What each issue contains
- A short story. A specific person in a specific moment: the Saturday that felt worse than the week, the decision that would not stay decided.
- What the research says. Named researchers, the year and the journal, so you can check the evidence yourself. Where a finding is uncertain, we say so.
- One experiment. Something small to try that week. No app, no tracker, no protocol.
- A few resources. The longer essay on the site, one paper and one book worth your time.
How often: usually once a week. Some weeks we skip rather than send something thin. Every past issue is in the public archive, so you can read a few before deciding.
A recent issue
She had been waiting eleven weeks for this Saturday. The project had eaten March and most of April, and somewhere around the second missed dentist appointment she had started telling herself that once it shipped she would take a proper weekend.
It shipped on a Thursday. On Saturday morning she woke at nine, four hours later than she had managed in two months, and lay there feeling like something had been removed from her without her consent. By eleven she was crying at the kitchen sink over a chipped mug she had never especially liked.
Your experiment this week: pick two hours. Put your phone in a different room, with a door. Then do one absorbing thing that has nothing to do with work.
What you will not get
Spam, affiliate links or productivity hacks. No morning routines. No vague "studies show." The newsletter is free.
Who writes it
Tawananyasha Dzenga, founder and editor of Relax A Little. More about how we work. The newsletter is education, not medical advice. If stress is affecting your health, a doctor or licensed therapist is the right first call.