329: Brain Fog, Hormones, & Your Attention Span: How to Protect Your Brain in Your 20s and 30s (With Emma Heming Willis and Dr. Nicole Beurkens)
#329: When was the last time you thought about your brain health? If you’re in your 20s or 30s, probably never. We obsess over gut health, hormones, protein, sleep, and stress, but rarely think about the organ that affects our entire body. Josie is joined by women’s brain health advocate and Make Time Wellness co-creator Emma Heming Willis and clinical psychologist and board-certified nutrition specialist Dr. Nicole Beurkens to explain why taking care of your brain should start decades before you ever worry about cognitive decline. Emma and Dr. Nicole break down what brain fog is actually trying to tell you, the surprising ways your hormones affect your brain throughout your cycle, and why women in particular need to be having these conversations much earlier.
They also get into something every person with a smartphone needs to hear: what constant scrolling, notifications, multitasking, GPS, and even outsourcing everyday tasks to technology could be doing to our attention, memory, and cognitive resilience. Emma and Dr. Nicole share realistic, simple ways to exercise your brain in everyday life.
You’ll learn:
Why brain health matters in your 20s and 30s
What brain fog can signal and when it’s worth paying attention to
How your menstrual cycle, estrogen, and other hormonal shifts affect your mood, memory, sleep, and cognition
Why women are disproportionately affected by Alzheimer’s and what researchers are learning about potential risk factors
What scrolling, multitasking, constant notifications, and our reliance on technology may be doing to our brains
Easy ways to build cognitive resilience instead of outsourcing everything to your phone
The everyday habits Emma and Dr. Nicole prioritize for better brain health
The foods, lifestyle habits, and boundaries that can support a healthier brain at any age
Make Time Wellness: Use code EVERYGIRL15 for 15% off your order at Make Time Wellness.
CHAPTERS:
00:20 - Intro
02:05 - Emma Heming Willis’s experience with brain fog
06:25 - What brain fog actually means
11:00 - How hormones affect your brain
16:10 - Your menstrual cycle, perimenopause & brain health
21:05 - Why women are more at risk for Alzheimer’s
24:50 - The biggest modifiable risk factors for dementia
29:10 - How scrolling & multitasking are changing our brains
34:15 - Simple ways to build a more resilient brain
39:15 - Phone boundaries & the importance of brain breaks
45:00 - The best habits to start now for brain health
48:00 - Nutrition, alcohol & sleep for a healthier brain
53:00 - Rapid fire: coffee, brain-healthy foods & omega-3s
56:25 - The books that changed Emma & Dr. Nicole’s lives
58:00 - Is reading fiction good for your brain?
RESOURCES & MENTIONS:
The XX Brain by Dr. Lisa Mosconi - Emma’s book recommendation on women’s brain health.
You Could Make This Place Beautiful by Maggie Smith - Dr. Nicole’s recommendation about life, change, and midlife reinvention.
CONNECT WITH JOSIE:
Follow @josie.santi
CONNECT WITH EMMA:
Follow @emmahemingwillis
CONNECT WITH DR. NICOLE:
Follow @drnicolebeurkens
CONNECT WITH MAKE TIME WELLNESS:
Follow @maketimewellness
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