When it comes to maintaining our health and wellness, it can be easy to get caught up in trying the newest things: cold plunges, serums, trackers, etc. But all that frantic energy can make us overlook the simpler stuff. Things like writing a letter to someone you care about instead of just shooting them a text. There’s something valuable about slowing down, choosing your words, and giving someone your full attention. This lovely piece makes the case for letter writing as a spiritual practice.
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Sleep
Using Cannabis for Stress Relief? Study Says It Might Backfire
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Cannabis-Cortisol Connection: Frequent cannabis use may be linked to changes in the body’s natural stress response, according to new research from Oregon State University. The study found that people who frequently used cannabis had higher levels of cortisol — the hormone involved in regulating stress — when they first woke up than people who didn’t use cannabis.
The Study: Researchers focused on the cortisol awakening response (CAR), a normal surge in cortisol that occurs shortly after waking and helps prepare the body for the demands of the day. Interestingly, the size of that cortisol increase was similar between cannabis users and nonusers. The difference was that frequent users started the morning with more cortisol already circulating in their bodies, and then still experienced the increase.
Takeaway: Frequent cannabis use could disrupt the body’s natural stress response. Stress is also one of the most common reasons people report using cannabis, raising the possibility of a feedback loop in which cannabis use and stress regulation influence each other.
Keep in Mind: The study does not prove that cannabis causes elevated cortisol, nor that elevated cortisol causes people to use cannabis. More long-term research is needed to understand the relationship. However, the findings do offer a reason to look more closely at how frequent cannabis use may affect the body’s stress system.
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Courtesy: Braun
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Fitness
How to Take a Deload Week From Training
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Take a Load Off: If you haven’t taken a deload week from your workout routine in a while, here’s a gentle nudge to pencil one in. A deload week is an intentional break from training — not a complete week off of physical activity, but a smartly programmed week of less intensity and volume.
The Benefits: A deload week gives muscles, tendons, ligaments, and joints time to heal from accumulated fatigue and helps reduce lingering soreness. Contrary to a common fear, you won’t lose meaningful muscle or strength from a week of reduced training. In fact, the improved recovery often leads to better long-term progress. In the short-term, you’ll come back feeling stronger, faster, and more energetic because fatigue has dissipated while fitness is maintained.
How to Do It: If you’re training 1-3 days per week and/or exercising at a low/moderate intensity, you likely don’t need a deload week. If you’re training hard 4-6 days per week with progressive overload, it’s smart to schedule one every 4-8 weeks. There are a few ways to approach a deload. You can reduce weight (lift about 50-70% of your normal working weight); reduce volume (cut sets or reps by 30-50%); and/or reduce intensity (stay away from failure, leaving 3–5 reps in reserve). For endurance training, reduce your weekly mileage or training time by 30-50%.
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Nutrition
Why Aren’t You Hungry During a Heatwave?
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You Should Know: During a heatwave, doing just about anything can feel exhausting — including eating. Cooking is less appealing when your kitchen already feels like an oven, andour appetite for anything can disappear when temperatures soar.
Going Deeper: So why might a heatwave make us feel less hungry? Coping with extreme heat can put other bodily functions, including digestion, on the back burner. Digestion and nutrient absorption use a lot of energy, so slowing this process down may help the body converse energy for cooling itself and shed some excess heat. The heat may also affect the hunger and satiety hormones ghrelin and leptin, which can influence our appetites. At the same time, when the body overheats, blood flow is redirected to the skin (away from the digestive organs) to help cool it down.
Takeaway: Young children and older adults are more susceptible to appetite changes and dehydration in intense heat, as are people with pre-existing heart and lung conditions and those taking GLP-1 medications.
Bottom Line: If eating a full meal feels unappetizing, snack on cooling, water-filled foods throughout the day, like fruits and veggies, or eat later in the day when it’s cooler.
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This slow cooker take on broccoli beef delivers tender strips of sirloin in a savory-sweet garlic, soy, and sesame sauce with very little hands-on work. The beef cooks low and slow until tender, then a quick cornstarch slurry thickens the cooking liquid into a glossy sauce. Steamed broccoli gets tossed into that sauce just before serving, keeping the vegetables tender without turning them mushy. Spoon everything over jasmine rice and finish with sesame seeds for an easy, takeout-inspired dinner.
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This, Not That
Fridge Shortcut
THIS
NOT THAT
Karolina Grabowski/Unsplash, Getty/Unsplash
This: Keep cut fruit ready Not That: Letting good intentions rot beautifully in the crisper
Buying fruit is step one. Making it easy to eat is the move. Wash grapes, slice melon, cut citrus, or put berries at eye level so they’re ready when snack brain arrives. Convenience is not lazy. Convenience is often the whole game.
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Sponsored
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HEALTHY HABIT
Put Greens in the Thing You Already Eat
You don’t need to build a new personality around salads. Just add greens to what’s already on the menu. Toss spinach into eggs, arugula onto a sandwich, kale into soup, or romaine under leftovers. It’s one of the easiest ways to get more plants in without making lunch feel like an assignment.
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Final Thought
Friendship is unnecessary, like philosophy, like art... It has no survival value; rather it is one of those things which give value to survival.”
