Reading · Happy on Purpose

Welcome to Happy on Purpose, a bestselling newsletter about happiness, habits, and how to thrive in midlife. Tap the ❤️ button to help more people discover Happy on Purpose, and boost your own happiness!

Chatting with a friend recently, the talk turned to a familiar topic: sleep.

“I’d been sleeping so well,” she said, “but things have gone off the rails, and I can’t figure out why.” Aware that midlife sleep problems can stem from hormone imbalances, she had already made an appointment with her doctor.

Our conversation got me thinking about the extensive list of things I do that are proven to help me fall asleep and stay that way: no afternoon caffeine, keeping the bedroom cool, turning on an overhead fan, consistent bed-and-wake-up times, putting my phone in another room, and never using it as an alarm.

I also swear by some other, lesser-known tricks for getting a good night’s sleep. Here are three of my favorites:

1. Wear socks. A 2018 study found that sock-wearers fell asleep nearly 8 minutes faster and slept 32 minutes longer than those who didn’t, with fewer nighttime awakenings.

2. Sleep to the east. This is pattern 1381 in A Pattern Language, a cult-favorite handbook by architects who analyzed and defined the elements of homes, gardens, buildings, and cities that promote comfort and ease. Prefacing this dictate, the authors note, with characteristic authority, “This is one of the patterns people most often disagree with. However, we believe they are mistaken.”

Here’s their advice:

Give those parts of the house where people sleep an eastern orientation, so that they wake up with the sun and light. This means, typically, that bedrooms should be on the eastern side of the house.

I love this added detail…

The right kind of place provides morning light - a window in the room that lets in the eastern light - and a bed that provides a view of the light without being directly in it. People look out in the morning to see what kind of day it’s going to be. A good morning window looks out on some kind of constant object or growing thing, which reflects the changes of season and the weather, and allows a person to establish the mood of the day as soon as they wake.

3. Turn off color on your phone. Switching to black and white (technically known as “Grayscale”) has been proven to reduce screen time, increase productivity, and improve sleep. Here’s more detail on how to do it.

As a habit-collector, I’d love to know your best sleep tricks, especially the quirky ones!😉

Mother’s Day: A Foolproof Guide

Ask her if she wants a gift or time to herself. Many women with children at home want time.
If she wants time, make it happen for her! A day, a night, weekend, or not having to make a meal for anyone else for a week — whatever she asks for, make it happen without guilt or drama. Don't underestimate the value of this as a gift!
If she wants a “thing,” ask her for 3-5 brands or stores she loves.
Buy her a gift from one of those places. (Or all of them!)
Always get a gift receipt.
Bonus: save that list of her favorite brands and stores for her next birthday or other gift-appropriate occasion!
Write her a thoughtful note about how much she means to you: a particular memory, a quality you admire, something she did that you've never forgotten. Don’t worry about what it’s written on. It’s the words that count.❤️

Share with someone who wants to show a mom their love!

📺WATCH. There’s a lot of good television right now! I’m loving Margo’s Got Money Troubles, a delightful adaptation of the quirky, heartwarming novel with excellent performances by Elle Fanning, Michelle Pfeiffer, and Nick Offerman, plus a fun Nicole Kidman cameo! My current comfort watch is Rooster, Steve Carell’s “coming-of-middle-age” comedy set on a college campus. I’m savoring every episode of the final season of Hacks, and Season two of Beef was an unexpected winner: it reminded me of The White Lotus, with its themes of privilege, complicated relationships, and corruption, and the cast (including Carey Mulligan and Oscar Isaac) is fantastic. If you can handle an edge-of-your-seat thriller, Apex, starring Charlize Theron and Taron Egerton, is a wild, terrifying ride! Anyone else hoping to see The Devil Wears Prada 2 at the theater this weekend?!

📚READ. On Michelle Martin’s recommendation, I started reading The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion. I swiftly finished Volume 1, and am completely hooked on this cozy, charming series set in a fictional part of London in the 1800s. Plucky, clever Emma is a twenty-year-old orphan in a financial bind because of her dastardly cousin, Archibald. It is a pleasure to escape into Emma’s world of long walks, fascinating neighbors, and structured (and polite!) social life. If you’re in the mood for something comforting, these books are perfect.

💌DO. Playing mahjong was one of the new habits that upgraded my life last year, and I'm obsessed with improving! I recently discovered The Mah Jongg Insider, a free weekly newsletter filled with helpful tips and tricks for getting the most out of the game, especially now that we're learning the new 2026 card. Check it out and sign up here!

For this month’s giveaway, I’ve teamed up with one of the world’s most delightful bookstores, Wild Plum Books in Napa Valley!

Elyse Chambers, the store’s talented owner, will send the lucky winner a box of goodies, including 5 books (of the winner’s choice), a gorgeous Liberty notebook, and a set of Japanese watercolors.

To enter, pop into the Comments and tell us your favorite book of 2026 so far—or your all-time favorite book! I’ll draw and notify the winner on Tuesday, May 5th.