For over 3,000 years, people in Asia and North Africa have adorned themselves in henna body art. It’s predominantly used for holiday celebrations, weddings, and as a hair dye, but now a Seattle-area artist has found a therapeutic use for the plant-based paste. For the past six years, Sarah Walters has created beautiful henna crowns for women who’ve lost their hair to chemotherapy.
After losing a her step-feather to cancer, Walters searched for a way to help people struggling with the disease. “I felt very helpless during that time when he was sick,” she said. “So think the fact that I can use my art to be helpful in some way is important for me to be able to give in that way.” In 2010, her mother asked her to make a henna crown for a friend who lost her hair to chemotherapy. Since then, she’s been creating beautiful crowns free of charge.
“Everyone is beautiful, and my crowns simply add to the beauty that’s already there,” Walters told People. “In the same way that you feel a boost of self-confidence leaving a salon with a fresh hairstyle, a henna crown provides a similar experience. People are excited to have an alternative to wigs or hats, and it can be empowering.” Lauren Russell has long-term chemotherapy and regularly sees Walters for a beautiful crown. “For a little bit, people don’t see that it’s because I’m sick,” Russell said. “They see art. And it doesn’t look like just a bald head or any of that. It’s pretty.”
We tend to associate stickers with childhood. As kids, we put them all over our rooms, furniture, books and notebooks, and wherever else our little hands could stick them. Yet, you have probably seen stickers being used and loved by adults as much, if not more, than kids. They can be found on water bottles, laptops, car bumpers, journals, and many other surfaces. You may even know an adult who uses a sticker chart like an elementary school kid does to keep track of their daily tasks. So, what gives?
Why do adults love stickers? It turns out that there is psychology behind why many adults still love to stick stickers everywhere. Psychology professionals have reached out to GOOD to share some of the reasons why adult brains benefit from having and using stickers.
Much like with children, many adults turn to stickers as an easy way to stay motivated to commit to a task or achieve a goal. While youngsters turn to sticker charts for reading goals or eating vegetables, adults can use them to motivate themselves to hit the gym or keep up with their budget. It may sound like an innocuous award, but that’s all it needs to be.
“Small simple tokens or rewards like stickers often cause an instant dopamine rush that leaves us feeling a sense of joy or happiness even if it might be small or fleeting,” said psychology professor and licensed therapist Jillian Amodio.
“In my work as a psychologist, I often encourage clients to use sticker charts, simple grids where you put stickers up when you complete a task,” said registered psychologist Rod Mitchell. “I’ve had many clients who tried positive self-talk, only to find it slid off. Stickers worked for them.”
It may sound immature on the surface, but what worked to establish good behaviors or habits as a kid can sometimes be just as effective for a grown-up.
“I had one client who was very resistant to the idea, viewing it as childish,” Mitchell added. “He came back the following week and sheepishly told me that the sticker chart had worked like a charm.”
Progress markers
“In addition to creating a sense of accomplishment, seeing a sticker placed on a calendar, chart, or planner after achieving a goal can create a visual history of success,” said Dr. Lori Bohn, medical director at Voyager Recovery Center. “This history can motivate an individual to continue to work towards additional goals.”
So the benefit of sticker charts isn’t just the dopamine rush, but encouragement. A person can look back at the progress they made, and any “failure” they see becomes an anomaly. It’s why many folks have created sticker charts for things as basic as eating healthy foods to more complex struggles like sobriety.
“The stickers on the chart serve as small badges of who you are and what you did,” said Mitchell. “A client I had who was struggling to make time for his kids now looks back on a chart full of stickers and knows that he’s become the family man he wanted to be.”
An easy form of expression
Placing a sticker on a laptop or water bottle you use daily also allows us to express ourselves. That expression can be as insightful as a political message or as simple as “I like SpongeBob.” It can communicate to others what you’re all about without even speaking a word.
