On this page you will find links to published research, demonstrating the therapeutic / health benefits of many items available from the Calm Store.
Please note the research links below are a sample only – there are many more research papers available, for instance, at: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/
Please note, this content is for informational purposes only, and not a substitute for professional medical advice. Always seek the guidance of your doctor or other qualified health professional with any questions you may have regarding your health or a medical condition.
Clicking on any of the external links below means you will leave the Calm Store website. Although we make every effort to ensure these links are accurate, up to date and relevant, we are not responsible for any of the content of external websites, or the accuracy of such content. If you come across any external links that don’t work, please feel free to let us know and we will update or remove the link accordingly.
Aromatherapy
Essential Oil Research Progress in Depression Treatment
Self-Aromatherapy Massage for Rheumatoid Arthritis Study
Dental Pain Perception and Olfaction Study
Neurotransmitter Levels in Dementia Patients with Insomnia Study
Aromatherapy for Preoperative Anxiety Study
College Student Test Anxiety Meta-Analysis
Olfactory Stimulus Effects on University Students Study
Lavender Efficacy in Sleep Disorders: Critical Review
Lavender Oil Effects on Student Sleep Quality and Fatigue
Aroma Inhalation Therapy Meta-Analysis on Sleep Problems
Cananga Odorata Essential Oil for Anxiety in Autism-like Rats Study
Incense Burning as a Psychoactive Antidepressant.
Ylang Ylang Oil Transdermal Relaxation Study
Bergamot Essential Oil Inhalation Study
Essential Oils and Mental Health: Central Nervous System Effects
Lavender Oil (Silexan) in Generalized Anxiety Disorder Study
Inhaled Essential Oils Effects on Sleep: A Systematic Review
Essential Oil Therapy for Behavioral Symptoms in Dementia Study
Inhaled Essential Oils for Mental Exhaustion Study
Lavender Essential Oil and Postpartum Sleep Quality Study
Lavender Essential Oil and Postpartum Sleep Quality Study
Agarwood Essential Oil Inhalation for Anxiety and Depression Study
Mentha × Piperita Essential Oil Cognitive and Mood Effects Study
Fidgets
Fidget Spinners for On-Task Behavior in Students with ADHD Study
Effects of Time, Fidgeting, and Mind Wandering on Attention and Lecture Retention Study
Stress Balls for Sixth-Grade Attention Focus Study
Passive Tactile Stimulation in Children with Attention Deficit Study
Fidget Spinners for On-Task Behavior in ADHD Students Study
Fidget Widgets: Exploring Embodied Self-Regulation Design
Pain and Anxiety Reduction During Surgery with Stress Balls, DVDs, and Conversation
Cancer Patients Overcoming Fear of Treatment with Stress Relief Techniques
Improved Complex Attention in ADHD Children with Fidgeting
Hobbies & Creativity
Everyday creative activity as a path to flourishing
Generativity & Life Satisfaction: Creative Benefits Scale
Understanding Health Impact: Leisure Activities Exploration
Exploring Mental Health: Leisure and Social Activities in Middle-Aged Adults in Japan
Long Working Hours Impact: Leisure Hobbies’ Role in Employee Mental Well-Being
Leisure Activities & Depression in Older Adults: HRS Study
Arts Interventions for Mental Health in Healthcare Settings
Avid Knitters on Health and Well-Being: A Personal Perspective
Happy Hookers: Exploring Crochet’s Well-Being Effects
Mindfulness Coloring: Easing University Test Anxiety
Coloring Books: A Novel Mindfulness Approach
Incense, candles, other fragrances
Fragrances and Human Psychophysiological Activity
Incensole Acetate: Activating TRPV3 Channels for Psychoactivity
Fragrance Effects on Emotions: Exploring Moods and Physiology
Journalling
Expressive Writing: A Tool for Health Workers
Online Positive Affect Journaling for Mental Distress Improvement: Preliminary RCT
Affect Labeling: Disrupting Amygdala Activity
Journaling Effects for Newly Diagnosed Breast Cancer Women
Expressive Writing and Wound Healing in Older Adults: RCT
Magnesium
The Role of Magnesium in Neurological Disorders
Magnesium & Vitamin B6: Mental Health & Quality of Life
Rapid Recovery: Magnesium Treatment for Major Depression
Magnesium Supplementation: Anxiety, Depression & Sleep Post-Heart Surgery
Magnesium Supplementation in Depression Treatment: Clinical Trial
Magnesium Supplementation Effects on Subjective Anxiety
Magnesium’s Role in Mental Disorders: A Systematic Review
Massage
Massage therapy research review
Massage and peri-operative anxiety: Meta-analysis of trials
Massage therapy benefits and research needs
Back massage for health and sleep quality in ICU patients
Swedish Massage: Benefits Review
Meta-Analysis of Massage Therapy on Cancer Pain
Meditation & Mindfulness
Mindfulness meditation effects on brain and immune function
Mindfulness meditation effects on brain and immune function
Low-dose mindfulness and work recovery: Sleep and psychological effects
Mindfulness and psychological health: Empirical studies review
Mindfulness effects on stress, coping, and emotional well-being
Antidepressant vs. combined treatments for depression relapse
Mindfulness meditation effects on anticipatory alpha modulation
Body awareness training and emotion-physiology coherence
Mindfulness meditation and cognitive improvement
Brief mindfulness meditation and attentional control
Mindfulness and the sunk-cost bias
Meditation Increases Compassionate Responses to Suffering
Compassion training and changes in altruism and neural responses
Mindfulness-based relationship enhancement
Mindfulness and cortisol responses to romantic conflict
Mindfulness, self-concept clarity, and psychological well-being
Mindfulness, values, and well-being
The positive effects of mindfulness on self-esteem
Mindfulness and positive reappraisal in academic self-efficacy
MBSR for caregivers of individuals with disabilities
Mindfulness intervention during pregnancy and prenatal stress
Mindfulness-based intervention and perinatal well-being
Mindfulness training for stress reduction during pregnancy
https://academic.oup.com/scan/article/10/3/453/1656499?login=false
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/270586990_Maternal_mindfulness_during_pregnancy_and_infant_socio-emotional_development_and_temperament_The_mediating_role_of_maternal_anxiety
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10826-015-0319-z
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10826-014-9920-9
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12671-016-0563-3
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0140197116300057
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/264393931_Mindfulness-based_interventions_in_schools-A_systematic_review_and_meta-analysis
