Morning Glow Newsletter
- Solana
- Jun 24, 2025
- 9 min read
Menopause & Your Heart: What Every Woman Should Know
Let’s talk about something not often mentioned when discussing menopause: your heart.
We all know that hot flushes, sleep issues and mood swings come with the territory. But here’s the surprising bit, your risk of heart disease also jumps once you hit menopause. In fact, cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the number one killer of women over 50 in the UK. Not breast cancer. Not dementia. The heart.
So what’s going on?
The main player is oestrogen, the hormone that not only supports your reproductive system but also acts like a guardian angel for your heart. While you’re still menstruating, oestrogen helps:
Keep your arteries flexible and open.
Lower “bad” cholesterol (LDL) and raise “good” cholesterol (HDL).
Calm inflammation and reduce plaque build-up in arteries.
But when oestrogen levels fall during peri-menopause and menopause, that protection fades, and the risks quietly rise.
“During your menstruating years, oestrogen protects your heart in several ways. And when your oestrogen drops and you enter menopause, it can leave you more vulnerable to heart conditions.” – Cleveland Clinic
What risks increase after menopause?
Here’s what tends to shift in midlife:
Cholesterol levels go up (LDL rises, HDL drops).
Blood pressure creeps higher.
Weight gain, especially around your waist, becomes more common.
Type 2 diabetes risk increases.
Stroke risk may rise—especially for women who go through early menopause (before 42).
Even something called Lipoprotein(a), a less talked-about cholesterol marker, may climb during menopause and quietly raise your risk of heart disease.
“Women who experienced premature menopause had a significantly increased risk of a non-fatal cardiovascular event before the age of 60.” – Ryczkowska et al.
What about HRT?
Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) can reduce many of these risks, but timing matters. The best results are seen when HRT starts within 10 years of menopause or before age 60. This is known as the “timing hypothesis.”
Also, how you take HRT matters:
Transdermal oestrogen (patch or gel) is generally safer for your heart and doesn’t raise clotting risks the way pills might.
Lower doses are typically safer.
Women with pre-existing heart disease may benefit from HRT—but always speak with a doctor who understands midlife women’s health.
“Denying women with a history of heart disease HRT may be doing them a disservice.” – Management of Menopause for Women with Cardiovascular Disease
What you can do today (even without HRT):
Eat a heart-friendly diet: Think Mediterranean — veg, beans, nuts, olive oil, fish.
Stay active: Regular movement helps blood pressure, cholesterol, and mood.
Sleep and stress: Don’t underestimate how much they affect your heart.
Quit smoking: It worsens hot flushes and heart risk.
Know your numbers: Get your blood pressure, cholesterol and glucose levels checked regularly.
And if you’re experiencing palpitations, breathlessness or fatigue, don’t brush it off as “just menopause.” Get checked.
Bottom line?
Your heart needs care too. Menopause is a wake-up call, for symptoms but also about future health. Whether or not you choose HRT, knowing the risks and taking small steps now can make a big difference later.
Sources: British Heart Foundation, Cleveland Clinic, Ryczkowska et al., Lisabeth et al., Lopez-Pier (2021), Management of Menopause for Women with Cardiovascular Disease.
Want to Walk Back Time? Here’s the One Trick Backed by Science
No gadgets, no supplements, just your own two feet and a bit of extra oomph.
Turns out, there’s a powerful anti-aging tool you might already be using daily: your walk. And according to a 2022 study published in Nature, how fast you walk could knock up to 16 years off your biological age. Yep, sixteen.
We already know walking helps with heart health, mood, metabolism, muscles, and more. But this new research out of the UK, involving over 400,000 people, found that walking pace, not step count, is what really counts when it comes to slowing biological aging.
The researchers measured biological age using something called leucocyte telomere length (LTL), basically, markers in your cells that shorten as you age. The results? Those who walked at a brisk pace had significantly longer telomeres than slow walkers.
Here’s the speed breakdown:
Slow = less than 3 mph
Steady/Average = 3–4 mph
Brisk = over 4 mph
The faster the pace, the more youthful your cells. And it wasn’t about how far people walked, it was how intensely and regularly they moved. That means even short, brisk walks count.
So next time you’re out, channel your inner power-walker. You don’t need 10,000 steps, even 7,000 at a good clip, could be a win for your health and your telomeres.
