Latest / Empower Your Menopause / Episode 53 Beyond Burpees — How Movement Protects Your Brain After 40

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Episode 53 Beyond Burpees — How Movement Protects Your Brain After 40 · Empower Your Menopause

• 0:16
  SPEAKER_01: Hello and welcome to Empower Your Menopause, the podcast where we talk about all things health, hormones, and happiness for women 40 and above.
• 0:23
  SPEAKER_01: It's coaches James and Julie here from Fabulous Beyond 40.
• 0:27
  SPEAKER_01: And let's start today's episode with a really simple question.
• 0:30
  SPEAKER_01: When you hear movement or exercise, do you brace yourself for lecture on lifting weights and hitting 10k steps?
• 0:37
  SPEAKER_01: Well, if so, that is not going to happen today.
• 0:40
  SPEAKER_01: We've talked about strength training and exercise on the pod before, and we'll keep doing it because it actually matters.
• 0:46
  SPEAKER_01: But this isn't another pep talk about working out.
• 0:49
  SPEAKER_01: If you're over 40, the stakes are higher than ever.
• 0:52
  SPEAKER_01: And your brain is just as much part of the equation as your bones and muscles are.
• 0:56
  SPEAKER_01: So in this episode, we're going to talk beyond burpees and talk about how movement literally helps rewire your brain for better focus, for sharper memory, and even protection against cognitive decline, that age-related drop in mental capacity that can come.
• 1:13
  SPEAKER_01: So if you ever said I don't have time to exercise, this might just change your mind and help to protect it too.
• 1:20
  SPEAKER_01: So here's what most women don't realize after 40, the risk of cognitive decline doesn't just go gradually, it accelerates, and movement is a really strong predictor of long-term brain health.
• 1:32
  SPEAKER_01: So, Julie, why don't you talk about that a little bit and start us off?
• 1:36
  SPEAKER_01: You know, move it or lose it, I suppose, is the key message that we're trying to get across here, right?
• 1:45
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, for sure.
• 1:46
  SPEAKER_00: And that's true in muscular strength and bone density, but especially for brain health, because it isn't, as you said, just about protecting your muscles and bones.
• 1:59
  SPEAKER_00: It's about protecting your brain and your mental function and capacity.
• 2:04
  SPEAKER_00: Um, our brain starts to undergo changes in hormone levels, of course, at this time of years, this time of life.
• 2:12
  SPEAKER_00: Our stress response is a little bit different.
• 2:15
  SPEAKER_00: And there's a part of our brain called the hippocampus that's responsible for memory.
• 2:19
  SPEAKER_00: And it affects that volume and circulation to that particular area of our brain as well.
• 2:25
  SPEAKER_00: When we lose, again, those protective effects of estrogen and we have increases in stress hormones.
• 2:30
  SPEAKER_00: And when we're sitting constantly, like many of us are at working at computers all day, driving a desk, as we say, um, it can it can really have uh an effect on us.
• 2:42
  SPEAKER_00: So if you're finding that, you know, you forget names, you go into the room and forget why you're there.
• 2:48
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, hello, I do that, you know, or just feeling sluggish.
• 2:52
  SPEAKER_00: That's probably what's going on.
• 2:55
  SPEAKER_00: So um, interesting little factoid from Harvard Health, they found in some studies that they that they um summarize that regular physical activity can reduce the risk of cognitive decline by up to 35%.
• 3:10
  SPEAKER_00: So that's over a third.
• 3:12
  SPEAKER_00: That's pretty impressive when you consider that.
• 3:15
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I mean, it's huge.
• 3:17
  SPEAKER_00: When you consider that when we talk about movement or exercise, we're not talking about, you know, we'll we'll talk about this in more in detail in a bit, but we're not talking about having to turn into this, you know, three-hour gym session every day.
• 3:30
  SPEAKER_00: Um, neuroplasticity is something that our brains means our brains can change, can fire neurons differently, can create different neural connections, and movement boosts that capacity and that protects us against the cognitive decline.
• 3:47
  SPEAKER_00: Women in postmenopause have a greatly increased risk of Alzheimer's compared to men, and it can start developing decades earlier, and that's why we talk so much about doing these things starting in peramenopause, starting in your 40s.
• 4:03
  SPEAKER_00: The sooner we start to address this, the better off we're going to be.
