HoldsUp

Ashley Mason

Osher Center for Integrative Medicine at UCSF

Ashley Mason is a clinical psychologist and the director of the Sleep, Eating, and Affect Laboratory at the Osher Center for Integrative Medicine at UCSF. Her research focuses on non-pharmacological treatments for depression, insomnia, and eating behaviors, including cognitive behavioral therapy and whole-body hyperthermia. Additionally, her published work examines the application of wearable device metrics to analyze sleep, body temperature dynamics, and physiological health.

31 claims checked on air: 2 context 1 overstated 27 supported 1 unverified

What they said on air

2 citing their own research

0:03:55supportedmoderateDr. Ashley Mason on Sauna Use for Depression, Conquering Ins

A 2016 randomized controlled trial by Janssen et al. showed that a single session of whole-body hyperthermia significantly reduced depression symptoms within one week, with the effect maintained across six weeks.

"So in 2016 this paper came out by Janssen and a bunch of other co-authors where they reported on a whole-body hyperthermia protocol that they had used to test as a treatment for clinical depression... The drops in depression within a week were pretty impressive, and what's more, those drops were maintained six weeks later. And this was one whole-body hyperthermia session." (said at 0:03:55)

A 2016 double-blind, sham-controlled randomized clinical trial by Janssen et al. evaluated the effect of a single session of whole-body hyperthermia (WBH) versus a sham heating procedure in 30 unmedicated adults with major depressive disorder. Depressive symptoms on the 17-item Hamilton Depression Rating Scale were significantly lower in the active WBH group compared with the sham group at week 1 (-6.53 points; 95% CI, -9.90 to -3.16; P < .001) and remained significantly reduced throughout the 6-week follow-up period (week 6: -4.27 points; 95% CI, -7.94 to -0.61; P = .02). Certainty is moderate due to the small sample size (n = 30 randomized).

0:03:55supportedhighDr. Ashley Mason on Sauna Use for Depression, Conquering Ins

In the Janssen 2016 whole-body hyperthermia protocol for depression, participants were heated until reaching a core body temperature of 38.5 °C, after which heating was turned off and core temperature continued rising to approximately 38.85 °C during a one-hour cool-down period.

"these people who were randomized to receive whole-body hyperthermia went into this sauna tent, if you will, the Heckel machine, and they were heated until they reached a core body temperature of 38.5 degrees Celsius. After that time, the sauna was turned off and they stayed in there anyway for another hour, just lying there, and during that time their temperature actually continued to rise all the way up to about 38.85 or so degrees Celsius." (said at 0:03:55)

The statement accurately describes the protocol used in the 2016 randomized clinical trial by Janssen et al. (JAMA Psychiatry). In the trial, participants with major depressive disorder randomized to active whole-body hyperthermia used a Heckel infrared hyperthermia device (Heckel HT3000) and were heated until reaching a target core body temperature of 38.5 °C. After active heating was ceased, participants remained in the device for a 60-minute retention/cool-down period, during which thermal inertia caused core body temperature to continue rising, reaching a mean peak of approximately 38.85 °C.

0:05:20supportedhighDr. Ashley Mason on Sauna Use for Depression, Conquering Ins

In the 2016 Janssen whole-body hyperthermia trial, approximately 71% of participants in the sham control condition believed they had received the active whole-body hyperthermia treatment.

"Some 71% of people in that control condition thought they got the actual sauna treatment." (said at 0:05:20)

In the 2016 randomized clinical trial by Janssen et al. investigating whole-body hyperthermia (WBH) for major depressive disorder, the sham procedure successfully blinded the majority of participants: immediately following the intervention, 10 of 14 participants (71.4%) randomized to the sham control condition believed they had received the active WBH treatment.

0:09:11supportedmoderateDr. Ashley Mason on Sauna Use for Depression, Conquering Ins

Hyperhidrosis (excessive sweating) is one of the most common side effects of SSRI antidepressants.

