Welcome to the positive corner of the internet. Every weekday, we make sense of the confusing world of wellness by analyzing the headlines, simplifying the latest research, and offering quick tips designed to make you healthier in less than 5 minutes. If you were forwarded this message, you can get the free daily email here.
Today’s Health Upgrade
Instant sleep boost
How to prevent muscle loss
The hustle lie (that’s causing burnout)
Arnold’s Podcast
Want more stories from Arnold? Every day, Arnold’s Pump Club Podcast opens with a story, perspective, and wisdom from Arnold that you won’t find in the newsletter. And, you’ll hear a recap of the day’s items. You can subscribe on Apple, Spotify, Google, or wherever you listen to podcasts.
Instant Health Boost
The 5-Minute Habit That Helps You Sleep Better
If you’ve tried everything to sleep better without results, it might be time to invest in a pen and paper.
Research suggests that writing a to-do list before bed helps you fall asleep faster and sleep more deeply.
In a randomized controlled trial, researchers split participants into two groups: Half were asked to write about tasks they needed to complete over the next few days (a to-do list), while the other half journaled about activities they had already completed (a done list).
Those who wrote a to-do list fell asleep up to 37 percent faster than those who wrote about completed tasks. The scientists believe offloading mental clutter helps reduce bedtime rumination, which is one of the most common causes of delayed sleep.
Before bed, jot down 3 to 5 things you want to get done tomorrow. Be specific. The clearer the plan, the quieter your mind—and the faster you fall asleep. It shifts your brain out of anxiety and into planning mode, and that slight shift might be the sleep aid you’ve been missing.
Together With Momentous
How to Hold Onto Muscle (Even When You’re Not Training)
You train hard. You eat well. You do everything right…until life gets in the way. Maybe you get sick. Or injured. Or work gets so hectic you barely have time to sleep, let alone lift.
So what happens to your hard-earned muscle when you stop training, even for a short while?
You can protect your muscles—even when you’re not lifting—if you give your body the right fuel, especially enough protein.
A new meta-analysis reviewed 19 studies involving patients undergoing hip and knee replacement surgeries. You might not be going under the knife, but here’s why the findings might still apply to you.
The researchers found that supplementing with essential amino acids, such as those found in a high-quality protein, significantly reduced muscle atrophy, even in people who were not exercising at all.
Those who took protein or amino acid supplements preserved more muscle mass in their quads and hamstrings during recovery than those who didn’t. Some even saw improvements in muscle protein synthesis.
And while the study focused on surgical rehab, the bigger lesson applies to all of us: When your body isn’t being pushed, it starts to break down muscle.
But the right nutritional support, especially high-quality protein, can help slow or even stop that process.
Whether you’re navigating a few missed workouts, recovering from an injury, or just dealing with a busy stretch of life, protein becomes even more important, not less.
If you need help hitting your protein needs, we recommend Momentous Protein. There’s nothing magical about protein powder, but it can be a foundational habit that gives your body the highest-quality protein.
Momentous is the trusted choice of elite athletes, top trainers, and leading health experts to deliver optimal results, whether pushing your limits or pressing pause. Every Momentous product is NSF Certified, which means you can trust what’s in the product and don’t have to worry about any unwanted surprises. And as an APC reader, you get up to 35 percent OFF any subscription and 14 percent OFF any one-time purchase.
No matter how you get your protein, make sure you consistently eat about .6 to 1 grams of protein per pound of your goal body weight per day (about 1.6 to 2.2 g/kg). Because while muscle is built in the gym, it’s protected by what you feed it.
Better Questions, Better Solutions
The Hustle Lie That’s Causing Burnout
Old Question: How do I get more done in less time?
Better Question: What would change if I only focused on what moves the needle?
More effort doesn’t always equal more results. Most people chase productivity by stacking new habits, tools, and tasks. But real progress also comes from subtraction, not just addition. When you stop trying to do everything and instead focus on what matters, you create space for clarity, consistency, and better results.
The problem is twofold: you think achieving more requires doing more. You also tend to overestimate your future capacity.
You discount future commitments, especially time, because you assume we’ll have more of it later.
In a series of seven experiments, researchers explored how people evaluate delayed investments of time versus money. The key concept is “resource slack.” That’s your perceived surplus of resources, like time or money, available to get something done.
People consistently believe they’ll have more time in the future, but don’t feel the same way about money. So when you’re asked to commit to something in the future, it feels painless because future you has more time, right?
This false confidence leads to what the researchers call the “Yes-damn effect.” You say “yes” today, thinking it’ll be easy later. Then, when the obligation rolls around, you say “Damn, why did I agree to that?”
This is why people are more likely to delay time investments than money ones. We think time will magically appear, but money stays relatively constrained. This expectation causes a stronger tendency to “discount” future time costs. It also leads to hyperbolic discounting, where we disproportionately devalue future burdens or rewards, making us overly optimistic about our future bandwidth.
When you understand this, it becomes easier to understand that most of your bad habits aren’t about lack of planning — they’re about poor forecasting. You’re not lazy. You just consistently overestimate how much future time you’ll have. The result? Overcommitment, stress, and missed priorities.
This won’t be shocking, but research shows that focusing on a single important goal while minimizing distractions significantly improves follow-through and success.
The more tasks you try to juggle, the less likely you are to finish the ones that move you forward. Focus acts like a filter—it blocks out the noise so your energy goes toward progress, not busyness.
To shift your focus, start your week by asking: What are the 1 to 2 actions that will make everything else easier or unnecessary? Write them down. Block time for them. And say no (or not yet) to the rest. Less hustle, more impact.
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Publisher: Arnold Schwarzenegger
Editors-in-chief: Adam Bornstein and Daniel Ketchell