• 4:07
  SPEAKER_00: It's putting that, you know, extra resilience in the bank, as we say.
• 4:11
  SPEAKER_00: Um, physical activity, I mean, who doesn't feel better after a brisk walk outside in the fresh air or a workout or whatever it is?
• 4:19
  SPEAKER_00: It boosts your focus, it helps your memory, you know, and your executive function basically.
• 4:25
  SPEAKER_00: And by the way, it's a great way to reduce stress, as we always say, the number one enemy of women in this phase of life.
• 4:32
  SPEAKER_00: It helps with your sleep, and those are those two things as well are key factors in your cognitive health.
• 4:40
  SPEAKER_00: There's another thing called BDNF, it's brain-derived neurotropic factor.
• 4:45
  SPEAKER_00: You don't have to remember that, but you know, if you can think of that sort of like your brain fertilizer, sitting all day reduces that, and your skeletal muscles are going to produce BDNF in response to contraction, which happens during exercise and movement, and that can have really systemic effects on us, but especially when it comes to your brain, memory, learning, and even emotional resilience.
• 5:11
  SPEAKER_00: And I mean, who doesn't feel a little bit more edgy at this at this time of life, right?
• 5:16
  SPEAKER_00: We have these mood swings, we have different perspectives.
• 5:20
  SPEAKER_00: So, really, the idea here is to move consistently and with some intention.
• 5:25
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, 10 minutes at a time counts, right?
• 5:28
  SPEAKER_00: We can do what we call exercise snacks.
• 5:31
  SPEAKER_00: Five to 10 minutes several times throughout the day is all you need.
• 5:35
  SPEAKER_00: And when you think about um what we call neat non-exercise activity, thermogenesis, just say neat, it's really neat to move your body.
• 5:47
  SPEAKER_00: And that's different things like physically sweeping the floor, um, carrying your groceries in from the car, like just things that you do on a daily basis, not really thinking about it, walking up and down the stairs, um, bending over to clean something on the floor, that that sort of thing.
• 6:04
  SPEAKER_00: So there's a lot more to do with this, obviously.
• 6:09
  SPEAKER_00: Motivation is a big piece.
• 6:10
  SPEAKER_00: Um, do you want to talk about motivation?
• 6:13
  SPEAKER_00: Because I mean, we all say we need to be motivated.
• 6:16
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, let's delve into this a little deeper as well.
• 6:20
  SPEAKER_01: Because I think it's really interesting there.
• 6:22
  SPEAKER_01: Well, the one of the key takeaways from what you just said for me is the fact that this isn't just about going to the gym and spending an hour in the in the gym, right?
• 6:32
  SPEAKER_01: It's more about movement in general, and that's what increases blood flow to the brain, delivers oxygen, delivers nutrients, that supports brain health.
• 6:42
  SPEAKER_01: And when that happens, you're stimulating two things, and these come from from Greek words, so you're trying to explain what what they are and what they mean.
• 6:50
  SPEAKER_01: One of them is neurogenesis, so neuro comes from nerves or or cells, genesis from birth.
• 6:57
  SPEAKER_01: So that is new brain cell growth.
• 7:00
  SPEAKER_01: That is one of the impacts of moving your body, and then neuroplasticity, which is really really important.
• 7:06
  SPEAKER_01: That's your your nerves, your your brain capacity, having the ability to adapt, to rewire, to form new connections, to learn new things.
• 7:16
  SPEAKER_01: So both of those things are increased with blood flow to the brain, as you just said, because of the release of BDNF, brain-derived neurotropic factor.
• 7:26
  SPEAKER_01: And I think it's worth talking a little bit about that here, because it's something that isn't really talked about in the when we come to the menopause transition.
• 7:36
  SPEAKER_01: Studies show that in menopause, all things being equal, so if everything else is the same, it can increase, BDNF can increase with HRT.
• 7:45
  SPEAKER_01: So that shows us that there is a link somewhere between oestrogen and BDNF because when oestrogen comes back into play, if it's dropped through the menopause transition, then BDNF increases.
• 7:57
  SPEAKER_01: So we know there's a link there.
• 7:59
  SPEAKER_01: Higher BDNF levels in postmenopausal women have also been associated with better memory performance.
• 8:05
  SPEAKER_01: And what is one of the things that can help you in this battle of BDNF falling as estrogen drops is by moving more, which is why it's so important to actually move more as we get older.
