Wellness Wednesday Issue #136

🧠 17 simple ways to take care of your brain according to neurologists.

💼 How women can win at work by navigating challenges, advocating for themselves, and leading with impact.

🧪 A functional medicine doctor explains how to lower cortisol and manage stress through science-backed strategies.

🔥 Boost motivation at work with tools that actually move the needle.

Friendship Day may have passed on August 4th, but it’s never too late to reflect on the relationships that hold you together, and the ones that slowly drain your energy. In our 30s and 40s, we start to notice that friendship isn’t just about brunch plans or who texts back the fastest. It’s about who shows up, who respects your boundaries, and who makes life feel lighter.

Here’s a guide to help you assess the green flags that signal healthy friendships, and the red flags that are worth paying attention to.

🚩 Friendship Red Flags

If these show up consistently, it might be time to step back.

• They constantly one-up you. Every time you share good news, they find a way to make it about themselves or diminish your win.
• You feel emotionally hungover after spending time with them. It’s a subtle but telling sign of energetic imbalance.
• They don’t respect your time. Consistently canceling, showing up late, or making you feel like a backup plan? That’s not mutual respect.
• They gossip, but mostly about people close to them. Spoiler: you’re probably on the list when you’re not around.
• They go silent during your hard seasons. Whether it’s a breakup, loss, or burnout, real friends don’t vanish when you’re not at your best.
• You feel like you’re walking on eggshells. If you’re constantly monitoring your words or tiptoeing around their moods, it’s not emotionally safe.

✅ Friendship Green Flags

These are the qualities that make adult friendships thrive.

• They celebrate your wins like they’re their own. No jealousy. No competition. Just pure joy for your growth.
• They check in, just because. Not to get something. Not because you posted something. Just to see how you are.
• They remember the small stuff. Your big meeting. Your dog’s surgery. That thing you said in passing two weeks ago.
• They make space for the real you. You can vent, cry, show up messy—and still feel seen and accepted.
• They set boundaries and respect yours. They don’t guilt-trip, overextend, or expect you to be available 24/7.
• Time doesn’t create distance. You can go weeks or even months without talking, and when you reconnect, it feels like no time has passed, and there’s zero guilt or side-eye about it.
• You leave feeling better. Recharged, uplifted, more like yourself. That’s the vibe to look for.

If you’re unsure about a friendship, ask yourself: Do I feel safe, supported, and respected in this relationship?

If the answer is no (consistently) it’s okay to shift the dynamic or gently let go. Not all friendships are built to last forever, and that’s not a failure. It’s growth. Keep the ones who bring peace. The ones who make you feel like no time has passed, who don’t guilt you for not texting back, who celebrate your wins and show up when it counts. Those are the friendships worth nurturing.

Release the ones who bring pressure, drama, or subtle digs. You deserve ease in your relationships.

You work hard. You lift others up. You’ve driven results, changed outcomes, maybe even carried the whole damn team.

It’s time that work gets seen.

The 22nd Annual Stevie® Awards for Women in Business honors the women rewriting what leadership, creativity, and impact look like. Whether you’re an entrepreneur, a rising star, or the quiet powerhouse behind a major win, this is your chance to be celebrated on a global stage.

Join thousands of organizations & professionals across 70+ nations who have entered and leveraged a Stevie® win for:

🏆 Prestige: Known as the “Oscars of business,” the Stevies have honored standout women and organizations across 70+ countries for over 20 years. It’s the gold standard of workplace recognition.

🌍 Global Recognition: Winners take the stage, give a speech, and celebrate among hundreds of executives and entrepreneurs at awards galas.

📈 Business-Boosting Visibility: Past winners like Google, Salesforce, and It’s a 10 Haircare have used their wins to attract talent, gain media coverage, and stand out to clients and investors.

✅ Credibility That Opens Doors: Whether you’re building your brand or leveling up your leadership, a Stevie® Award isn’t just impressive, it’s a strategic edge that lasts.