“Stickers appeal to adults because they often offer an opportunity for self expression and trigger a sense of nostalgia,” said Amodio. “They can also serve social purposes when they speak to people who share similar interests, values, or devotion to a cause.”
The same logic applies to why many people use digital stickers and emojis when texting or posting on social media.
Psychologically instill civic duty
So how powerful are stickers? According to extensive research, very. One sticker standout is they get people to the polls. The “I Voted” sticker folks receive after they vote is a great motivator. They allow folks to feel that dopamine hit after voting, while advertising to others to vote. Stickers can be a reward for voters, a reminder to those who plan on submitting their ballot, or provide FOMO (fear of missing out) to those who don’t vote.
“It tells other individuals what the person did (voted), what the person values (voting), and what type of individual they perceive themselves to be (a voter),” said Dr. Bohn. “Social psychologists have shown that people are heavily influenced by social norms. In many cases, people rely on other people to help them understand if their behavior is acceptable or not.”
It may feel like mental manipulation to get people to vote (because it is) but it’s important to note that the sticker doesn’t endorse any particular bill or candidate. It just endorses participation.
Affordable artwork
“Stickers are also visually appealing which creates a pleasurable response in the brain as well,” said Amodio.
Stickers are used by adults because they like how they look. They’re an inexpensive and convenient form of artwork to display. They can easily be put in a book, on a wall, or most other surfaces. They don’t take too much space and are cheaper than paintings, sculptures, and other artwork.
Many independent artists have turned their work into stickers. It’s a way to keep making a living while also making it affordable for people to purchase their art. Sticker art also benefits the brains of the artists and their supporters alike. It’s just like any other art piece you can display.
There are many valid and beneficial reasons why grown adults happily use stickers. The act as a boost, a motivator, and a way to express yourself in one. If you’re already a fan, keep on stickin’.
On December 2, 2025, 18-year-old Kaitlyn Jeffrey was caught in a fire at the Pi Kappa Alpha frat house at Western University in Canada. The fire was caused after rubbing alcohol had been thrown onto a lit torch. Kaitlyn was one of the five people rushed to the hospital for injuries. She suffered serious burns after her face and hair had been set ablaze.
A new treatment
Usually, treatment for such burns would require a skin graft, but the burn unit at Hamilton Health Services wanted to try something different. While skin grafting is helpful, the end result isn’t always ideal. Skin grafting can be a slow process that ends with scarring and often a patch-like appearance on the patient.
“My vision for Kaitlin was to avoid skin graft surgery to her face and neck at any cost,” said Dr. Marc Jeschke, medical director of the hospital’s regional burn program and vice-president of research and innovation at HHS. “You can do the best graft on the planet, but you won’t return the skin to normal.”
With Kaitlyn’s and her family’s permission, Dr. Jeschke sent an urgent application to Health Canada for a new type of treatment. After Health Canada approved, the doctors proceeded to give Kaitlyn an exosome treatment for her facial burns. The results were a rousing success.
Exosomes, or extracellular vesicles (EcVs), are present in almost all cells, tissues, and body fluids. They’re tiny vesicles released naturally by nearly all types of cells, carrying proteins, lipids, and genetic material. They essentially carry these “packages” of material and send signals from one cell to another to regulate their behavior. They’re not only being tested for medical applications like this one, but are a part of a skin care trend as well. While exosomes had been studied for burn research, they haven’t been tested on humans before.
One trillion exosomes were collected and injected into Kaitlyn’s injured areas over the course of two treatments. This helped her cells coordinate in rapidly healing and repairing her facial tissue. The treatments also significantly reduced inflammation.
Astounding healing and new possibilities
After she had healed, Katilyn was amazed and grateful at the result.
“It’s honestly a miracle,” she said. “Being injured in the fire has also had a deep impact on my mental health, and it’s something I’m continuing to deal with. But having such good results, particularly to my face, is helping me move forward.”
