Like many women, Lauren Chiren had a rough transition to menopause. During a particularly bad 18-month stretch, her brain fog and short-term memory got so bad, she quit her high-powered senior role, concerned she was developing early onset dementia.
When she learned she was actually dealing with menopause and there were ways to manage her symptoms, she decided to commit herself to helping women so no one would go through what she did.
Now as Founder and Director of Women of a Certain Stage, Lauren coaches executive women, helping them make the lifestyle changes that allow them to continue to perform during perimenopause and menopause. And she educates organizations on how to best support this very valuable workforce of women.
Join us at genneve.com, the one-stop shop for an easier menopause, to learn more.
Sonya dreamed she was drowning and woke up choking and gasping for air.
She was tired all the time, grabbing quick cat naps in the middle of the day when she could to try and shake off the lethargy and brain fog.
Once a sound sleeper, Sonya just couldn’t make it through the night, sometimes getting up hourly to go to the bathroom. What was going on?
Sleep apnea was going on.
She took an at-home sleep test and was diagnosed with mild-to-moderate sleep apnea, meaning her body was waking multiple times an hour to start breathing again.
Sleep apnea is dangerous – heart disease, stroke, dementia, diabetes are all associated with sleep apnea – and women in menopause are particularly vulnerable.
For more information, we talked to Dr. Katharine Christian, dentist and specialist in dental sleep medicine. She is the Dental Director of the Seattle Snoring and Sleep Apnea Center and Board Certified by the American Academy of Dental Sleep Medicine, and thanks to her, Sonya is finally able to get a good night’s sleep.
To get more information on sleep apnea and Dr. Christian and to read a full transcript of our conversation, visit genneve.com.
You wear your skin every day, so it's a good idea to take care of it. Best way to do that? According to Dr. Keira Barr, board-certified dermatologist and Chief Wellness Officer of Resilient Health Institute, "get naked."
You need to inspect your skin, top to toe, every nook and cranny, Dr. Keira told us. But that's just the beginning.
Dr. Keira shared with us the five things to look for and the three most important things you can do for your skin.
Your skin is your largest organ and a window into your overall health, so listen up and find out how to take the best possible care of it.
Get more information about Dr. Keira and the full transcript of this interview at genneve.com.
In Part 1 of our conversation with neuroscientist Dr. Lisa Mosconi, we learned more about the connection between estrogen, menopause, and Alzheimer's.
In short, in perimenopause and menopause, as estrogen declines, women lose some of the neuroprotective advantages of the hormone, making them more vulnerable to Alzheimer's disease.
Make sure to listen to Part 1 to get grounded in the science. In Part 2, Dr. Mosconi lets us in on how we can protect our brains from the cognitive decline of Alzheimer's. Food, exercise, intellectual stimulation all have a part to play, so you're going to want to hear what Dr. Mosconi has to say. (Bonus: a lot of these same tips can help men age better, too.)
Learn more about Dr. Mosconi, the Alzheimer’s Prevention Clinic, and how you might participate in their research. If you want to start nourishing your brain against age-related decline (“eating for retirement,” as Dr. Mosconi puts it), get your hands on a copy of her fascinating and very readable book, Brain Food: the Surprising Science of Eating for Cognitive Power.
See the full transcript of our conversation on genneve.com, then join the conversation in our community forums!
“In the next three minutes, 3 people will develop Alzheimer’s. Two of them will be women.”
As neuroscientist Dr. Lisa Mosconi says in her article, “Alzheimer’s and Women’s Health, an Urgent Call,” while women account for two-thirds of Alzheimer’s cases, little is being done to understand why simply being a woman significantly increases your risk of developing the disease.
Dr. Mosconi is Associate Director of the Weill Cornell Alzheimer’s Prevention Clinic, where she and her colleagues are working to understand this critical – and critically overlooked – piece of women’s healthcare.
Team genneve came across this story because Dr. Mosconi and others have linked Alzheimer’s disease with menopause. They postulate that as estrogen levels subside in a woman’s body as she ages, so do its neurological protections.