Of course, slow walks have their place too (hello, mindfulness and mood boosts), but when it comes to turning back the clock? Speed walks win.
TL;DR: Want to age like a fine wine? Pick up the pace. Science says your brisk stroll could be your best beauty secret yet.
When Your Body Remembers What You Forgot
Here’s something we don’t talk about enough: trauma can live in the body, even when the mind’s pushed it aside.
Many women I speak to, especially those who’ve lived through childhood stress or difficult relationships, find themselves years later with migraines, gut trouble, chronic pain or fatigue that just won’t shift. Often, there’s no “obvious” cause. But sometimes, what’s happening now links back to what the body carried then.
When we’re younger, especially as children, we don’t always have the words or safety to process trauma. So the body takes over. Muscles tense. Heart races. Cortisol surges. And if that stress becomes long-term? The body quietly stores it all, waiting for a time it feels safe enough to let it out.
This is why healing isn’t just about “thinking positive” or moving on. It’s about tuning in, listening to what your body might be saying.
Sometimes it’s asking for rest. Other times, it needs movement or stillness. I’ve learned to pause when I get a migraine and ask: “What needs my attention right now?”
Your body isn’t betraying you, it might just be trying to protect you.
Listen in. It knows more than we think.
References
van der Kolk BA. The neurobiology of childhood trauma and abuse. Child Adolesc Psychiatr Clin N Am. 2003 Apr;12(2):293–317, ix. doi: 10.1016/s1056-4993(03)00003-8. PMID: 12725013.
Ho JMC, Chan ASW, Luk CY, Tang PMK. Book Review: The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma. Front Psychol. 2021 Aug 18;12:704974. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2021.704974. PMCID: PMC8418154.
Badura-Brack A., McDermott T. J., Heinrichs-Graham E., Ryan T. J., Khanna M. M., Pine D. S., et al. (2018). Veterans with PTSD demonstrate amygdala hyperactivity while viewing threatening faces: a MEG study. Biol. Psychol. 132, 228–232. 10.1016/j.biopsycho.2018.01.005
Midlife Legends: 5 Women Who Blew Past the Limits
These women more than bounced back, they blazed forward. Each one achieved something most people wouldn’t dare to attempt, and they did it in midlife or beyond. No age limits. No apologies. Just power.
1. Rosie Stancer (UK) – Arctic Explorer at 57
Rose Cecilia "Rosie" Stancer (born 25 January 1960) is a British explorer and polar adventurer Rosie Stancer, known for her extraordinary feats in extreme environments. Memorably described as "a cross between Tinkerbell and the Terminator," this diminutive 5'3" explorer has dedicated over 25 years to increasingly challenging expeditions.
Field: Polar Exploration
Epic Feat: Attempted a solo, unsupported trek across the North Pole, dragging a 100kg sledge for weeks — facing frostbite, isolation, and near-starvation. All in her late 50s.
Why it matters: She’s proof that endurance and ambition aren’t reserved for youth, they’re carved from will.
2. Premlata Agarwal (India) – Mount Everest at 48
Premlata Agrawal (born 1963) is the first Indian woman to scale the Seven Summits, the seven highest continental peaks of the world Premlata Agrawal. On 17 May 2011, she became the oldest Indian woman to have scaled the world's tallest peak, Mount Everest (29,032 ft.); at the age of 48 years Premlata Agrawal - (though Sangeeta Sindhi Bahl later broke her record in 2018 at age 53.
Field: High-Altitude Mountaineering
Epic Feat: At nearly 50, became the oldest Indian woman to summit Everest. Then conquered the Seven Summits in her 50s — despite beginning with zero mountaineering background.
Why it matters: She started after raising her daughters. Midlife didn’t stall her — it launched her.
3. Juliana Buhring (UK/Germany) – World Cycle Record at 34
Juliana Buhring (born 2 June 1981) is a British-German ultra-endurance cyclist and writer. In December 2012, she set the first Guinness World Record as the fastest woman to circumnavigate the globe by bike, riding over 29,000 kilometres (18,000 mi) in a total time of 152 days (144 actual days in the saddle).
Field: Ultra-Endurance Sports
Epic Feat: Cycled the globe (29,000 km solo) in 152 days — with no coach, no team, and no experience before age 30. Later placed in the world’s toughest endurance races, well into her 40s.
Why it matters: She rewrote a traumatic past (parent’s were members of a Cult) into an epic future — on her own terms.