• 8:21
  SPEAKER_01: And so, you know, there are all kinds of studies around this, around this idea that neuroplasticity, you can still learn, you can still grow, you can still do things that are challenged that might seem to be challenged for you if you're adding movement in.
• 8:38
  SPEAKER_01: So, for instance, there's a study published in Neurology magazine showed that women who were physically active in midlife had a significantly lower risk of developing dementia later in life.
• 8:49
  SPEAKER_01: Dementia sits with those same conditions like Alzheimer's disease, those conditions where the bit brain is degenerating with time.
• 8:58
  SPEAKER_01: Um, so it's really, really important, you know, not just for muscle loss, not for just for osteoporosis, for bone loss, but it's also really important for our emotional health and our physical health as well.
• 9:14
  SPEAKER_01: So I think it's really really important to just hammer home a little bit about what movement actually means because I think that that can help with motivation.
• 9:27
  SPEAKER_01: The more we draw the connection between why something's good for us to actually doing it, then the more chance we are of being motivated to do it.
• 9:39
  SPEAKER_01: So here's a really simple choice for you, lady listeners.
• 9:42
  SPEAKER_01: You know, do you want your muscles to remain as strong as old as possi as as long as they can?
• 9:49
  SPEAKER_01: Do you want your bones to be as strong for as long as you can?
• 9:53
  SPEAKER_01: And do you want your brain to be as sharp and as focused for as long as possible?
• 9:59
  SPEAKER_01: If the answer to all those three things is yes, I'm hoping that now you're motivated to do more movement.
• 10:08
  SPEAKER_01: Okay, so Julie, what why don't you talk to us a little bit about in all of those kind of areas that we just talked about, what happens when you don't actually move?
• 10:20
  SPEAKER_01: What is the reverse of not doing this then?
• 10:22
  SPEAKER_01: Physically, how does that how does it affect us?
• 10:28
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, sure.
• 10:29
  SPEAKER_00: And I, you know, one of one of my interesting lessons learned not only through studies, but also through my own experience about motivation is that motivation doesn't come first.
• 10:41
  SPEAKER_00: So knowing these things are so important, finding a way to get your body moving that feels good will then create motivation to keep going because it feels good.
• 10:53
  SPEAKER_00: So even if you find that you're struggling to get going, knowing what could happen if you don't might be motivation enough to get you started.
• 11:04
  SPEAKER_00: But once you get started, it's that momentum that will keep the motivation going.
• 11:08
  SPEAKER_00: Because when you don't move, okay, we know that we've talked many times, if you've listened to other podcasts of ours, um, losing your muscle mass as we age.
• 11:18
  SPEAKER_00: That that happens at an increasing rate if we don't do something to prevent that from happening.
• 11:25
  SPEAKER_00: That's called sarcopania.
• 11:27
  SPEAKER_00: Um, we lose mobility.
• 11:29
  SPEAKER_00: It's we're stiffer, it's harder to move and stretch.
• 11:32
  SPEAKER_00: You may notice that you know, I've had some of our clients have said, Oh, I can't touch my toes anymore, or I can't reach as far as I used to be able to.
• 11:41
  SPEAKER_00: I can't lift my arms up as far as I used to be able to.
• 11:44
  SPEAKER_00: Mobility is really important.
• 11:46
  SPEAKER_00: And the way to keep those joints juicy is to keep moving them.
• 11:50
  SPEAKER_00: I have arthritis in my shoulders.
• 11:52
  SPEAKER_00: If I don't work out regularly, the pain increases significantly.
• 11:56
  SPEAKER_00: So it's possible to sort of reverse that, those aches and pains that you feel by moving more and getting better circulation in there.
• 12:05
  SPEAKER_00: Balance, huge, huge, huge when it comes to independence as we age.
• 12:10
  SPEAKER_00: If we don't move regularly, we lose that sense of proprioception, which is understanding where our body is in space, and it affects our balance, and we're more likely to have a fall.
• 12:22
  SPEAKER_00: And for women, especially far enough post-menopause, but 60s, 70s, and beyond, when you have a fall that results in a hip fracture, that can be a life-threatening situation if your body isn't strong enough to heal well.
• 12:39
  SPEAKER_00: That's there's been a lot of association with that.
