✅ Today’s Checklist:
🤔 Trivia: How many minutes of daily sunlight does your body need to produce enough Vitamin D? Find out.
🌿 Five minutes of cyclic sighing is the cheapest anxiety reset.
⏰ Women do up to ten extra unpaid hours a day. Time management that fits that.
🔁 Five daily habits that steady your cortisol and help you age well.
💆🏻 Not sure if you’re shedding more than usual? Here’s how to spot thinning hair early.
More than half of job candidates accept the first offer without negotiating. Of the people who do, 66% walk away with more. The main thing standing between most people and a better deal is asking.
Negotiation extends well beyond the new-job moment, and well beyond salary. The list of things you can ask for is longer than most people realize, and some of the most valuable ones cost an employer almost nothing to say yes to.
When You Have a Job Offer
The window between offer and acceptance is the most leverage you’ll ever have with a new employer.
At Your Current Job
Negotiation doesn’t end when you accept an offer. Your current employer is an ongoing conversation, most people just stop having it.
The Part Most People Skip
None of this happens if you don’t ask. Employers expect negotiation. Most offers have room built in precisely because most people won’t push back.
A competing offer helps but isn’t required. Showing up calm and specific is enough. Ask specifically, explain briefly, and let the silence sit.
Your manager heard about a medical need in passing. Or an employee mentioned a religious practice during a check-in. Or a new hire asked for a modified schedule without using the word “accommodation” once.
These conversations happen all the time. Without training, a well-meaning response can still create inconsistency, legal exposure, and employees who stop asking.
Traliant’s Disability, Pregnancy & Religious Accommodations training is a 30-minute, TV-style course with interactive decision points that put managers inside real accommodation scenarios before those moments happen in your workplace.
Managers learn to:
I’ve been taking creatine for a while. Five grams in the morning, maybe an extra scoop on lifting days, the standard protocol most people follow. You hear it helps with the gym, you throw it in your protein shake, and you don’t think much more about it.
That changed after I listened to this episode on longevity and brain health. The conversation around creatine has moved way past the gym, and I had no idea.
Since then I’ve been upping my dose, and I’ve noticed a real difference cognitively. The first time I really tested it was after a long flight on not a lot of sleep. I took 20g spread throughout the day and felt more alert than I had any right to be. Not wired, just not dragging the way I normally would. The tiredness that usually follows me off a plane wasn’t there the same way. I’ve been paying attention ever since.
The old story is only half the story
Your liver makes about 1–3 grams of creatine per day. Your muscles are the greediest consumer. They store it and use it to regenerate energy fast, which is why it works for the gym: more reps, faster recovery, more training volume. Supplement with 5g/day for a few weeks and your muscle stores are saturated. That’s the version of the story everyone knows.
What nobody was leading with: your brain makes creatine too. It needs it. And under any kind of stress — sleep deprivation, jet lag, high cognitive load, a season where you’re just running on empty — your brain’s demand for energy spikes and its creatine supply falls short.
At 5g/day, your muscles take almost all of it. Anything above that starts spilling over to the brain. Research out of RWTH Aachen University in Germany found that 10g/day increased creatine levels in multiple regions of the brain. That’s the window where the brain benefits actually kick in.
The sleep deprivation data is what got me
A study published in Scientific Reports sleep-deprived participants for 21 hours, then gave them a high dose of creatine. Not only did it completely offset the cognitive deficits of sleep deprivation, they performed better on memory and processing tasks than people who were fully rested. I had to reread that a couple times.
There’s also a published double-blind trial where people with depression who supplemented with creatine alongside cognitive behavioral therapy had significantly greater reductions in their depression scores than those who did CBT alone. Depression is a form of brain stress, and creatine appears to help the brain make energy faster under that kind of load.
What my protocol looks like now
I’ve also noticed some muscle definition as a side effect. Wasn’t tracking it closely before, but it’s there. I’ll take it.
If you’re vegan, this one’s especially for you
Creatine is found in meat, poultry, and fish. If you eat none of those, you’re relying entirely on what your body produces on its own, which isn’t enough to saturate anything. If you’ve been running on low energy without a clear reason, this is worth looking into.
And yes, the hair loss thing
The fear comes from a single 2009 study in rugby players that found elevated DHT levels (DHT being linked to hair follicle damage). That study never measured actual hair loss, was never replicated, and a 12-week randomized controlled trial published in June 2025 found zero significant difference in DHT levels or hair outcomes between creatine and placebo. That fear isn’t the thing that should be stopping you.
What I’m using
Momentous Creatine is in heavy rotation right now. It’s clean, third-party tested, and mixes well. Create also makes gummies I’ve loved cycling in when I want to switch up the format. This is a trend I’m genuinely seeing value from. Do the research and see if it makes sense for you too.
Thania (TA Content Mgr)
This is for informational purposes only and is not medical advice. Consult a healthcare provider before starting any new supplement.
With age, the cellular processes behind visible skin aging accelerate faster than hydration alone can keep up with.
OS-01 FACE was developed by four PhD longevity scientists to address that directly, at the cellular level, instead of leaving it to hydration alone. In a double-blind, 12-week clinical study, the results held up.
🔬 100% of users showed improved overall appearance.
🧬 96% improved skin firmness, and 87% showed visibly diminished wrinkles.
🧪 Skin barrier function improved by 15% (the foundation everything else builds on).
Visibly firmer skin in 12 weeks, proven in a clinical study.
🥨 Taste the best snacks of the century with 20% off + free fast shipping.
🍩 Tired of dramatic headlines and emotionally draining news? The DONUT’s free daily newsletter delivers smart, unbiased news in just a few minutes, with a tone that won’t dampen your morning.
👁️ Done eyes in two minutes: this cream eyeshadow stick blends with your finger and won’t budge.
🧥 This lightweight full-zip workout jacket with thumb holes feels way pricier than it is.
Upcoming Events
* Smart Girl Society is our private community for women who want deeper conversations, accountability, and tools that actually make life easier. Join the waitlist to get in the next round.
👩🍳 Recipe of the Week: Slow-Roasted Oregano Chicken with Buttered Tomatoes (thanks to TA reader, Sarah, for sharing!).
😋 Have a recipe you love? Share it here.
Have more feedback? 💌 Reply to this email and tell us.
✨ P.S. Want more inspiration and positivity to kick off your week? Sign up for our Motivational Monday texts (U.S. only).
👀 Want to see if your company is a good fit for our 250k+ ambitious readers? Join our Sponsor Waitlist here.
Join 301k+ smart women reading The Assist every Wednesday.