"and it turns out that one of the most common side effects of SSRIs is hyperhidrosis, it's sweating." (said at 0:09:11)

Published clinical literature recognizes hyperhidrosis (excessive sweating) as a well-documented and common adverse effect of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) and other second-generation antidepressants. Studies report an incidence of antidepressant-induced excessive sweating ranging from approximately 5% to 22% among treated patients.

0:10:40needs contextlowDr. Ashley Mason on Sauna Use for Depression, Conquering Ins

Studies published by Dr. Avery in the 1980s and 1997 demonstrated that individuals with depression often exhibit elevated nighttime body temperature and impaired thermoregulatory cooling.

"Well, it turns out there is literature showing temperature dysregulation in people with depression back early 1980, '82, and then '97. A researcher, Dr. Avery, published some work showing that people with depression often have higher nighttime body temperatures and they're not as good at thermoregulatory cooling, they don't sweat as much to cool themselves down." (said at 0:10:40)

The speaker bundles two distinct claims regarding the research by Dr. David H. Avery: (1) that depressed individuals have elevated nocturnal body temperature and altered circadian temperature rhythms, and (2) that they fail to cool down due to reduced sweating. Small comparative studies by Avery and colleagues (1982, 1986, 1997, 1999) did observe significantly higher nocturnal core body temperatures and circadian phase delays in depressed patients compared to controls. However, when Avery et al. directly investigated nocturnal sweating in 1999, they found that nocturnal sweat rates in depressed patients did not differ significantly from healthy controls, concluding that impaired sweating was not the mechanism driving elevated nocturnal body temperatures.

0:11:15supportedlowDr. Ashley Mason on Sauna Use for Depression, Conquering Ins

A published paper showed that successful electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) treatment for depression is accompanied by a reduction in patients' core body temperature.

"There is a paper that showed that with successful ECT treatment, the patients' temperatures dropped alongside their depression." (said at 0:11:15)

A published clinical study by Szuba and colleagues (1997) evaluated core body temperature across 24-hour cycles before and after electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) in patients with major depression compared to healthy controls. The study found that elevated baseline 24-hour and sleep core body temperatures significantly decreased following a course of ECT, normalizing to levels seen in healthy controls alongside clinical improvement. Evidence is rated as low certainty due to the very small sample size (n=6 per group) and subsequent conflicting reports using peripheral oral temperature measurements.

0:11:30supportedlowDr. Ashley Mason on Sauna Use for Depression, Conquering Ins

In a 2013 open-label study by Hanusch et al., the decrease in core body temperature measured over five days following whole-body hyperthermia was correlated with a reduction in depression scores.

"And from that Hanusch paper, that single-arm sauna trial, what they found was that the decrease in body temperature was correlated with a decrease in depression, and they measured that decrease in body temperature pretty carefully: they were using an indwelling rectal probe. So they were really measuring it those five days afterward." (said at 0:11:30)

In an open-label pilot investigation published in 2013 (Hanusch et al., Am J Psychiatry), researchers administered whole-body hyperthermia to individuals with major depression and tracked core body temperature and depressive symptoms, finding that post-treatment thermoregulatory cooling was associated with reduced depression ratings. Subsequent randomized controlled trials (such as Janssen et al., 2016) confirmed significant antidepressant effects of whole-body hyperthermia compared to a sham control. Because the original Hanusch study was an uncontrolled open-label trial with a small sample size, the overall certainty for the specific correlation observed in that initial dataset is low.

0:22:15needs contextmoderateDr. Ashley Mason on Sauna Use for Depression, Conquering Ins

In clinical trials of whole-body hyperthermia for depression, heating sessions lasted approximately 107 minutes on average in the Janssen protocol and two hours in the Hanusch protocol.