• 12:41
  SPEAKER_00: It's a very scary thing.
• 12:42
  SPEAKER_00: Not trying to be alarmist, but this is this is the reality of our aging process.
• 12:49
  SPEAKER_00: And that all affects our confidence, our independence, and our safety.
• 12:54
  SPEAKER_00: I don't know about you, but I don't want to have to rely on other people to do everything for me because I'm not strong enough to do it.
• 13:00
  SPEAKER_00: The other thing is when we don't move, as we've already said multiple times today so far, that risk of cognitive decline and memory loss and even things like depression and anxiety can increase.
• 13:13
  SPEAKER_00: Movement and exercise have been shown to be one of the most effective and low-cost remedies for depression that exists.
• 13:21
  SPEAKER_01: Um, so isn't there?
• 13:25
  SPEAKER_01: In that you know, movement, most people think about it from a muscle, from a bone point of view.
• 13:35
  SPEAKER_01: But then if you're not moving, you start your body can start to lock up.
• 13:40
  SPEAKER_01: When your body starts to lock up, then that can have an effect on your confidence, on your mental capacity, and therefore you're moving less, so you're getting less BDNF that we talked about before, which increases your risk of feeling worse.
• 13:56
  SPEAKER_01: And when you start to feel worse, you're less inclined to want to work out.
• 14:00
  SPEAKER_01: And so, once again, it's one of these things that can go on a real spiral for some people, and like you said, it doesn't have to be a huge start.
• 14:10
  SPEAKER_01: You know, your motivation doesn't have to come from right, I'm gonna go and smash it in the gym for an hour.
• 14:14
  SPEAKER_01: It can just be I'm just gonna get out, get up, and take the dog for a walk, or take the garbage out, or live my shopping on the on the way home.
• 14:21
  SPEAKER_01: All those kind of things can count.
• 14:24
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, for sure.
• 14:25
  SPEAKER_00: For sure.
• 14:25
  SPEAKER_00: And you know, well, and something else that I've heard from from our clients and we've heard from our clients recently is there's a sense of kind of emotional flatness that we get to feeling.
• 14:35
  SPEAKER_00: Like we don't get as excited about things anymore.
• 14:38
  SPEAKER_00: There's this, I don't want to say apathy, but just kind of things just don't have that emotional hit that they used to.
• 14:45
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, one of the things that we do because we're so addicted to our phones is we're addicted to those dopamine hits.
• 14:51
  SPEAKER_00: And so we we lose our sense of of that emotional, like the true emotional um ups and downs.
• 14:59
  SPEAKER_00: But um sometimes we just mistake that for this is just part of the aging process, but it isn't.
• 15:06
  SPEAKER_00: Those things can really bounce back when you're moving regularly.
• 15:12
  SPEAKER_00: So you want to talk about what this actually means?
• 15:15
  SPEAKER_00: So now we're talking about movement, we're talking about mindful movement.
• 15:19
  SPEAKER_00: Sedentary isn't resting, by the way.
• 15:22
  SPEAKER_00: There's a difference, yeah.
• 15:25
  SPEAKER_01: So I think it's worth saying, you know, like we don't want to be accelerating decline here, do we?
• 15:30
  SPEAKER_01: So, you know, ideally, Julie and I would probably recommend that you do go into the gym and lift weights a couple of times a week, but we appreciate that's not for everybody.
• 15:42
  SPEAKER_01: So doing some kind of movement outside of the gym or making it more mindful as movement can be really important, so it doesn't have to be setting off the incense burners and turning down the lights and you know, uming in a corner while you're holding your fingers in the sort of like pursed finger position that we see uh people do in sort of like cartoons of Buddha and all that kind of stuff.
• 16:14
  SPEAKER_01: Anything that where you're paying attention to your body and you're doing something intentionally as movement is can help here, yeah.
• 16:25
  SPEAKER_01: So it could just be something really simple.
• 16:27
  SPEAKER_01: You know, how many of us I'm I'm constantly looking out the window when my daughters go to school because they walk across the road and they've they've they're they're scrolling while they're they're they're walking, so they're distracted.
• 16:38
  SPEAKER_01: Not only is it dangerous from a physical point of view, that they're walking across the road doing it, but that movement ceases to become intentional because their mind's on something else.
