Holly McWhorter is the co-founder, creative director, copywriter, and product developer of PLANT Apothecary. Holly and her husband started the beloved brand in 2012, as a way to promote healthy ingredients, environmental friendliness and social responsibility by way of distinctive, design forward design. Their organic beauty, grooming, and bath products are free of petroleum, parabens, phthalates, sulfates, and silicones—and can be found at some of the world’s biggest retailers, such as Urban Outfitters, Ulta Beauty, and Goop. A huge fan of natural medicine, vitamins, and supplements, Holly has several self-care routines she lives by to keep her at her best—find her tried-and-true rituals below.

Bad habits you’ve cut from your routine?
Checking my email before I get out of bed in the morning.
Drinking coffee after 5pm.
Reading news right before bed (the stress makes it hard to sleep).

Good habits you’ve added?
Taking time to focus on breathing deeply.
Using oat milk instead of dairy milk on my morning granola and in my coffee.
Switching my laptop screen’s undertones to yellow light instead of blue after sunset, to avoid having the blue light upset my sleep cycle.

How do you keep yourself balanced throughout the day?
I make a point of spending a few minutes—even if it’s really only 2 or 3—doing measured breathing when I’m overwhelmed or upset about something. Counting 4 beats for the inhale and 8 for the exhale goes a long way toward calming me down when I’m stressed.

Are there any activities that help you de-stress?
I’ve started running a mile or two a few times a week, and that’s a big help. I’m slow as molasses, but I find that as long as I keep a pace that’s comfortable for me, I can go a pretty long time—and build up my distance pretty easily. And I always run without headphones. I find that not listening to anything while I run allows me to think through all kinds of things during that time that I might not feel like I have time for otherwise.

How many hours of sleep do you get a night? 
I’ve always been kind of strict about sleep. If I don’t get seven hours, I’m an anxious mess the next day! But I rarely have time for more than seven hours, because I’m an early bird—my mind is by far clearest in the morning. 

Do you have a favorite wellness trend?
I don’t know if it’s so much a trend, but it’s something people have been talking about more in the last few years than before: trying to fit in ten thousand steps a day. It makes a big difference in my energy levels.

What is your favorite healthy food?
Dark leafy greens of all kinds. I try to always have a big box of pre-washed baby spinach and/or a box of baby kale in the fridge so I can throw them into scrambled eggs, soups, and pasta dishes, or sauté them really fast in a little water or olive oil with lemon juice.