"In these protocols, the Janssen protocol and the Hanusch protocol, people were in the sauna for well over an hour—two hours in the Hanusch case, and I think 107 minutes on average in the Janssen paper." (said at 0:22:15)

The clinical trial led by Janssen et al. (2016) evaluated whole-body hyperthermia (WBH) using a specific heating protocol (Heckel HT3000 device) in patients with major depressive disorder, where active heating took approximately 107 minutes on average to reach the target core body temperature of 38.5°C before a cooling-down phase. Similarly, clinical protocols for mild-to-moderate WBH (such as those studied by Hanusch and colleagues using thermal baths or infrared WBH devices) typically involve heating and heat-retention sessions lasting around two hours in total. However, these clinical trials utilized specialized whole-body hyperthermia devices or hot water immersion under medical supervision, not traditional saunas.

0:27:13unverifiedlowDr. Ashley Mason on Sauna Use for Depression, Conquering Ins

A review by Janssen and Raison found that whole-body hyperthermia protocols with a longer duration spent reaching peak body temperature showed larger effect sizes in depression score reduction.

"in a recent paper that actually incidentally Janssen and Raison had written together, they reviewed some of the studies that exist looking at whole-body hyperthermia for depression. And one of the things they noted is that the effect sizes of the change in depression from before to after the intervention—in other words, the size of the reduction in depression—was higher if people spent more time getting to that peak temperature." (said at 0:27:13)

No published record matching a review by Janssen and Raison that found whole-body hyperthermia protocols with longer durations spent reaching peak body temperature produce larger effect sizes in depression score reduction was located; this does not prove the claim false. While Janssen, Raison, and colleagues have published trials demonstrating the antidepressant effects of whole-body hyperthermia (such as JAMA Psychiatry 2016), an indexed review specifically analyzing effect sizes as a function of the rate or duration of heating to peak temperature was not found.

0:32:50supportedhighDr. Ashley Mason on Sauna Use for Depression, Conquering Ins

Cardiovascular disease and depression frequently co-occur as comorbidities.

"cardiovascular disease and depression, those often happen together." (said at 0:32:50)

Cardiovascular disease and depression demonstrate robust, bidirectional co-occurrence across epidemiological and clinical studies. Systematic reviews and meta-analyses consistently confirm that individuals with depression have a significantly elevated risk of developing cardiovascular events (such as myocardial infarction), while patients with established cardiovascular disease experience high rates of subsequent comorbid depression.

0:35:21supportedhighDr. Ashley Mason on Sauna Use for Depression, Conquering Ins

Exercise has been shown to increase brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF).

"It's one of the things that exercise has been shown to increase, and it's a thought that may help with neuroplasticity, right?" (said at 0:35:21)

Extensive systematic reviews and meta-analyses of randomized controlled trials demonstrate that both acute exercise bouts and regular exercise training significantly increase circulating levels of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF). A 2026 meta-analysis of acute cardiovascular exercise trials confirmed a statistically significant, moderate increase in circulating BDNF (pooled Hedges' g = 0.48, 95% CI [0.29, 0.68]), especially with moderate-to-vigorous exercise. Similarly, a 2025 meta-analysis of 35 randomized controlled trials in older adults found that chronic exercise training significantly increases resting BDNF levels across aerobic, resistance, and combined modalities (SMD = 0.56, 95% CI [0.28, 0.85]).

0:35:21supportedmoderateDr. Ashley Mason on Sauna Use for Depression, Conquering Ins

Depression has an inflammatory component in some individuals, as documented in Dr. Charles Raison's 2007 paper 'Cytokines Sing the Blues'.

"dating back to Dr. Charles Raison's paper in 2007 called "Cytokines Sing the Blues" looking at how depression may be quite inflammatory, right, for some people who have it." (said at 0:35:21)

The claim accurately describes Dr. Charles Raison and colleagues' influential review titled 'Cytokines sing the blues: inflammation and the pathogenesis of depression' (published in Trends in Immunology in 2006). The paper synthesized growing evidence demonstrating that inflammatory responses and elevated proinflammatory cytokines play a significant role in the pathophysiology of depression in a subset of patients.

0:35:21supportedhighDr. Ashley Mason on Sauna Use for Depression, Conquering Ins

Exercise induces a temporary acute inflammatory response that leads to beneficial adaptive anti-inflammatory changes.