• 16:47
  SPEAKER_01: So actually doing that, going for a walk and putting your phone away, or if you have got your phone and you just listen to a podcast or some calming music or something along those lines, you know, doing some stretching while you're while you're actually breathing at the same time.
• 17:02
  SPEAKER_01: So taking some deep breaths, running through a series of stretches.
• 17:05
  SPEAKER_01: We've got a really nice um little flexible movement flow that we give to our clients.
• 17:11
  SPEAKER_01: You know, it's only a couple of minutes long, but if any of you want that, drop us a line and we'll send you a link so you can watch that that video, our flexibility flow video.
• 17:20
  SPEAKER_01: Really, really great for this kind of thing.
• 17:24
  SPEAKER_01: As you were saying before, you know, all this kind of stuff has got multiple, multiple side benefits.
• 17:31
  SPEAKER_01: So that concept of proprioception you talked about before, knowing where your body is in time and space, really, really good for reducing injury risk, really good for preventing falls really good for our long-term health, obviously.
• 17:44
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, it's stress relief, it's improved mood, it's better sleep, it's better cognitive function.
• 17:50
  SPEAKER_01: And so trying to fit this stuff into your daily life is really, really imperative.
• 17:59
  SPEAKER_01: Um, you know, you could pair things together with some kind of mindfulness practice.
• 18:05
  SPEAKER_01: So as you walk, think about what you're grateful for, or think about your greater purpose when you're when you are if you are in the gym lifting some weight.
• 18:14
  SPEAKER_01: Anything that can make movement more mindful is going to increase the PDNF, it's gonna increase the effect it has from a cognitive point of view.
• 18:25
  SPEAKER_01: So, Julia, just I've talked a little bit about that there.
• 18:28
  SPEAKER_01: Why don't you just distill that into sort of like how that might plan out for a daily routine for somebody just over a over a few minutes a day to to incorporate that into their daily routine?
• 18:42
  SPEAKER_00: Sure.
• 18:43
  SPEAKER_00: And you know, if if you truly don't have think don't think you have time to do this, first of all, we should have a conversation because we can help you find that time.
• 18:52
  SPEAKER_00: But the other thing is it can be something as simple as when you're doing house cleaning things, house cleaning tasks, or do washing the dishes even.
• 19:02
  SPEAKER_00: Where's your body?
• 19:03
  SPEAKER_00: How's your posture?
• 19:04
  SPEAKER_00: Are you holding tension someplace?
• 19:07
  SPEAKER_00: Can you breathe while you're doing those things?
• 19:09
  SPEAKER_00: Because that's also a form of movement.
• 19:12
  SPEAKER_00: Gardening, um, as you said, James, walking, walking your pets or playing with kids or grandkids, these are all, these are really good things.
• 19:20
  SPEAKER_00: You don't have to exercise for long periods of time to find benefit from it.
• 19:25
  SPEAKER_00: We talked about exercise snacks.
• 19:27
  SPEAKER_00: Consistency is always more important than intensity.
• 19:31
  SPEAKER_00: Because, you know, if you do something all out once or twice, and then you don't do anything for a month, that doesn't really provide you with a lot of benefit.
• 19:39
  SPEAKER_00: Whereas if you were doing something moderate for 10 or 15 minutes more days a week than not, and you can do that at infinitum, then that's going to benefit your body a whole lot more.
• 19:52
  SPEAKER_00: So ideally, if you can aim for 20 to 30 minutes a day.
• 19:56
  SPEAKER_00: So maybe walking.
• 19:57
  SPEAKER_00: I, as a matter of fact, I have one client who asked me to put together, we talked about how much she likes to dance.
• 20:04
  SPEAKER_00: So twice a week in her schedule, she has have a dance party.
• 20:08
  SPEAKER_00: So whether that's putting on her favorite music and dancing around the living room, doing housework or whatever, she has a dance party twice a week and she's loving doing that.
• 20:16
  SPEAKER_00: And it gets her heart rate up and she's moving, and it's a lot of fun.
• 20:20
  SPEAKER_00: So if 20 to 30 minutes feels like too much, break it into five-minute segments.
• 20:26
  SPEAKER_00: You could do five minutes four times a day, you know, first thing in the morning, maybe on your lunch break, mid-afternoon to wake you up and and once in the evening before dinner.
• 20:37
  SPEAKER_00: Done.
