The editorial team at Sextras on what’s in and out in the world of wellness, from reading to REM cycles, and saying bye-bye to beloved acrylics.

IN

Making (and attending) your long-procrastinated appointments

Honey: As a proudly self-proclaimed grubby girl, I have an image to uphold. A well-thumbed, dust-caked image, but an image all the same. 

Capturing said image has previously involved ignoring any need to make medical appointments until the last possible moment in time. Why, I thought, should I give away my hard-earned money or time to be prodded, poked and swabbed by any manner of implements, only to be told I’m a picture of health, or gaslit into admission there simply can’t be anything .

But, ladies and gentlethem, I’m proud to say I recently saw the white fluorescent light. It might have taken my dentist receptionist threatening to unregister me for not attending in so long (after a literal lifetime of registration); or my girlfriend repeatedly begging me to ‘just call them’; or three calls from my family insisting I do the same. 

Despite all the odds, I booked three appointments within the space of a month. That’s right, I had my teeth, veins, and nose swabbed all the space of a month. And, other than the £95 the dentist set me back, I was left emotionally and physically untarnished – all the while accompanied.

Having hobbies

Dani: I recently read something that said: “You can’t practise self-expression if you have no self to express.” Which made me say woah! out loud. In other words: if you want to feel more confident, have interesting things to say, and be a creative person, you need to invest in your hobbies and find out what you’re into. 

This realisation put the fear of God in me, so I’ve been making more of an effort with my pastimes, and trying new things. If you don’t know where to start, a useful exercise is to write down a list of five things you like doing, five things you never have time to do, five things you think are cool but would never do, and so on, and then choose some activities from there. For me, that meant joining a book club, drawing, baking in my air fryer (my gas oven is terrifying), and going to new exercise classes. I also want to finally learn to speak fluent Italian, and make excellent cocktails. 

Cultivating hobbies you care about contributes to higher self-esteem and quality of life, but it’s also an efficacious way to combat overthinking and anxiety. Low-stakes autumn: try new things – you might be surprised at what you end up loving.

Read more: Editors on…our cultural highlights

A 10-hour sleeping schedule 

Lucy: Let me tell you, embracing my inner sleepy girl has been a total game-changer. 

As Brat summer has officially come to an end, I’ve started going to bed by 9 PM on weekdays and waking up around 8 AM, and honestly, it feels glorious. There’s something so satisfying about establishing a solid sleep routine - it just makes me feel like I’m putting myself first.

Women have been proven to need more sleep than men, but we all assume eight hours is enough. Well, now that I’ve embraced this new schedule, I’ve been waking up refreshed and ready to tackle the day instead of groggy and grumpy. It’s like I’ve finally accepted that sleep is not a luxury but a necessity, especially in this chaotic world.

It's not quite Dakota Johnson's 14-hour-a-night sleep schedule, but I'm basically fitting in as many REM cycles as possible for someone who is not an actress, nepo baby, and famous lover of limes (although I do love a zesty margarita). 

Plus, cosy evenings spent winding down with a book or a comforting show before bed are actually great for my mental health (who knew, right?). 

Finally reading that book that’s been collecting dust

Kiran: I’ve been a victim of internet rot and I’ve been waking up feeling overstimulated and overwhelmed for the day. A simple fix of switching out my daily TikTok doom scroll with a coffee to a chapter of Yellowface by Rebecca F Kuang has honestly made such an improvement to my life. I’m not going to lie like those fitness influencers, and say that I don’t look at my phone at all when I wake up – I do. But instead of spending one mind-numbing hour consuming content that, realistically, makes me feel shitty and stressed, I’m intrigued to see how struggling author June Hayward deals with stealing her dead friend, and the bestseller extraordinaire, Athena Liu’s manuscript and passing it off as her own. 

A simple thirty minutes of escapism that doesn’t come in the form of a screen or audio helps to regulate my nervous system, so I’m ready for the day. Plus: Dua Lipa, who is my favourite person at the moment, has a book club called Service 95, so reading is definitely IN. 

OUT

Using an insane amount of skincare products (what do they even do?)

Dani: This week, I am forcing myself to do what no woman wants to do: sorting through all the skincare products I own. Though I am a careful spender, I am also a relentless hoarder, and have somehow accumulated an intimidating assortment of serums, ointments and creams. There comes a time in a person’s life when she has to take a long, hard look at the items surrounding her sink, and take stock of how she got here. 

On some corners of Beauty TikTok, it’s common to see influencers applying dozens of serums to their faces, one after the other – and recommending viewers do the same. But research has shown you absolutely can use too many products, and they can become ineffective or damaging when used all at once. Active ingredients – such as retinol or vitamin C – should be used in moderation. And did you know double cleansing is a myth?? 

The skincare industry is valued at around £86 billion – a number that does not give me a warm, fuzzy feeling inside, and is directly tied to marketing people things they do not need. By purchasing skincare products, am I complicit in an enormous consumer-capitalist scam, handing over my hard-earned cash to billionaires who are not even slightly bothered about whether their product makes my acne scars less visible? Kinda!

This all seemed suddenly exhausting; I wanted to leave my bathroom and climb into bed. I’ve decided, for the time being, to scale back my routine. I don’t even wash my face in the morning any more, which feels rebellious – take that, Big Skincare. 

Your dermatological needs are highly personal, but here are two nuggets of wisdom I can provide: don’t be a hoarder, like me, and don’t buy a £40 serum because someone on TikTok with great skin tells you to. 

Acrylic nails… for now

Kiran: Ever since my high-school days, I’ve always had long, acrylic nails. Usually in a coffin or almond shape, although, on rare occasions, I’ll branch out and do a square shape. I still adore them, and the tapping sound they make when I text that makes me feel like a boss bitch, but it’s about time I start looking after my nail health. I started to notice increased sensitivity to heat and cold, and my nails are pretty brittle. There are other options like builder gel or BIAB, but once an acrylic girly, always an acrylic girly. They’ll be back in time for spring, but my nails are in need of some R&R this autumn. 

Believing I have high cortisol

Lucy: According to my FYP, it seems like every other TikTok video is diagnosing me with high cortisol levels, claiming that my bloating is a direct result of stress. But let’s be real: my body’s reaction might just be due to that half-eaten kebab I left on my bedside table last night (whoops).

While it’s true that stress can affect our bodies, attributing every little discomfort to hormonal imbalances is a slippery slope. Cortisol, while often painted as the villain, actually serves essential functions—it helps regulate metabolism and keeps us alert. 

So, instead of believing every wellness influencer that comes across my TikTok, I’ve come to tune out these oversimplified health narratives and focus on understanding my body better. Instead of spiralling into panic over what I might be doing wrong, I’m leaning into balanced eating and mindfulness, and if I wake up a little bloated, that’s perfectly normal - just my body working constantly to keep me happy and healthy, as it should be.