#65 MONTHLY MEDICINE... A cult beauty buy debunked, the gut-friendly breakfast to devour and one PT's sleep revelation

It's not been a particularly demure and mindful August in the health and wellness space—here's what has been well and unwell these past few weeks...

Wherever you’ve been this past month—physically or mentally, may I add—I hope it’s been a good one. If it hasn’t, that’s totally fine too. Because, contrary to the algorithm, not everyone has spent the summer in the Mediterranean having the time of their lives. Looking ahead, in that back-to-school September spirit, I’m buzzing for the upcoming month of Well, Actually… that’s in the works. There will be a couple of essays I’ve been mulling over in recent weeks—that I’m excited but also scared to publish (the best combo)—as well as a fresh Buy This, Not That… instalment. Make sure you’re signed up so I land straight into your inbox, and do share this newsletter with anyone who you feel might enjoy…

Lie-ins

Allowing your body clock to do its thing on a Saturday or Sunday is seriously personal. For some, it’s logging a measly extra hour (it me), while others get to stir far later than their usual weekday wake-up. Anyway, a study has found that accumulating ‘catch-up sleep’ on the weekend—ranging from 1.28 to 16.06 hours across the two days—was enough to reduce people’s risk of heart attacks and strokes by up to 19%. This was compared to those who, over a 14-year period, described themselves as chronically ‘sleep deprived’. Don’t be alarmed, now.

Dead hang

If my feed is anything to go by, the exercise move has got fitness types gripped of late. For the uninitiated, it involves you hanging from a pull-up bar for as long as you possibly can—which sounds easier than it is. So, why has it caught on? As explained in a recent piece in The Guardian, at the core of its appeal are claims that it smooths out some of the negative effects of sitting hunched over a desk—including strengthening upper-back muscles to address postural issues and providing gentle spinal decompression. If you can’t get to the gym, this Decathlon option seems a handy WFH antidote.