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:

Aiming for perfection often stops us from sharing what we have to offer.
You have SO much to offer.
We believe in you.
Believe in you too.
You're worth believing in!!

Play isn’t just for children.

It signals safety to your nervous system, releasing feel good neurochemicals and helps you shift out of fight or flight. It builds resilience, increases self-regulation, and is a powerful antidote to stress and anxiety.

When you play, laugh, explore, create, move freely, your body shifts out of chronic threat mode. Muscles soften. Breathing deepens. Stress hormones lower.

In high-responsibility seasons, play often gets deprioritized. But it’s not a luxury. It’s a regulator. It’s a powerful gift you can give yourself, supporting a healthier body, mind, and spirit.

Ways play supports mental health:
• 🎈 Increases dopamine and motivation
• 🤍 Encourages connection and co-regulation
• 🧠 Improves cognitive flexibility
• 🌬️ Reduces accumulated stress
• 🌿 Expands emotional range

Play doesn’t have to be big. It counts in baby doses too. The key is, finding time to include it.

It can look like:
• 🎶 Dancing to one song
• 🐾 Being silly with your dog
• 🎨 Doodling without purpose
• 🌤️ Exploring somewhere new
• 😂 Sharing something that makes you laugh

Play widens your capacity. It reminds your body that life includes lightness.

✅ Action step: Schedule 10 minutes of unproductive, playful time this week and protect it.

^{Love, Lola Graham}

It's believed that screens are the culprit behind rising rates of nearsightedness, and research backs this up, but there is some new research that suggests reality is more nuanced. Scientists at SUNY College of Optometry have proposed that myopia (nearsightedness) may have more to do with extended close-up focusing in dim indoor lighting, which reduces the amount of light reaching the retina.

As someone who loves moody indoor lighting, this isn’t great news for me.

Myopia now affects nearly 50% of young adults in the US and Europe and up to 90% in parts of East Asia. The researchers suggest that bright light exposure may be protective, like spending time outdoors, while prolonged near work in low-light conditions (like scrolling in a dark room) may be a driver of myopia over time.

To help avoid myopia, brighten your environment when reading or using screens, take regular breaks to look at distant objects, and get outside more often. Guess I need to turn up the brightness on my e-reader at night! 

✅ Action Step: This week, make one change to increase your light exposure; it could be a new light at your desk or a daily 20-minute outdoor break

^{By: Joshua Graham | Sources: PMID: 39982728}

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

Check in with your posture, gently lengthen your spine and open your chest, inviting space to help you decompress.

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).}