As estrogen drops, our midlife brains go through a lot of changes. The activity in our dopamine network declines, which can leave us going from highly motivated to “meh.” We can experience bigger cortisol spikes and have elevated levels of the stress hormone longer. We can end up feeling constantly stressed out and in a doom spiral we can’t quite escape. And it doesn’t exactly help that many of us are also firmly entrenched in the most demanding period of our lives. This week’s guest, cognitive neuroscientist Therese Huston, PhD, is coming to the rescue with a host of simple–and quick–ways to boost our dopamine, keep cortisol in check, and help our midlife brains be their best.

Therese Huston, PhD, is a cognitive neuroscientist at Seattle University and the author of four books. She’s always asking, “How can we remove the pesky obstacles that get in the way of smart people?” Her latest book, Sharp: 14 Simple Ways to Improve Your Life with Brain Science, offers science-backed actionable strategies, many of which take 5 minutes or less, to help you make the most of the brain you’ve got. Therese received her MS and PhD in cognitive psychology from Carnegie Mellon University. She completed a prestigious post-doc in cognitive neuroscience at the Center for the Neural Basis of Cognition and earned a degree in Organizational Leadership at Oxford University. She frequently gives talks and runs workshops for organizations like Microsoft, Amazon, Morgan Stanley, Strava, and the Cleveland Clinic. She also loves a good 5K, especially when the rain takes a pause in her hometown of Seattle. You can learn more about her, her work, and her books at www.theresehuston.com.

Resources:

The Healthy Minds Program app here

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Muscle and bone loss. Inflammation. Bloating, diarrhea, and other GI issues. Peri and postmenopausal active women can face myriad training and performance challenges. But the good news is that a lot of them can be helped with proper nutrition practices. This week we dive into the basics on how to fuel your active midlife body, including what to know about carbohydrates, ultraprocessed foods, energy availability, protein, anti-inflammatory foods, supplements, and more with sports dietitian Kristen Arnold.

Kristen Arnold MS, RDN, CSSD is a board-certified sports dietitian, cycling coach, retired professional athlete, and team sport director for USA Cycling and professional cycling teams. Her private practice is centered around empowering women through evidence-based sports nutrition coaching and information, and she has done research on improving postmenopausal women's health through nutrition strategies and counseling. You can learn more about her and her work at sportsnutritionforwomen.com.

Resources

Black Cohosh review here

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Midi Health: You Deserve to Feel Great. Book your virtual visit today at https://www.joinmidi.com/

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This week’s guest ultrarunner Megan Eastwood is a portrait of perseverance. She’s lived through trauma, battled eating disorders, and been flattened by perimenopause. Through it all, she’s learned, grown, evolved, and ultimately thrived. Now 55 and postmenopausal, Megan is out in nature every week, running, climbing, skiing, snowboarding, kayaking, basically anything she can do outdoors. She’s completed numerous multi-day running events, where she generally posts top five in her age group, and currently has her sights set on 70.3 Ironman triathlon events. We talk all about her journey and learnings and what she wants other women like her to know.

Megan Eastwood never considered herself athletic. She was the girl no-one wanted on their sports team at school. Now 50+ she’s finding the confidence to see what her body is capable of.

She found ultra trail running in the UK in her early 20s, but an eating disorder ended any sports activity by the age of 30. Through career, marriage, and raising a family, she hit 39, overweight and not even able to run around the block. She knew she couldn’t enter her 40s like this and started running again. Living in Vancouver, Canada she quickly found the ultra-marathon scene.

Perimenopause hit hard. Like many women she couldn’t understand why everything was going wrong. She dug into research and resources and turned her situation around. Her message to anyone struggling to stay fit through menopause is keep going (and strength train), you will come through the other side eventually.

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Feisty Menopause: @feistymenopause

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Support our Partners:

Midi Health: You Deserve to Feel Great. Book your virtual visit today at https://www.joinmidi.com/

Nutrisense: Go to nutrisense.io/hitplay and use code: HITPLAY to get 30% off

Previnex: Get 15% off your first order with code HITPLAY at https://www.previnex.com/

Paradis Sport: Use code: FEISTY20 for 20% off any single item at https://paradissport.com/