• 20:38
  SPEAKER_00: Five minutes goes by just like that.
• 20:41
  SPEAKER_00: Um, so you can find that time somewhere.
• 20:46
  SPEAKER_00: Everybody has five minutes here and there.
• 20:48
  SPEAKER_00: Um, incorporating movement that builds strength is is great.
• 20:53
  SPEAKER_00: So if you can get to the gym or lift something heavy at home, ideal.
• 20:57
  SPEAKER_00: We want to work on balance.
• 20:59
  SPEAKER_00: So maybe while you're brushing your teeth, stand on one foot.
• 21:02
  SPEAKER_00: You know, obviously have something you can hang on to in case your balance isn't great.
• 21:06
  SPEAKER_00: We don't want any falls or anything, but even something that simple can help.
• 21:12
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and and again, like James said, pairing, you know, habit stacking, pairing thing, pairing some movement with something that you already do.
• 21:20
  SPEAKER_00: If you love to listen to podcasts or music, that's a great time to get your body moving.
• 21:24
  SPEAKER_00: Or if you're binge watching something on one of the streaming services, every time there's a commercial or every time they say a certain word, because we we used to do little bingo games like that, you could get up and and do 10 squats, you know, what whatever it takes.
• 21:42
  SPEAKER_00: Just identify that sort of anchor activity and find something that you would actually do.
• 21:49
  SPEAKER_00: I challenge you to take just one 10 minute walk today and see how that feels.
• 21:55
  SPEAKER_01: Of course, the the problem that we hear a lot from people is.
• 22:00
  SPEAKER_01: I'm gonna start doing this stuff at some point in the future when I have more time.
• 22:08
  SPEAKER_01: You know, I've I've lost count of the number of women who come on calls with us and they're firing to go, and then they they think about and something comes up.
• 22:18
  SPEAKER_01: It's you know the kids are graduating school, uh, there's a busy deadline at work, and it gets put off, and it gets put off.
• 22:25
  SPEAKER_01: And when it does get put off, whether it be movement or any other thing that you're doing around trying to better your health, when you put it off, all you're doing is compounding that problem and making your health risks increase tomorrow and further down the line.
• 22:44
  SPEAKER_01: That's particularly true of movement.
• 22:46
  SPEAKER_01: You know, lack of movement doesn't start when you get to 80 and you see you know your grandmother or your great-grandmother pushing herself out of a chair and having to use her hands to get out of to get up from a sitting position.
• 23:00
  SPEAKER_01: That is something that didn't just start when that lady turned to 80 or 90, it started much much earlier in in their life by not moving enough.
• 23:11
  SPEAKER_01: And so, you know, finding the time to do this, and as Julie said, if you can't find the time, speak to us, and we we we can help you with that, is really really important.
• 23:23
  SPEAKER_01: Using busyness as an excuse, it's understandable, but it's problematic if you don't call yourself out on it and you don't and you leave it unchecked all all the time.
• 23:32
  SPEAKER_01: You know, I I had a call from my mum yesterday.
• 23:35
  SPEAKER_01: I've talked before, she's my archetypical uh example of a woman of fabulous overfalls.
• 23:40
  SPEAKER_01: She's 92, she just bought herself an exercise bike and she's going on it on a daily basis.
• 23:46
  SPEAKER_01: And she emailed me and said, Oh, James, I can I'm I'm only doing about five, ten minutes or so a day at the moment.
• 23:52
  SPEAKER_01: I was like, Mum, that's great.
• 23:53
  SPEAKER_01: What do you mean, only you know, so so it's never too late to start, but the quicker you start, the better it it can be, yeah.
• 24:04
  SPEAKER_01: And and you will you will see one one thing that we hear a lot from clients when they do start doing this kind of stuff is they almost always say to us, I wish I'd started sooner, and that goes for all these aspects that we've talked about about movement.
• 24:19
  SPEAKER_01: Really, really important, you know, cognitive decline, massive challenge for women in menopause, risk of Alzheimer's and dementia, massive challenge for women post-menopause because those risks increase.
• 24:31
  SPEAKER_01: And as Julie said earlier, we aren't being alarmist, but there is stuff that you can do from a lifestyle perspective that can actually help with this stuff, and you know what, it might not stop it from happening if you're one of those people who has a genetic disposition towards severe cognitive decline as you get older, but you increase your chances of living a healthier, longer life if you're moving in some way, shape, or form.