Many categories are free to enter. Nominate yourself. Or a woman who deserves the spotlight.

👉 Request your entry kit and claim the recognition that moves you forward.

I didn’t have a dramatic “I’m never drinking again” moment (okay, sometimes those exact words would come out of my mouth after a rough night). It was more like waking up tired again. Even when I “slept in,” I’d wake up feeling wired, then weirdly anxious.

My tolerance had gone down, but the emotional aftermath had gone way up. I hated the next-day spirals: replaying convos, wondering if I came off weird, or if I picked a dumb fight with my husband or sister over something that didn’t matter.

In my 20s, that was just…normal. So was binge drinking. You either didn’t drink, or you went full send. Bars were the default hang. Celebrations, stress relief, boredom, birthdays—alcohol was always invited.

But recently, I started paying closer attention. I’d sleep 8 hours and still wake up unrested. Turns out, even one or two drinks mess with your body’s ability to hit deep sleep and REM, the kind of sleep that actually restores you. You might pass out faster, but your brain never fully shuts down.

Then I learned that the weird post-wine anxiety had a name (hangxiety) ****and it’s not just psychological. When alcohol wears off, your brain rebounds by releasing more glutamate, a chemical that ramps up stress. So that gnawing sense of unease? It’s baked into the biology.

The more I looked into it, the more impossible it became to unsee. This episode from Huberman Lab explained how alcohol doesn’t just hit your mood; it messes with hormone balance, spikes cortisol, weakens your immune system, and even shrinks brain volume over time.

And in this Mel Robbins episode, she talks about how many of us rely on alcohol to access a version of ourselves we actually *like (*more open, relaxed, confident, etc,). That landed hard. Because once I heard it, I realized I didn’t want to keep borrowing that version of me.

So I cut back. Discovered 2 drinks is my happy limit. Sometimes I skip it altogether. I’m not anti-alcohol (I still love a good cocktail!). I just love waking up without the mental fog or “what did I say?” hangover more.

It’s been a quiet shift, but a big one. I feel more clearheaded. Less reactive. I’m not second-guessing myself as much. I actually like how I show up, without needing a drink to get me there.

If alcohol’s been your go-to for feeling a little looser, a little more “on,” I get it. But if lately it’s been feeling more draining than fun…you’re probably not imagining that either.

Hiring’s going well. Revenue’s climbing. But instead of feeling smoother, your workday feels…heavier.

Most small teams stall not because they’re underperforming, but because they’re buried under clunky processes, mismatched tools, and workarounds that only kind of work.

Here’s where things usually jam up (and the tools that help you move):

🗂️ Project sprawl

monday.com gives you a real system, not another to-do list. Track tasks, assign owners, automate follow-ups. Use our Startup Guide to make setup easy.

💸 Messy billing

Xero handles invoicing, expenses, and time tracking without making you learn accounting.

💳 Payment friction

Square makes it easy for people to pay wherever they are and however they prefer.

📣 Social media chaos

Sprout Social helps you plan, publish, and analyze your social content—without juggling five different tabs or missing key messages.

🛡️ No safety net

biBERK offers straightforward business insurance that keeps you covered as you grow.

None of this is about “leveling up your stack.” It’s about freeing up the time, energy, and trust it takes to scale something meaningful.

⏰ This sunrise alarm clock tricks your brain into thinking mornings are chill.

🍦 Ninja Creami: because your snack game deserves an upgrade.

💨 This tower fan is cooling and kind of a beast.

📚 Building a central hub for docs and SOPs? Start here.

• • • Toggl is hiring for a Talent Acquisition Specialist (Remote).
    • USAA is hiring for a Customer Service Advisor (Phoenix, AZ).
    • Cata-Kor is hiring for a Social Media Specialist (Miami, FL).
    • LooseGrip is hiring for a Client Experience Manager (Rochester, NY).
    • ABC Legal Service is hiring for a Social Media Coordinator (Remote).