"we know that exercise is temporarily inflammatory when you do it, but it's actually in a good way because of the adaptive changes that follow from that." (said at 0:35:21)

Acute bouts of exercise induce a transient elevation in cytokines and myokines (such as interleukin-6, IL-8, and tumor necrosis factor-alpha), which in turn stimulate the release of potent anti-inflammatory mediators (such as IL-10 and IL-1 receptor antagonist) and inhibit pro-inflammatory signaling. Repeated exercise stimuli drive chronic adaptive anti-inflammatory effects and reduce basal systemic inflammation.

0:36:23supportedhighDr. Ashley Mason on Sauna Use for Depression, Conquering Ins

Cognitive behavioral therapy is considered a gold standard and first-line treatment for depression.

"Cognitive behavioral therapy is a psychotherapy used for depression. It's considered gold standard. It's a first-line treatment for depression." (said at 0:36:23)

Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is widely recognized as a gold-standard psychotherapy and recommended as a first-line intervention for major depressive disorder across major clinical guidelines (such as NICE and APA). Extensive systematic reviews and network meta-analyses of hundreds of randomized controlled trials confirm that CBT—delivered individually, in groups, or in combination with pharmacotherapy—is an efficacious first-line treatment for both mild and moderate-to-severe depression.

0:40:26supportedhighDr. Ashley Mason on Sauna Use for Depression, Conquering Ins

Reviews and meta-analyses show that cognitive behavioral therapy is effective for depression.

"there's reviews, meta-analyses showing that cognitive behavioral therapy for depression works." (said at 0:40:26)

Extensive systematic reviews and meta-analyses encompassing hundreds of randomized controlled trials demonstrate that cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is an effective treatment for major depression in adults, yielding moderate to large effect sizes when compared to control conditions.

0:44:28supportedmoderateDr. Ashley Mason on Sauna Use for Depression, Conquering Ins

A 2017 study found that hot bath sessions improved depressive symptoms at two weeks, with the symptom reduction fading somewhat by four weeks.

"there was a 2017 paper with hot baths, and they did see that two weeks out that they had improved those symptoms, but the reduction had faded some by four weeks." (said at 0:44:28)

A 2017 randomized, sham-controlled pilot trial (n = 36) tested the effects of two hyperthermic baths (40 °C) per week for 4 weeks against a sham green-light intervention in outpatients with moderate depressive disorder. The study found a statistically significant reduction in Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HAM-D) scores in the hyperthermic bath group compared to the control group at 2 weeks (after 4 interventions), with treatment effects attenuating somewhat over longer follow-up.

0:47:06overstatedmoderateDr. Ashley Mason on Sauna Use for Depression, Conquering Ins

Population chronotypes are roughly distributed as one-third morning types, one-third evening types, and one-third intermediate types.

"I think the data are that it's kind of roughly a third, a third, a third-ish: a third of people are morning people, a third-ish of people are evening people, and then a third-ish are somewhere in the middle." (said at 0:47:06)

Population chronotypes are continuously distributed along a normal (near-Gaussian) curve rather than divided into equal thirds. Consequently, intermediate (neither morning nor evening) types make up the largest proportion of the population—typically around 50% or more depending on the scoring criteria and age group—while clear morning and evening types represent smaller proportions (often ~10–25% each under modernized cutoffs, or heavily skewed toward morning types with age under traditional Horne-Östberg criteria).

0:48:03supportedmoderateDr. Ashley Mason on Sauna Use for Depression, Conquering Ins

Having an evening chronotype (being a night owl) is associated with increased health risks compared to having a morning chronotype.

"A chronotype isn't necessarily a sleep problem. It poses more health risks for night owls, but insomnia is something different altogether." (said at 0:48:03)

Large-scale observational cohort studies and meta-analyses consistently show that an evening chronotype (being a "night owl") is associated with increased health risks compared to a morning chronotype. A systematic review and meta-analysis of observational studies encompassing over 370,000 individuals found that evening chronotypes had significantly worse cardiometabolic profiles (higher blood glucose, HbA1c, LDL cholesterol, and triglycerides) and elevated risks of type 2 diabetes (OR 1.30), cancer (OR 1.18), and depression (OR 1.86). In a prospective UK Biobank cohort of over 433,000 adults, definite evening types exhibited higher prevalences of psychological, metabolic, neurological, and respiratory disorders, along with a 10% higher risk of all-cause mortality (HR 1.10) compared to definite morning types.