• 24:58
  SPEAKER_01: That goes for your brain health, it goes for your muscle health, it goes for your bone health, and it goes for your your your general balance as well.
• 25:07
  SPEAKER_01: So I suppose the message is you don't have to do it all, but just do something and start doing it, right, Julie?
• 25:15
  SPEAKER_01: Do you want to just recap some of the things we've talked about then?
• 25:18
  SPEAKER_01: Because we are coming up to the end of our slot.
• 25:23
  SPEAKER_00: Yes.
• 25:24
  SPEAKER_00: Um, ideally, let's stop shoulding all over ourselves, right?
• 25:29
  SPEAKER_00: Movement is more than a I should do this.
• 25:32
  SPEAKER_00: This is a way to invest in your future self that's going to pay off in multiples.
• 25:39
  SPEAKER_00: So don't worry about where you're starting from.
• 25:42
  SPEAKER_00: Start now, start today.
• 25:43
  SPEAKER_00: You know, the saying is the best time to plant a tree is 20 years ago, and the next best time is today.
• 25:49
  SPEAKER_00: Start today, build up slowly, and don't wait for motivation to strike.
• 25:53
  SPEAKER_00: The motivation will come after you start taking action on a consistent basis.
• 26:00
  SPEAKER_00: And if you need some help, we help women, we help our clients build realistic plans that they'll actually stick to.
• 26:08
  SPEAKER_00: Because this is about protecting your future self, not about perfection.
• 26:12
  SPEAKER_00: It's never about perfection.
• 26:14
  SPEAKER_00: We keep talking about positive, messy action because it really, it really makes a difference.
• 26:21
  SPEAKER_00: Um we we have our coaching is designed to help busy women.
• 26:27
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, I don't know any other kind, quite honestly.
• 26:31
  SPEAKER_00: Um, everybody's busy.
• 26:32
  SPEAKER_00: We wear that busy badge like like it's uh like we're martyrs in in a in a sense, but we need to invest that time in ourselves because nobody else is going to do it for us.
• 26:43
  SPEAKER_00: We don't have to have a perfect plan.
• 26:45
  SPEAKER_00: Again, it's just about consistent action, self-compassion, and what I want to say, just the determination to make that a lifelong thing for yourself.
• 26:58
  SPEAKER_00: Um, if you're interested, we are offering a menopause impact assessment.
• 27:03
  SPEAKER_00: This is an amazing 45-minute call.
• 27:05
  SPEAKER_00: We use a validated questionnaire where we assess the impact that menopause is having on your health and on your life.
• 27:13
  SPEAKER_00: And then we can help you set realistic goals based on what your symptom load is so that you can feel better quickly.
• 27:22
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and you'll have a starting point where we can help you work that out.
• 27:28
  SPEAKER_00: So you'll leave the call feeling confident and with some clarity on what you need to be focused on.
• 27:35
  SPEAKER_00: Um, we can book that for you.
• 27:37
  SPEAKER_00: It's just 23 pounds or about 31 US dollars.
• 27:40
  SPEAKER_00: You can do that at impact.fabulousbeyond40.com.
• 27:44
  SPEAKER_00: We'll leave those that link in the show notes.
• 27:47
  SPEAKER_00: Remember, you don't have to have a gym membership, you don't have to go to boot camp and kill yourself five mornings a week.
• 27:54
  SPEAKER_00: You just need to move more regularly and intentionally because your brain is counting on you.
• 28:01
  SPEAKER_00: So you want to take us home, James?
• 28:04
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, sure.
• 28:05
  SPEAKER_01: So a couple of things then.
• 28:06
  SPEAKER_01: If this episode or any of our episodes have um had an impact on you and you'd like to share them with somebody, um please do that.
• 28:14
  SPEAKER_01: Share the episode, subscribe to the channel.
• 28:16
  SPEAKER_01: You can learn more about that menopause impact assessment call um for personalized movement and lifestyle strategies, as Julie said at impact.fabulousbeyond40.com.
• 28:27
  SPEAKER_01: So that's it for this week then.
• 28:29
  SPEAKER_01: We've been coaches James and Julie from Fabulous Beyond 40, reminding you to stay strong, stay fabulous, and we will see you next time.
• 28:37
  SPEAKER_01: Take care.