Welcome to Living Well Daily, the newsletter serving up a daily dose of care designed to support you, cheer you on and remind you, always, just how wonderful you already are.

In Today’s Edition:

Think of someone or something you're grateful for.
Pause and notice where you feel gratitude in your body.

Many people minimize their effort, resilience, and growth, especially if they were taught to stay humble or keep pushing. Time to re-write this draining narrative. You’re worth building up with support and recognition. 

Acknowledging yourself isn’t arrogance, it’s accuracy. It’s loving. It’s the type of kindness this world needs more of. When you see and acknowledge your own efforts, you make your efforts more nourishing than draining. You heal, allowing yourself to take up space instead of shrink.

Ways to practice giving yourself credit:

•🪞 Name effort, not just outcomes. Trying counts. 

•🌱 Notice what took courage. Even small acts matter.

•💛 Let appreciation feel uncomfortable. You can take time to learn to feel at home in your acknowledgement. Uncomfortable appreciation is far more powerful than self-rejection. Comfort can grow with time.

•📓 Write it down. If you know that you may say it to yourself once and then forget, start a phone or paper journal to acknowledge yourself. This can become a healing ritual and seeing it on paper helps it land.

•🫶 Practice without comparison. Your effort doesn’t need a benchmark.

You deserve recognition, including from yourself.

✅ Action step: Acknowledge one thing you handled well recently.

^{Love, Lola Graham}

Good news for coffee and tea drinkers! A major study published in JAMA, which tracked over 130,000 people for up to 43 years, found that moderate caffeine consumption is associated with a meaningfully lower risk of dementia and slower cognitive decline.

The researchers found that people who drank 2 to 3 cups of caffeinated coffee or 1 to 2 cups of tea per day had an 18% lower risk of developing dementia compared to those who rarely or never drank it. They also reported fewer memory concerns and performed better on cognitive tests.

Notably, decaffeinated coffee didn't show the same benefits, pointing to caffeine itself as a key player, alongside compounds like polyphenols that help reduce inflammation and cellular damage in the brain. The effect held regardless of genetic risk for dementia, meaning the benefit appears to be broad.

The researchers were careful to note that the effect size is modest and coffee alone won't prevent dementia, but it can be a piece of a brain-healthy lifestyle, which I’m happy to hear since I love my daily coffee. 

✅ Action Step: If you already enjoy a coffee or tea, savour it.

^{By: Joshua Graham | Sources: PMID: 41661604}

^{A supportive prompt to build health, nourishment, and long-term wellness.}

Take time for one of your supportive habits today, not to be perfect, but to be with yourself in care, to tell yourself “yes, I matter.”

Before you go, let us know what you thought of today’s edition and if there are any subjects you would like us to cover in the future reply to this email and let us know!

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With love and care,

Lola & Joshua | The Living Well Team

^{Living Well Daily is for educational purposes only and is in no way a substitute for professional medical and mental health advice and diagnosis. Please consult a qualified professional for care unique to your needs.}

^{Remember: It’s okay to ask for help. Crisis Lifeline: call or text 988 (Canada & US).}