Exosomes are still being researched for other potential medicinal applications. They are being tested to see how well they could modulate immune responses and deliver biomarkers. This could help combat cardiovascular disease, neurological disorders, and cancer among other ailments. Time and research will tell whether exosomes can help those patients like they helped Kaitlyn.
“Avoid screens before bed” is one of the most common pieces of sleep advice. But what if the real problem isn’t screen time − it’s the way we use social media at night?
Sleep deprivation is one of the most widespread yet overlooked public health issues, especially among young adults and adolescents.
At the same time, social media is nearly universal among young adults, with 84% using at least one platform daily. While research has long focused on screen time as the culprit for poor sleep, growing evidence suggests that how often people check social media − and how emotionally engaged they are − matters even more than how long they spend online.
And one of the most common yet underestimated factors shaping modern sleep? How we engage with social media before bed.
Emotional investment in social media
Beyond simply measuring time spent on social media, researchers have started looking at how emotionally connected people feel to their social media use.
Some studies suggest that the way people emotionally engage with social media may have a greater impact on sleep quality than the total time they spend online.
In a 2024 study of 830 young adults, my colleagues and I examined how different types of social media engagement predicted sleep problems. We found that frequent social media visits and emotional investment were stronger predictors of poor sleep than total screen time. Additionally, presleep cognitive arousal and social comparison played a key role in linking social media engagement to sleep disruption, suggesting that social media’s effects on sleep extend beyond simple screen exposure.
I believe these findings suggest that cutting screen time alone may not be enough − reducing how often people check social media and how emotionally connected they feel to it may be more effective in promoting healthier sleep habits.
How social media disrupts sleep
If you’ve ever struggled to fall asleep after scrolling through social media, it’s not just the screen keeping you awake. While blue light can delay melatonin production, my team’s research and that of others suggests that the way people interact with social media may play an even bigger role in sleep disruption.
Here are some of the biggest ways social media interferes with your sleep:
Presleep arousal:Doomscrolling and emotionally charged content on social media keeps your brain in a state of heightened alertness, making it harder to relax and fall asleep. Whether it’s political debates, distressing news or even exciting personal updates, emotionally stimulating content can trigger increased cognitive and physiological arousal that delays sleep onset.
Habitual checking:Social media use after lights out is a strong predictor of poor sleep, as checking notifications and scrolling before bed can quickly become an automatic habit. Studies have shown that nighttime-specific social media use, especially after lights are out, is linked to shorter sleep duration, later bedtimes and lower sleep quality. This pattern reflects bedtime procrastination, where people delay sleep despite knowing it would be better for their health and well-being.
Fear of missing out, or FOMO: The urge to stay connected also keeps many people scrolling long past their intended bedtime, making sleep feel secondary to staying updated. Research shows that higher FOMO levels are linked to more frequent nighttime social media use and poorer sleep quality. The anticipation of new messages, posts or updates can create a sense of social pressure to stay online and reinforce the habit of delaying sleep.
Taken together, these factors make social media more than just a passive distraction − it becomes an active barrier to restful sleep. In other words, that late-night scroll isn’t harmless − it’s quietly rewiring your sleep and well-being.
How to use social media without sleep disruption
You don’t need to quit social media, but restructuring how you engage with it at night could help. Research suggests that small behavioral changes to your bedtime routine can make a significant difference in sleep quality. I suggest trying these practical, evidence-backed strategies for improving your sleep:
Give your brain time to wind down: Avoid emotionally charged content 30 to 60 minutes before bed to help your mind relax and prepare for sleep.
Create separation between social media and sleep: Set your phone to “Do Not Disturb” or leave it outside the bedroom to avoid the temptation of late-night checking.
Reduce mindless scrolling: If you catch yourself endlessly refreshing, take a small, mindful pause and ask yourself: “Do I actually want to be on this app right now?”
A brief moment of awareness can help break the habit loop.
