How to Protect Your Brain After 40: A Brain Scientist’s Guide for Women | Tommy Wood

<p>Struggling to know what to do when stress, boredom or big emotions hit?<br></p><p>Download my free guide &quot;100 Things to Do Instead of Drinking&quot;, a toolkit for sitting with those feelings instead of reaching for a glass of wine.</p><p><br></p><p>Get your free guide → <a href="https://sarahrusbatch.com/free-guide-100-things-to-do-instead-of-drinking" target="_blank" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer">https://bit.ly/4qOiGUw</a></p><p><br></p><p>Your brain is knackered by 5pm because you&#39;ve been stuck in middle gear all day, and that exhaustion is exactly why the wine starts calling.</p><p><br></p><p>In this episode I sit down with Dr. Tommy Wood, neuroscientist and author of The Stimulated Mind, to unpack the three cognitive gears (high, middle, low) and why constant task switching leaves midlife women depleted and reaching for a drink. We cover what a real low gear brain break looks like, why so many of us have lost the ability to rest, and the link between perimenopause, brain health and dementia risk in women. We finish on the most hopeful message of all: it&#39;s never too late to protect your brain.</p><p>Key Topics Covered</p><p>- The three brain gears (high, middle, low) and how each feels day to day</p><p>- Why middle gear quietly exhausts you, since the brain can&#39;t truly multitask</p><p>- The 5pm wine trigger, and why alcohol is the fast but costly off switch</p><p>- What a real low gear break looks like (green space, breathwork, one thing at a time)</p><p>- Time blocking and why feeling out of control drives poor cognitive outcomes</p><p>- Perimenopause and the brain: verbal memory, estrogen, and vasomotor symptoms</p><p>- Why dementia risk is higher in women, and the factors behind the gap</p><p>- Why it&#39;s never too late, with evidence people in their late 60s still improve</p><p><br></p><p>Dr. Tommy Wood is a neuroscientist and Associate Professor of Pediatrics and Neuroscience at the University of Washington, where his research focuses on brain health across the lifespan. He holds an undergraduate degree in biochemistry from the University of Cambridge, a medical degree from the University of Oxford, and a PhD in Physiology and Neuroscience from the University of Oslo. Alongside his academic work he is a performance consultant to elite athletes, including Formula 1 drivers, through Hintsa Performance. He is the author of The Stimulated Mind: Future-Proof Your Brain from Dementia and Stay Sharp at Any Age, and co-hosts the Bett