The Menopause Brain: Why Your Mood, Motivation & Focus Change | Dr Mindy Pelz

**Why does your brain feel different during perimenopause and menopause?** From brain fog and changes in motivation to mood swings and difficulty concentrating, hormonal transition impacts every part of your body. For Menopause Awareness Month, we’re re-releasing one of our favourite episodes with best-selling author Dr Mindy Pelz, author of Fast Like a Girl and Age Like a Girl. This is a fascinating conversation about the menopausal brain, the relationship between oestrogen and our brain chemistry, and why Mindy believes menopause can be a powerful period of personal reinvention. Drawing on neuroscience, evolutionary theories and her own experiences, Mindy explores what is happening in our brains as hormones change and the everyday habits she believes can help support mood, motivation, mental clarity and emotional wellbeing. In this MenoPositive Essential: • **The menopause brain:** How hormonal changes interact with brain chemistry, memory, mood and motivation • **The feel-good chemicals:** The roles of dopamine, serotonin and oxytocin, and simple ways to support wellbeing through novelty, daylight, movement and connection • **Fasting during menopause:** Mindy's perspective on intermittent fasting, ketones and brain energy, including a discussion of the 13–15-hour fasting windows • **The power of reinvention:** Why menopause is an opportunity to reconnect with your own needs, rediscover your voice and approach the second half of life differentl • **The grandmother hypothesis:** how and why our relationships and priorities can change in midlife This conversation questions the stories we've been told about ageing, menopause and the opportunities ahead of us. Resources: Join the MenoPositive Community Check out Mindy's Book: Age Like a Girl If you loved this episode as much as me, please rate and follow MenoPositive and share it with a friend who needs to hear this. **MenoPositive – redefining menopause by helping women understand what's happening in their bodies during hormonal transition, and what they can do about it!**