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0272735815301409
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10826-013-9847-6
https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2011-28769-001
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/263919667_Mindfulness_Training_and_Reductions_in_Teacher_Stress_and_Burnout_Results_From_Two_Randomized_Waitlist-Control_Field_Trials
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/mbe.12026
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19341981/
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24101747/
https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2005-05099-004
https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2007-07751-003
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30153464/
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26915053/
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31903785/
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28663069/
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29933746/
Natural supplements
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29575228/
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31481004/
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32304038/
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32713332/
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34838432/
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32272859/
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26797633/
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19865069/
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15181652/
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21601431/
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34704015/
Salt lamps & blue light
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3047226/
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28017916/
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29101797/
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30890197/
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31752544/
Self help books
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27423162/
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24487343/
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15710643/
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20515208/
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18514614/
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16942965/
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/12579544/
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20473046/
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29692281/
Social emotional learning
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.3102/0034654308325693
https://srcd.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/cdev.12864
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0741932514564564
https://srcd.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/cdev.12864
https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED505369.pdf
https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.677217/full
https://psycnet.apa.org/buy/2023-55252-001
https://ajph.aphapublications.org/doi/full/10.2105/AJPH.2015.302630
https://srcd.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1467-8624.2010.01564.x
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9231796/
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/366301585_What_we_know_and_what_we_need_to_find_out_about_universal_school-based_social_and_emotional_learning_programs_for_children_and_adolescents_A_review_of_meta-analyses_and_directions_for_future_research
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/227662256_Emotion-regulation_ability_burnout_and_job_satisfaction_among_British_secondary-school_teachers
https://learningpolicyinstitute.org/media/3977/download?inline&file=Evidence_for_SEL_REPORT.pdf
Soft toys
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34394770/
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29325922/
https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2011-25344-008
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/258282530_Embodied_Terror_Management_Interpersonal_Touch_Alleviates_Existential_Concerns_Among_Individuals_With_Low_Self-Esteem
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23273827/
https://apsijournal.com/index.php/psyjournal/article/view/1506
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/03/220309140929.htm
https://www.jamda.com/article/S1525-8610(17)30189-5/fulltext
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/304038820_Stuffed_Animal_as_a_Source_of_Comfort_in_Group_Psychotherapy
https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/9175900
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3805974/
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S2352721818302262?via%3Dihub
https://guilfordjournals.com/doi/10.1521/pedi.2012.26.2.179
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.2466/pr0.1996.79.2.624
https://www.cell.com/heliyon/fulltext/S2405-8440(16)30746-0?_returnURL=https%3A%2F%2Flinkinghub.elsevier.com%2Fretrieve%2Fpii%2FS2405844016307460%3Fshowall%3Dtrue
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/1948550611404707
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1300/J016v25n03_09
https://www.painmanagementnursing.org/article/S1524-9042(12)00172-5/fulltext
Weighted blankets
https://jcsm.aasm.org/doi/10.5664/jcsm.8636
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/17482631.2021.2009203
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S209549642030131X?via%3Dihub
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/11038128.2021.1939414
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/18/24/12959
https://www.jpain.org/article/S1526-5900(21)00313-8/fulltext
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0929664619304462?via%3Dihub
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32204779/
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32536366/
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36184925/
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34106812/
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34184958/
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33913423/
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34166155/
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32051244/
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35750505/
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33317955/
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32678376/
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S209549642030131X?casa_token=O9PRwBMS4-EAAAAA:nYPSCJzolmnjUM93abRy9dmNIeb05fqgXqZWe0qptdl7z4mXPVeAKXcm7uKEh9svXy9fIq0