Today’s a good day to pause, breathe, and remember the small wins that make life feel big.
Whether you're gathered around a crowded table, working a shift, traveling, or just enjoying a quiet moment — I’m grateful you’re here reading The Blink.

🦃 Thanksgiving is really about two things:

So thank you for being part of this growing community.
Thank you for opening these emails.
Thank you for giving The Blink a place in your day.

May your turkey be juicy, your coffee strong, your seconds plentiful, and your family arguments short and harmless.

Happy Thanksgiving — and enjoy the blink of peace today brings. 🧡

Ali El Houari

With 186.9 million shoppers expected to hit stores and websites between Thanksgiving and Cyber Monday, the big question is: Which day actually has better deals?

Born in the 1950s chaos of Philly crowds, Black Friday still draws 130.4 million shoppers—more than any other day.
Best deals: TVs, toys, appliances, furniture (23–27% off). Some retailers hit huge markdowns — jewelry averaged 59.7% off last year.

Created in 2005 as online shopping took off, Cyber Monday is now just as massive—often bigger.
Best deals: Electronics (up to 28–30% off), apparel (25% off).
2024 Cyber Monday sales were 22.2% higher than Black Friday — a $10.8B difference.

Thanks to online shopping and retailer “sale weeks,” the two events now blend together. Many discounts roll over from one to the next.

Bottom line: If it plugs in, buy it Monday. If it sits in your living room, buy it Friday.

💛 Practicing gratitude doesn’t just make you feel good—it can literally make your bank account healthier.

Here’s how thankfulness turns into financial strength:

1) Gratitude helps you wait instead of splurge.
A Psychological Science study found grateful people choose bigger rewards later over quick hits now. Less impulse buying = more savings and less debt.

Quick steps: reconnect with your values, list expenses, cut or swap what you don’t need, and funnel savings into a separate “future spending” account.
Source: Forbes

2) Gratitude fuels generosity.
Research from UC Berkeley shows gratitude makes people more giving—which also reduces comparison spending (“keeping up with the Joneses”). More purpose, fewer pointless purchases.

3) Gratitude builds contentment.
It protects you from “hedonic adaptation”—that cycle of buying something new, getting used to it fast, and needing more to feel happy. Contentment = long-term goals over impulse buys.

How to build the gratitude mindset:
• Write 3 things you’re grateful for daily
• Thank people often
• Try a 30-second “gratitude meditation” whenever you feel stressed

The result? A calmer mind, stronger habits, and money choices that actually reflect what matters.

Cranky at night? Totally normal. But in people with dementia, a pattern called sundowning can show up — where confusion, anxiety, or agitation spike in the late afternoon or evening.

Early sign?
It usually appears after a dementia diagnosis, but it can show up earlier — though similar symptoms can also appear in older adults who are ill or experiencing delirium.

How to help:
Create a consistent routine, encourage daylight and activity earlier in the day, keep evenings calm, reduce noise/screens, and make sure basic needs (food, comfort) are met. If symptoms appear regularly, it’s worth discussing with a doctor.

AI is great… except when it quietly raises your travel prices. Here’s how to outsmart it and keep your vacation cash where it belongs — with you.

How to Outsmart AI and Save Big:

🛌 Waking up at 3 a.m. and staring into the abyss? Same.

Sleep expert Dr. Allie Hare says the first thing she does is use a “cognitive distraction” — a mental trick to stop her brain from spiraling.

If distraction fails, Dr. Hare follows the golden rule: get out of bed. Trying to force sleep only trains your body to associate your bed with tossing and frustration.

What she does instead:

Reads or listens to music for 20–30 minutes, then returns to bed.
And no matter how rough the night was, she still wakes up at her usual time and gets bright morning light — the quickest way to reset your sleep cycle.

Inflammation isn’t just about what’s on your plate — it’s also about what’s around it. Everyday products from Keurig, Brita, Yankee Candle, Dawn, Febreze, and Glad could be quietly fueling inflammation thanks to fragrances, chemicals, plastics, and even the way they heat or filter your stuff.

And now…the kitchen plot thickens. The FDA just flagged six more cookware brands for potentially leaching lead into your food. ⚠️ This includes aluminum and brass pans, saucepans, and specialty woks — the kind that look harmless until they start turning your dinner into a health hazard.

Lead exposure adds up over time and hits hardest for kids, pregnant people, and anyone cooking daily at home.

What to do:

👉 Audit your kitchen. 👉 If any pot or pan matches the FDA warning, toss it immediately — don’t donate it, don’t “fix” it. 👉 Switch to verified lead-free cookware so your meals stay delicious and safe.

Small swaps, big wins for your health.

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