan) reports research found that “regular exercise and about seven hours of sleep a night could protect brain health in the long term,” while “long bouts of sedentary behavior may increase dementia risk.” Simple lifestyle changes may “reduce a person’s risk of late-onset dementia by as much as 25%, according to the study.” A person’s overall Alzheimer’s disease risk is about 11%, but “with the suggested changes in lifestyle, the average person’s risk decreases to about 8%.” The study found that “breaking up longer periods of sitting had the greatest effect.” The findings were published in PLOS One.

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— “These simple lifestyle changes could decrease dementia risk by 25%,”Kaitlin Sullivan, NBC News, April 8, 2026

MedPage Today (4/8, George) reports a study found that “the number of U.S. patients prescribed long-term opioid therapy declined from 2015 to 2023, but co-prescribing of opioids with gabapentinoids increased.” Researchers found that in “2023, 4.2 million people had an active long-term opioid therapy episode, defined as a period of opioid dispensing lasting at least 90 days. This represents a 24.3% drop from 5.6 million people in 2015.” Across the same time period, “co-prescribing of opioids with gabapentinoids (e.g., gabapentin and pregabalin) rose substantially, from 47% in 2015 to 58.7% in 2023. Stimulant co-prescriptions increased from 5.9% to 6.7%, while benzodiazepine co-prescribing decreased from 43.8% to 33.5%. Additionally, between 2015 and 2023, the mean age of patients with long-term opioid therapy increased from 52.5 to 60.5 years.” Researchers concluded, “Because older adults are at higher risk of adverse events from polypharmacy, the increased rate of co-prescribing, particularly with gabapentinoids, raises additional safety concerns.” The study was discussed in a JAMA research letter.

The American Journal of Managed Care (4/8, Shaw) adds that the “demographics of who stays on opioids for the long term have shifted significantly. The mean (SD) patient age climbed from 52.5 (12.9) years in 2015 to 60.5 (12.4) years in 2023. The share of patients aged 65 and older more than doubled, rising from 17.0% to 38.8%. An increase was also seen in patients aged 55 to 64 years, from 25.5% to 27.5.” An encouraging sign is that “average daily dosing fell, from a mean (SD) of 47.9 (71.3) morphine milligram equivalents per day in 2015 to 38.6 (50.6) in 2023.”

Psychiatric News (4/8) also provides coverage.

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— MedPage Today (requires login and subscription)