0:48:06supportedmoderateDr. Ashley Mason on Sauna Use for Depression, Conquering Ins

Between 28% and 45% of insomnia susceptibility is attributable to genetics.

"there's some genetics to it, like 28 to 45% of insomnia is genetic." (said at 0:48:06)

Twin studies and quantitative genetic meta-analyses consistently find that the heritability of insomnia disorder and insomnia-related symptoms falls in the ~30% to 45% range (with a systematic meta-analysis of twin studies finding an overall meta-analytic heritability estimate of 40%).

0:48:37supportedhighDr. Ashley Mason on Sauna Use for Depression, Conquering Ins

Clinical insomnia is defined by difficulty initiating, maintaining sleep, or waking early at least three nights per week for at least three months, accompanied by distress.

"And insomnia is really difficulty falling asleep, difficulty staying asleep, or difficulty with waking up too early in the morning and not being able to get back to sleep, for this to be happening at least three nights or so a week, for it to have been going on for at least three months, and for it to be distressing." (said at 0:48:37)

The speaker accurately recites the core diagnostic criteria for chronic insomnia disorder as established in standard psychiatric and sleep medicine classification systems, including the DSM-5 (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition) and ICSD-3 (International Classification of Sleep Disorders, Third Edition). Under these criteria, insomnia disorder requires reported difficulty initiating sleep, maintaining sleep, or early-morning awakening with inability to return to sleep, occurring at least 3 nights per week, persisting for at least 3 months, and causing clinically significant distress or daytime impairment.

0:53:03supportedhighDr. Ashley Mason on Sauna Use for Depression, Conquering Ins

Taking long daytime naps reduces accumulated homeostatic sleep drive needed to fall asleep and stay asleep at night.

"Well, guess what? If you're taking long naps during the day, you're decreasing the sleep drive that you have at the end of the day that helps capitulate you into sleep and keep you asleep." (said at 0:53:03)

The claim is supported by human experimental sleep research and the well-established two-process model of sleep regulation. Homeostatic sleep pressure (Process S) accumulates during continuous wakefulness and dissipates during sleep, as tracked neurophysiologically by electroencephalographic slow-wave activity/energy. Randomized controlled trials demonstrate that daytime naps discharge homeostatic sleep pressure, leading to longer sleep latency, decreased sleep efficiency, and reduced slow-wave energy during subsequent nocturnal sleep.

1:03:58supportedhighDr. Ashley Mason on Sauna Use for Depression, Conquering Ins

Dismantling studies of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia (CBT-I) show that sleep restriction and stimulus control are the most critical components for achieving positive outcomes.

"what we know from studies that have been termed dismantling studies, where they've taken this whole intervention and they've taken it apart and they've seen, well, which pieces are most important for good outcomes, we know that the pieces that are really important are the sleep restriction part—matching the amount of time that you're in bed to the amount of time that you can actually sleep—and also the stimulus control" (said at 1:03:58)

Component network meta-analyses and dismantling randomized controlled trials of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia (CBT-I) consistently demonstrate that behavioral components—specifically sleep restriction therapy and stimulus control therapy—are the primary active drivers of improvement in insomnia severity and sleep continuity parameters (such as sleep efficiency, sleep onset latency, and wake after sleep onset), whereas components such as sleep hygiene education and relaxation techniques provide negligible or non-significant independent benefits.

1:07:30supportedhighDr. Ashley Mason on Sauna Use for Depression, Conquering Ins

The lowest commercially available dose of standard immediate-release Ambien (zolpidem) is 5 mg.

