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Going to bed late, regardless of whether you’re a night owl or an early bird by nature, is linked to worse mental health, according to a new study by Stanford researchers. Scientists had believed that aligning your sleep behavior to your sleep time preference — “evening people” going to sleep later, and “morning people” going to sleep earlier — was beneficial for mental health. This is known as aligning to your chronotype. (Ho, 5/29)

When you’re trying to address mental health symptoms, simply the belief that you can be helped may be an important factor. Symptoms of nine mental health disorders substantially improved under placebo treatment, according to a new review of 90 randomized controlled trials — known as a meta-analysis — totaling 9,985 adult participants largely in their 30s and 40s.The disorders in the review, published Wednesday in the journal JAMA Psychiatry, included major depressive disorder, mania, schizophrenia, obsessive-compulsive disorder or OCD, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, panic disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder and social phobia. (Rogers, 5/29)

Johnson & Johnson's experimental drug helped reduce symptoms of depression as well as insomnia in patients with major depressive disorder (MDD) in a late-stage trial, the company said in a statement on Wednesday. The trial was testing the drug, called seltorexant, in patients with both depression and insomnia. Sleep disturbances often accompany depression, despite treatment with commonly-used antidepressant drugs. (Jain, 5/29)

Department of Veterans Affairs beneficiaries won't have to pay copays for their first three mental health appointments of each year thanks to a new exemption. Meanwhile, patients who paid copays starting in the latter half of 2023 will receive automatic refunds. The VA announced the exemption Wednesday. Backdated to June 27, 2023 -- when the first refunds will kick in -- the benefit also comes with an end date of Dec. 29, 2027. (Miller, 5/29)

Jason Szybka became a probation/parole officer in Duplin County in October 2020. In the role, he crossed paths frequently with people with serious mental illnesses, such as schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. He saw how their mental health affected their lives in the community and their ability to meet supervision requirements. (Crumpler, 5/30)

Parents gave examples of trying to get help for their children, only to be met with months-long waiting lists to see counselors. “I’m a pediatrician. Most therapy offices are either not accepting new patients, don’t accept the patient’s insurance, don’t accept children under a certain age, or have a three- to six-month waiting list,” one respondent said. “Schools and doctors are doing their best, but these children need therapy and support.” (Hess, 5/30)

The Cook County Sheriff's Office aims to put mental health workers in the field virtually as cities grapple with alternative police responses. (Quraishi, Geller, Beard and Ramos, 5/28)