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:

🥰Well-Being & Self-Care: 2-Minute Self-Care Ritual: When You’re Feeling Sad 🌧
💖Longevity & Wellness: How Sleep Impacts Your Hunger 
✨Daily Affirmation & Daily Prompt

Inside you is a tidal wave of power 🌊
You can do what you set your mind to, regardless of what others might say and think.
We believe in you and know you are capable!

Sadness is not something to fix, it’s something to move through.

In a world that pushes us to “stay positive,” sadness can feel uncomfortable or even wrong. But sadness is often a signal of care, loss, longing, or something meaningful that mattered.

Instead of pushing it away, this ritual helps you gently stay with it, move through it, and process it.

💙 Step 1: Acknowledge Without Judgment (30–45 seconds):
Pause and name it: “I’m feeling sad.”
Then add: “That’s okay.” or “This makes sense.”
Your sadness is a valid feeling. You are human.

🤲 Step 2: Soften Around It (30–45 seconds):
Place a hand on your heart, your arm, or anywhere comforting.
Let your breath slow slightly.
Rather than resisting the feeling, imagine giving it a little more space to exist, safely and with care.

🌿 Step 3: Offer Gentle Support (30–45 seconds):
Ask yourself: “What would feel supportive right now?”
Maybe it’s:
• Sitting quietly for a moment
• Listening to a comforting song
• Letting yourself cry
• Reaching out to someone safe
You deserve support.

Sadness often softens when it’s met with care instead of resistance. You don’t have to rush out of this feeling. You’re allowed to move through it at your own pace.

✅ Action step: Give yourself permission today to feel without fixing, even for just a minute.

^{Love, Lola Graham}

Ever wonder why you are so much hungrier after a bad night of sleep? There is a hormonal reason for it.

A laboratory study from Uppsala University found that acute sleep deprivation reduced blood concentrations of leptin, the hormone that signals to your brain that you are full, while ghrelin, the hormone that drives hunger, increased. This means that poor sleep can leave you simultaneously less satisfied and hungrier at the same time.

It is worth noting that the research here is still developing, as a 2025 meta-analysis found the effects on these hormones were not always consistent across studies, so this is not a simple one-size-fits-all relationship.

But the direction of the evidence makes sense: disrupted sleep disrupts the hormonal signals that regulate appetite, and many people notice this in their own eating patterns after a rough night. I have noticed this to be the case myself.

This is one more reason why sleep is not just about feeling rested; it also impacts your metabolism, hunger, and the food choices you can end up making the next day.

✅ Action Step: Next time you have a poor night of sleep, just notice your hunger levels the next day, no pressure to change anything, just observe if there is a connection there for yourself.

^{By: Joshua Graham | Sources: PMID: 36404495, PMID: 18929315, The Impact of Sleep Deprivation on Hunger-Related Hormones: A Meta-Analysis and Systematic Review by: D Gresser, et al.}

^{A mini-care practice for grounding, calming, and nervous system support.}

Breathe in calm, breathe out releasing urgency. Repeat a few times.

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!

If you find our newsletter helpful, we’d love for you to share it with a friend! If you’re that friend, you can subscribe here. Thanks for spreading the word! xo

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).}