June is Brain Awareness Month (and Pride 🌈). Over the next several weeks, I’ll be sharing the most essential tools we have for keeping our brains sharp, resilient, and energized—especially in midlife. Share this series with someone you love. These are insights we all need.

Let’s start with some brain-body basics, starting with two big ones: hormones and sleep.

⚖️ Optimize Your Hormones

What I’ve heard from women who’ve asked their doctors about hormone replacement therapy  (HRT) is the question, “What symptoms are you having?” And oftentimes, if the patient doesn’t have hot flashes or other severe symptoms, they are told they don’t need HRT.

That’s not true. 

Did you know that women are twice as likely to develop Alzheimer’s disease as men—and it’s not just because we live longer? While HRT is not be right for everyone, sex hormones – especially estrogen – are not just reproductive hormones. They play critical, wide-reaching roles in brain health at all stages of life. Emerging research suggests they may be key to preventing and treating neurological diseases like multiple sclerosis and Alzheimer’s, particularly in women.

For me, menopause hit me like a freight train. Hot flashes, brain fog and mood swings around perimenopause and menopause made me feel like I had stepped into another body. Not everyone is a candidate for HRT, but everyone deserves a  primary care provider who’s up to speed on the latest science and ready to give you the most up-to-date care.

Your homework:

• Read and/or listen to more info so you’re empowered. The leading voice on this topic is Dr. Lisa Mosconi, author of “The Menopause Brain”. This article from the NYT also gives a great synopsis, or just put Lisa’s name into spotify and listen to a podcast.
• Please find a doctor who is knowledgeable on the latest science. I’ve given you some of my favorite resources before which you can find here. (I rarely use the word should, but your ob/gyn should know who Dr. Mosconi is!)

🛌 Quality Sleep

When you sleep, your brain does some of its most important work.

During deep non-REM sleep, the brain transfers information from short-term storage in the hippocampus to long-term storage in the neocortex. REM sleep supports emotional and creative memory processing. Without sufficient sleep, learning new information and retaining it becomes significantly more challenging.

Sleep is when your brain detoxes, flushing out metabolic waste, including proteins associated with Alzheimer’s disease. Think of sleep as your brain’s power wash 🚿.

Adequate sleep also helps attention, decision-making, and problem-solving. When you’re sleep-deprived, prefrontal cortex activity (which governs higher reasoning) is impaired, leading to more impulsive decisions, mood swings, and mental fatigue.

Your homework:

• Watch my favorite Ted Talk of all time “Sleep Is Your Superpower” – where I got a lot of the information above.
• Follow some of my favorite sleep hygiene habits:
  • Build a consistent sleep routine. Pro tip: get some direct sunlight first thing in the morning. It starts your body’s natural circadian rhythms.
  • 68 degrees or lower has been shown to be the magic sleep temp.
  • Sleep in quiet and darkness. Get an eye mask – they are life-chaning.
  • Bonus: Try mouth tape. This has been an absolute game changer for me. My favorite is Hostage Tape. Let me know if you want more info.

That’s a lot to get your noggin 🧐 around this week. Let me know what questions you have and next time we’ll talk about movement, nutrition and gut health.

Much love,

Tracey