How Women's Brains Can Get Their Mojo Back After Midlife
Women might be surprised to learn they're in for an Upgrade. Find out what that means.
By Margie Zable Fisher | January 23, 2024
The bottom line is that you're not going through a downgrade as you age. You're going through an upgrade. And Brizendine can prove it. After receiving her degree in neurobiology at UC Berkeley, Brizendine graduated from Yale School of Medicine and did her internship and residency at Harvard Medical School. She founded the Women's Mood and Hormone Clinic at UC San Francisco and is a practicing psychiatrist.
During roughly 35 years, a combination of ovarian hormones, adrenal hormones and brain and nervous system chemicals have constantly changed and affected our bodies and behaviors.
The Upgrade can take over a decade and continue for the rest of a woman's life. During this phase, the female brain can make changes accessible to its wiring during the reproductive stage. Ultimately, the Upgrade is "about realizing you have a choice about your path in the second half of life," says Brizendine.
● Directness. Brizendine explains that younger women's brains use estrogen to get along with others for reproductive purposes biologically. During the Upgrade, new hormonal influences motivate us to speak up.
● Focus. During the Upgrade, our brains can only hold one thought. Instead of dealing with the anxiety of multitasking, we can become more engaged, focused and thorough in our actions.
● Validation from within. Since our fertility hormones are no longer driving our need for external approval, we are more confident in our wisdom and experience.
● The return of fearlessness. Our hormones are no longer driving us to please others, so we can often find the courage to try new things during the Upgrade.
● Freedom. Without the "urges, obsessions and delusions that your fertility hormones created around relationships and intimacy," your brain is free "to explore and expand intellectually and emotionally."
starting at age 35, our muscles start to break down," says Brizendine. "We need to counteract it by stimulating muscles through exercise and eating protein."
(Jennifer's note: looking for great ways to add more plant based protein to your diet? Try to include more lentils, chickpeas, almonds and quinoa.)
Strong muscles are essential to prevent falls, maintain balance and more, says Brizendine. But beyond building muscles, exercise has wide-ranging effects on your body. Studies have shown that moderate aerobic exercise, for 30 to 60 minutes three times a week, increases the diversity of microbes in your intestines, she says, and reduces your gut's inflammation in only six weeks.
Even after just one exercise session, your mood is improved as your brain releases neurotransmitters, including endorphin, dopamine, noradrenaline and serotonin. That single workout can also improve your reaction time and your ability to focus for at least two hours afterward.
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