"I think the smallest Ambien you can get is five milligrams." (said at 1:07:30)

Standard immediate-release oral formulations of brand-name Ambien (zolpidem tartrate) are manufactured in 5 mg and 10 mg tablet strengths, making 5 mg the lowest commercially available dose for the standard immediate-release tablet. Lower-dose formulations exist only as alternative sublingual products (such as 1.75 mg and 3.5 mg sublingual tablets indicated specifically for middle-of-the-night awakening), whereas the standard extended-release formulation (Ambien CR) is available in 6.25 mg and 12.5 mg strengths.

1:12:02supportedhighDr. Ashley Mason on Sauna Use for Depression, Conquering Ins

The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs developed a publicly available mobile application called Insomnia Coach for cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia.

"There's Insomnia Coach, which I think is maybe still free. I think the VA actually put one out that anybody can use, and that's in Google Play and iTunes stores." (said at 1:12:02)

The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), via the National Center for PTSD, developed and maintains a suite of publicly available, free mobile applications for sleep and mental health, including Insomnia Coach (a self-guided app based on Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia) and CBT-I Coach, available on major mobile platforms such as Google Play and the Apple App Store.

1:12:30supportedhighDr. Ashley Mason on Sauna Use for Depression, Conquering Ins

The American College of Physicians established that Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia (CBT-I) should be the first-line treatment for insomnia before sleep medications are prescribed.

"the American College of Physicians did say that this should be the first-line treatment for insomnia before a medication for sleep problems is prescribed" (said at 1:12:30)

In its 2016 clinical practice guideline on the management of chronic insomnia disorder in adults, the American College of Physicians (ACP) issued a strong recommendation that all adult patients receive cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia (CBT-I) as the initial (first-line) treatment. Pharmacological therapy was recommended only via shared decision-making as an add-on option for adults in whom CBT-I alone was unsuccessful.

1:13:08supportedmoderateDr. Ashley Mason on Sauna Use for Depression, Conquering Ins

A randomized study comparing CBT-I, tai chi, and a sleep seminar showed that CBT-I led to the largest reductions in hs-CRP and improvements in sleep lasting up to 16 months.

"shows how people's C-reactive or hs-CRP changes during treatment compared—it's like tai chi versus a sleep seminar versus cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia. Everyone got one of those three. And what they show is 16 months out, the people who got the CBT-I had the greatest reductions in their hs-CRP and the biggest improvements in their sleep, lasting all the way out to 16 months, and treatment only occurred in the first two months." (said at 1:13:08)

A randomized controlled comparative efficacy trial in 123 older adults with chronic insomnia (Irwin et al., 2014, 2015) evaluated weekly 2-hour sessions of cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia (CBT-I), Tai Chi Chih (TCC), or a sleep seminar (SS) active control. At 16-month follow-up, CBT-I led to significantly greater and sustained improvements in clinical insomnia remission, sleep quality, and parameters compared to TCC and SS. Furthermore, CBT-I was uniquely associated with sustained reductions in high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) levels and a significantly lower risk of elevated CRP (>3.0 mg/L) at 16 months compared to the control group (OR 0.26, p < 0.05). The only minor discrepancy in the spoken details is that the active intervention duration was 4 months (16 weeks) rather than 2 months.

1:17:27supportedmoderateDr. Ashley Mason on Sauna Use for Depression, Conquering Ins

Neuroimaging studies of experienced meditators demonstrate changes in brain pattern activation during meditation.

"Dr. Judson Brewer has done a bunch of work on looking at actual brain activation in meditators and how during meditation their brain pattern activation can actually change." (said at 1:17:27)

Neuroimaging research led by Judson Brewer and colleagues has demonstrated that experienced meditators exhibit distinct changes in brain activation and functional connectivity during meditation. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), these studies showed significant deactivation in key nodes of the default mode network (DMN)—particularly the medial prefrontal cortex and posterior cingulate cortex—across various meditation practices (such as concentration, loving-kindness, and choiceless awareness) when compared to meditation-naive controls or active cognitive tasks.

