IF YOU WANT TO UPGRADE YOUR BRAIN, YOU SHOULD: Focus on high-quality movement, sleep, and nutrition as your three core pillars for health Educate yourself about what is happening with your body and hormones so that you can understand the changes better Stay connected and engaged with your relationships with others and with yourself   EPISODE SUMMARY The saying that as we age our brains start to decline is simply not true. Women’s brains are beautiful, complex, and change and upgrade as we go through the different phases of our life. The key is understanding what is going on with your brain and your changing hormones so that you can gracefully transition through peri-menopause and show up with all of your wisdom and strength in menopause and beyond. Upgrading Your Brain with Louann Brizendine Louann Brizendine, M.D. has a degree in Neurobiology from UC Berkeley and attended both the Yale School of Medicine and Harvard Medical School. She is the author of the NY Times best seller: The Female Brain and its follow-up, The Male Brain. Her new book, The Upgrade: How the Female Brain Gets Stronger and Better in Midlife and Beyond, highlights the fascinating ways that the female brain changes, and shines a light on our society’s desperate need to change the way we think about menopause. Shifting the Mindset Around Menopause Let’s think about our menstrual cycles for a second. Every day our hormones are changing and adapt to our menstrual cycle, which can get pretty exhausting for our brains and our cells. So, when we reach the time of our lives where our bodies stop being so focused on menstruation, a whole new section of our mental and physical ability is open to new things for the first time since puberty. The myth that menopause is the slowing down of our lives couldn’t be further from the truth. The transition through perimenopause into menopause can be a beautiful one if you understand the science behind what is going on in your body and get help with the temporary symptoms you may be facing. Menopause is the perfect time in your life to do what you love and embrace more of it. The Longevity Trifecta Louann knows that taking care of your body comes down to three pillars, movement, food, and sleep. Because your body is adjusting to your changing hormone levels throughout peri-menopause, it is crucial that you provide the movement, nutrition and sleep necessary to assist your body when recovering from these changes. You can transition through peri-menopause and find the authenticity, vision, and purpose that you may have been putting on the shelf. When you allow the space in your life to upgrade your brain, you will be shocked at your limitless potential in midlife and beyond. Are you ready to upgrade your brain? Share how you are preparing or experiencing the transition from peri-menopause to menopause with me in the comments section of the episode page.   QUOTES “You have a whole lot of freedom to choose to do other things you want to do, to be your more authentic self at that point. And I think women don’t appreciate how wonderful that change is.” (11:25) “We doctors are here to help you with this transition, you do not have to suffer through all of this.” (25:55) “Biology is destiny unless you know what it is doing to you.” (30:32) “We have to just take charge of some of those kinds of things that we do have charge of, that will be very helpful to our brain function.” (35:50) “Ladies, look. Keeping engaged with your life is what it is all about at this stage! Your brain now isn’t having to have these changes every day of the month with the fluctuating hormones that are washing in and washing out. So I say baby, grab the brass ring and enjoy it! You have a whole opportunity to have a new purpose in life and a new clarity of thought.” (36:20)   IN THIS EPISODE Understanding the hormone dance in the brain during your menstrual cycle (8:45) Some of the shifts and changes you can expect to see when entering peri-menopause (12:51)