Hi Byte Wellness Fam,

How are you?

This year just keeps on giving us reminders to push forward, to continue to invest in our self-care.

We can’t count on other people or institutions to be as concerned as we are for our protection and wellbeing.

If we had managed (through the racial turmoil of the last decade) to maintain any illusion of safety, as Black women, yesterday’s SCOTUS ruling dashed it.

The decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health shrinks the federal protection of our reproductive control that was established by Roe v. Wade 49 years ago. For the first time in history, the US Supreme Court removes a right that its institution previously considered to be inalienable.

How to Get To Work?

Work has begun to promote pro-choice legislation in the 22 states that already have abortion bans.

To get in touch with work in your area, link with the following organizations:

• Black Feminist Future: http://lil.ms/hds4/7ypnh9

• Sister Song: http://lil.ms/hds6/7ypnh9

• New Voices for Reproductive Justice: http://lil.ms/hds7/7ypnh9

• Harriet's Wildest Dreams: http://lil.ms/hds8/7ypnh9

• Planned Parenthood Action Fund: https://www.plannedparenthoodaction.org/

Don’t Forget To Rest

While we work, let’s remember that rest is not a liability but a superpower.

Humans can not work unceasingly. We need the regenerative power of sleep to stay alert, strong, and well enough to do effective work.

Getting enough high-quality sleep helps us feel better by lowering depression risk. It even helps us prevent and manage a range of conditions like obesity, type 2 diabetes and high blood pressure (which can lead to heart attack and stroke).

How To Troubleshoot Sleep

In the #ByteWellnessWednesday Workshop this week we took the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (https://www.sleep.pitt.edu/instruments/) to troubleshoot our sleep.

You can watch the recording here, so you can follow along while we take and score the PSQI.

It’s hosted in our video library inside our Phyte Well private community.

Discussion Question

• Do you think sleep is an important part of wellness?

• What do your sleep habits show about how much sleep matters to you?

Whew! More next week. Stay strong and well-rested.

Happy, Healthy Living,

Dr. Wuse