As Dr. Mosconi puts it: “In straight talk: menopause causes metabolic changes in the brain that seem to increase the risk of Alzheimer’s disease.”
“In straight talk: menopause causes metabolic changes in the brain that seem to increase the risk of Alzheimer’s disease.”
Fortunately, as Dr. Mosconi has helped identify the problem, she has also helped point to some powerful solutions. Exercise and nutrition, she says, can play a significant role in preventing cognitive decline.
In Part 1 of her podcast with genneve CEO Jill Angelo, Dr. Mosconi explains the mechanism behind menopause and Alzheimer’s risk. Come back for Part 2, where she discusses how women can protect their brains as they age.
Learn more about Dr. Mosconi, the Alzheimer’s Prevention Clinic, and how you might participate in their research. If you want to start nourishing your brain (“eating for retirement,” as Dr. Mosconi puts it), get your hands on a copy of her fascinating and very readable book, Brain Food: the Surprising Science of Eating for Cognitive Power.
For a full transcript of this conversation, join us at genneve.com.
For further reading on nutrition and your health: check out how your gut flora affects your brain power and, now that you’re going to eat so much better, how to give up sugar.
“I’ve been dressing myself since I was four. Why is it suddenly so hard to do?”
Changing bodies, changing priorities, outdated notions of what’s “acceptable” to wear after 40 can all make it feel surprisingly difficult to dress yourself. And whether we like it or not, people do judge us on our appearance.
We can use that very human habit to our advantage, says Mellicia Marx, personal stylist and founder of the very cool Poplin Style Directions. Our clothes can be a tool to express ourselves and project the image we want to the world. You just have to know what that image is and how to achieve it.
Mellicia asks her clients for the three words they aspire to in their style – “confident, edgy, and feminine” or “boho, earthy, and relaxed,” whatever they may be – and from there they can build a closet that’s like a “boutique curated just for you.”
Sound good? Listen in to Mellicia's ideas about fashion, body image, staying on budget, and feeling good enough to take on the world.
Join us at genneve.com for more information about Mellicia and a full transcript of this conversation.
Author, brand strategist, speaker, and motivator Juju Hook is on a mission to rebrand "midlife." It's crap, she says, and she's not wrong.
Why a rebrand?
What do you think of when you hear "midlife woman"? Wrong! We've been sold a bill of goods, Juju says, and she is ready to help every woman embrace her power and glory and step into PrimeTime.
Hear the podcast, read genneve's review of Juju's book, then be sure to order a copy of Hot Flashes, Carpools and Dirty Martinis for yourself!
Get more information and read the full transcript of our conversation with Juju Hook on genneve.com.
Did you know that after menopause, women lose many of the heart protections that helped them prevent heart disease? With the loss of estrogen, we lose elasticity in our blood vessels, making the build up of plaque easier.
February is heart health month, and since heart disease is the #1 killer of women and men in the US, we wanted to share some information with you on how to protect yourself.
We talked with Dr. Sarah Speck, medical director of the cardiac wellness and rehabilitation programs at the Swedish Heart and Vascular Institute in Seattle and co-founder of POTENTRx, a medical fitness company, about what we can do to stay heart healthy as we age.
Learn more about heart disease, Dr. Speck, and how you can put the wisdom behind the training of elite athletes to work for your heart health: genneve.com.
Quick quiz: menopause or thyroid problem?
Actually, it's kind of a trick question: all of these symptoms can be caused by menopause OR thyroid dysfunction.
Because menopause and thyroid disease can look a lot alike, all too often women who are dealing with thyroid problems like hypo- or hyperthyroidism are told "it's just menopause" or "you're just getting older." To make matters even more complicated, women in midlife are more prone to thyroid disease, increasing the chances that "it's just menopause" is actually "just an incomplete diagnosis."
Yes, it might be "just menopause." But what if it's not?
Thyroid disease can have serious and lasting health impacts if left untreated. So we asked Dr. Kate Kass, a functional medicine physician who specializes in hormonal health, to talk about the differences in symptoms, how to test for thyroid disease, and what we can do to optimize our health under any circumstances.
Get more information on Dr. Kass and see the entire transcript at genneve.com.