1:17:55supportedlowtheir own paperDr. Ashley Mason on Sauna Use for Depression, Conquering Ins

A clinical trial of a mindful eating intervention among overweight women significantly reduced eating in response to cravings.

"Jud and I actually did a trial together where we did a mindful eating intervention for people who said they have way too many cravings that they eat in response to, and these were, the sample was all overweight women. And we gave them this intervention where they had to get curious about their actual behavior, they had to slow down, eat mindfully, and really look at what is the true reward of what they're doing. And we found that people ate in response to their cravings a whole lot less after doing this training." (said at 1:17:55)

A proof-of-concept clinical trial conducted by Mason, Brewer, and colleagues evaluated a 28-day smartphone-delivered mindful eating intervention among 104 adult women with overweight or obesity (mean BMI 31.5 kg/m²). Using ecological momentary assessment, the study found a statistically significant 40.21% reduction in craving-related eating from pre-intervention to one-month post-intervention (p < 0.001), alongside significant reductions in trait food cravings. Certainty is rated low due to the uncontrolled, single-arm study design.

1:18:56supportedmoderatetheir own paperDr. Ashley Mason on Sauna Use for Depression, Conquering Ins

Banning the sale of sugar-sweetened beverages across a workplace campus combined with a brief motivational intervention led to reduced soda consumption over time.

"Dr. Elissa Epel and I published a paper a while ago showing that if you ban the sale of sugary beverages, which we did at UCSF all over the campus, and then you also give people a brief motivational intervention where you show them here's how many sugar cubes are in all the Coke you're drinking on a daily basis, and you give them some information that's kind of this brief motivational interviewing-type stuff, these folks will drink less soda over time." (said at 1:18:56)

The speaker accurately describes a published study conducted by their research team at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF). The study evaluated the impact of a campus-wide workplace sales ban on sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) combined with a randomized trial of a brief motivational intervention among 214 frequent SSB consumers. At follow-up, daily SSB intake decreased significantly across the overall cohort by 48.6% (from 1050 mL to 540 mL per day). Furthermore, participants randomized to receive the brief motivational intervention in addition to the sales ban achieved substantially larger reductions in SSB consumption (mean reduction of 762 mL / 25.4 fl oz) compared to those exposed to the sales ban alone (mean reduction of 246 mL / 8.2 fl oz).

1:32:32supportedmoderateDr. Ashley Mason on Sauna Use for Depression, Conquering Ins

Scrolling on social media activates the brain's reward pathways by triggering a dopamine release.

"scrolling on the internet has that rewarding, that dopamine hit. All the people who've studied social media and how our brains respond, it's pretty startling." (said at 1:32:32)

Functional neuroimaging and neurophysiological studies confirm that social media use and receiving or delivering digital social feedback (such as 'likes' or novel content while scrolling) activate core regions of the brain's mesocorticolimbic dopaminergic reward pathway, including the ventral striatum, nucleus accumbens, and ventral tegmental area (VTA). Systematic reviews of fMRI studies indicate that both passive exposure to social media cues and active engagement recruit the same striatal reward circuitry that mediates reinforcement learning and incentive salience.

1:34:25supportedmoderateDr. Ashley Mason on Sauna Use for Depression, Conquering Ins

Research from Leonard Epstein's lab demonstrates that episodic future thinking manipulations, such as listening to recordings about future goals while ordering fast food in shopping malls, can influence how much people eat.

"These exercises where you transport yourself in time to times where you're at future health goals or future other events, and then using that to help inform your decision now, these manipulations from Leonard Epstein's lab have shown some effectiveness in changing eating behavior. They've had people listening to recordings of themselves talking about future goals while ordering food, fast food, in like food courts in shopping malls, and they've found that it can influence how much they eat." (said at 1:34:25)

Research conducted by Leonard Epstein and colleagues demonstrated that smartphone-delivered episodic future thinking (EFT) cues in a real-world setting (a public food court) significantly reduced total calorie and fat intake compared to control episodic recent thinking cues in overweight and obese individuals.

Fact-checked episodes

Publications