4. Dr. Maggie Aderin-Pocock MBE (UK/Nigeria) – Space Scientist & TV Host in her 40s–50s
Dame Margaret Ebunoluwa Aderin-Pocock DBE (née Aderin; born 9 March 1968) is a British space scientist and science educator Maggie Aderin-Pocock . She has risen to become one of the UK's most prominent science communicators. Since February 2014, she has co-presented the long-running astronomy television programme The Sky at Night with Chris Lintott.
Field: Space Science & Broadcasting
Epic Feat: Overcame severe dyslexia and systemic bias to become the UK’s most prominent Black woman in space science. In midlife, she became the host of The Sky at Night and was named a Barbie role model for girls in STEM.
Why it matters: Because representation in science isn’t just inspiring, it’s essential.
5. Ernestine Shepherd (USA) – Oldest Competitive Female Bodybuilder at 74
As a 56-year-old she was a sedentary, well-padded school secretary and "slug" who had never worked out a day in her life. What happened was that the 56-year-old version of Ernestine went bathing suit shopping with her sister, Velvet. While trying on the suits, they found themselves laughing at each other. Then and there they knew it was time to get in better shape.
Field: Fitness & Wellness
Epic Feat: Started working out at 56. By 74, held the Guinness World Record as the world’s oldest female bodybuilder. She still trains others and runs daily at age 80+.
Why it matters: She redefined health-span for women, and inspired thousands to start lifting after menopause.
Closing Thought for YaraGlow Readers
Midlife isn’t your soft landing.
It’s your summit, your sledge, your lab, your open road.
What if your most legendary moment hasn’t even happened yet?
 
Why That One Song Sticks – Music, Emotion, and Memory
We’ve all had it happen, hearing a song that instantly takes us back to a moment in time. But why does music do that? A recent study in the Journal of Neuroscience suggests it’s not just about the song, but how you feel when you hear it.
Researchers Kayla Clark (Rice University) and Stephanie Leal (UCLA) found that emotional reactions to music, not genre, mood, or familiarity, are what really shape memory. People who had strong emotional responses tended to remember the overall feel of an event. Those with moderate reactions recalled specific details. In other words, music’s effect on memory depends on how deeply it moves you.
This could be a game-changer for memory care. Personalised playlists for people with Alzheimer’s or dementia may need more than just familiar songs, they should be ones that emotionally resonate.
Reference
“Fine-Tuning the Details: Post-Encoding Music Differentially Impacts General and Detailed Memory,” Journal of Neuroscience, June 2025.
Want to Break a Bad Habit? Science Says Don’t Resist — Reflect
Trying to quit doom-scrolling or snacking when stressed? Don’t just grit your teeth and power through. Neuroscience says: go ahead, do the habit, but pay attention while you’re doing it.
According to a study in the Society for Personality and Social Psychology, nearly 40% of our daily actions are habits, not conscious decisions. And when a habit kicks in, we’re not really thinking, we’re reacting.
So why do we keep doing things that don’t serve us? Because our brains are wired for it.
Here’s the science bit:
Your prefrontal cortex is the planner — it helps you stay on track with long-term goals.
Your orbitofrontal cortex is the feel-good voice in your head whispering, “Go on, you deserve this.”
And guess which one usually wins when you’re tired or stressed? Yep, the reward-loving orbitofrontal. That’s how bad habits form, they’re comforting shortcuts, not conscious choices.
So how do you break the cycle?
Psychologist Wendy Wood, author of Good Habits, Bad Habits, recommends a surprisingly simple approach: reflect in the moment. Not before, when willpower is weakest, but while you’re doing the thing.
For example: Instead of fighting the urge to scroll, do it, but notice how it makes you feel. Energized? Refreshed? Fulfilled? Or a bit flat and regretful?
Over time, that real-time reflection rewires your reward system. Your brain starts linking good feelings with staying on course, not giving in.
In short: awareness > avoidance.
Repeat this process consistently, and your helpful planner-brain and emotional brain will start working together; making it easier to swap out habits that sabotage your goals for ones that align with them.
Because the real magic of change? Isn’t in resistance. It’s in noticing, learning, and gently choosing something better next time.
Content on this website is provided for information purposes only. Information about a therapy, service, product or treatment does not in any way endorse or support such therapy, service, product or treatment and is not intended to replace advice from your doctor or other registered health professional.
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