The Tamsen Show

Is walking enough? Is Pilates enough? How heavy should you actually be lifting? If you’ve ever wondered which exercise really protects your brain as you age, especially through perimenopause and menopause, this conversation gives you the exact weekly plan. In this episode, Tamsen sits down with clinical neurophysiologist and Alzheimer’s researcher Louisa Nicola, founder of Neuro Athletics and host of The Neuro Experience podcast, to talk about why she calls exercise medicine for the brain. Louisa explains that, outside of medication, exercise is the most powerful intervention we have to lower our risk of Alzheimer’s disease and dementia, a disease that affects far more women than men. Tamsen opens up about the short-term memory loss and brain fog that scared her during perimenopause, and Louisa breaks down what happens inside your brain when you walk, sprint and lift, from BDNF and lactate to the myokines your muscles release. Then she builds out a workout plan for your brain: two days a week of heavy compound lifting at around 80% of your one-rep max, one Norwegian 4x4 interval session, zone 2 cardio and 10,000 steps a day. In this episode, you’ll learn: - Why exercise is the best non-drug intervention for lowering Alzheimer’s risk - How heavy to lift for brain health, and why compound moves like squats and deadlifts matter most - Why Pilates is a great add-on, but not enough on its own - The surprising link between leg strength and brain aging: “the larger the legs, the larger the brain” - What zone 2 training (about 65% of your max heart rate) does for the hippocampus and memory - How to raise your VO2 max with the Norwegian 4x4, how to estimate it with the 12-minute Cooper test, and why she wouldn’t rely on your wearable - What she says about creatine for the brain, omega-3s, and the p-tau217 blood test and APOE4 gene test you can ask your doctor about If you’ve ever wondered whether your workouts are doing anything for your brain, this episode will help you build a plan that protects your memory now and decades from now. If you liked this episode, then you’ll like: How Getting Stronger as You Age Can Change Everything with The Muscle Doctor, Dr. Gabrielle Lyon and The #1 Pharmacist Phil Cowley: Creatine, Greens, Electrolytes, What’s Worth Buying and What Isn’t For everything mentioned in this episode, click this link If you want a say on our upcoming guests, fill out ⁠this form Stay connected with Tamsen: ⁠⁠⁠⁠Get ⁠Tamsen's newsletter⁠⁠⁠⁠ filled with free tools⁠ to living better, feeling stronger, and knowing you’re never alone Get Tamsen’s NYT instant bestselling book, ⁠⁠⁠⁠How To Menopause⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠Free Resources⁠⁠⁠⁠ from Tamsen Watch all the episodes on ⁠⁠⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠⁠⁠ Follow Tamsen on ⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠ The Tamsen Show on ⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠ Follow Tamsen on ⁠⁠⁠⁠TikTok⁠⁠⁠⁠ FOLLOW LOUISA NICOLA: - Follow Louisa on Instagram - Follow Louisa on X - Connect with Louisa on LinkedIn - Listen to Louisa’s podcast, The Neuro Experience - Watch TNE with Louisa Nicola on YouTube - Subscribe to Louisa’s Neuro Athletics newsletter MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE: - Dr. Lisa Mosconi on The Tamsen Show - Walking and hippocampus study (Erickson et al., PNAS, 2011) - Leg power and cognitive aging in older female twins (Steves et al., Gerontology, 2016) - The Norwegian 4x4 interval study (Helgerud et al., Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, 2007) - The 12-minute Cooper test (Cooper, JAMA, 1968) - Creatine monohydrate pilot study in Alzheimer’s (Smith et al., 2025) - Creatine and sleep deprivation study (Gordji-Nejad et al., Scientific Reports, 2024) - FDA clears the first blood test used in diagnosing Alzheimer’s (p-tau217) - APOE4 and Alzheimer’s genetics (Alzheimer’s Association) - The 14 modifiable dementia risk factors (2024 Lancet Commission) - Sleep regularity and mortality study (Windred et al., Sleep, 2024) Sponsors: If you have an iPhone, head to ladder.fit/TAMSEN and take a quick quiz to find yourperfect Ladder plan. Use my link and get a free 7-day trial with NO credit card, and $10 off your first month if you join Get 15% off OneSkin with the code TAMSEN at https://www.oneskin.co/TAMSEN #oneskinpod Get $25 off your first purchase when you go to TheRealReal.com/tamsen It’s time to get back to feeling like you again. Visit joinmidi.com right now to book your first visit today. Insurance coverage varies. Check with your plan for coverage. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Medical Disclaimer: The information provided in this podcast is for educational and informational purposes only and is not intended as medical advice. Always consult with a qualified healthcare professional regarding any medical concerns or treatment options. The views expressed by guests are their own and do not necessarily reflect those of The Tamsen Show. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Menopause and perimenopause can leave you with questions about belly fat, brain fog, sleep problems and whether hormone therapy could help. Your jeans fit differently. You’re losing your train of thought. You’re exhausted, but you can’t sleep. Where do you start when so much feels unfamiliar? For World Menopause Month, Tamsen brings eight leading doctors and researchers together in one episode to help you understand what’s changing and what deserves attention. These are the conversations she wishes she’d heard before she was struggling to read the teleprompter at work, leaving herself notes and wondering why she didn’t feel like herself. You’ll hear from Dr. Sharon Malone, Dr. Lisa Mosconi, Dr. Shelby Harris, Dr. Rocio Salas-Whalen, Dr. Vonda Wright, Dr. Kelly Casperson, Dr. Avrum Bluming and Dr. Suzanne Gilberg-Lenz. Eight experts, different perspectives and answers you can come back to—all in one place. Inside the episode: - Why you can still have periods and be in perimenopause—and why a single hormone blood test may be misleading - Whether menopause brain fog can improve, and why women’s experiences vary - Why more time in bed may not mean better sleep, and how cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia (CBT-I) works - The difference between visible belly fat and visceral fat around your organs - Why bone health needs attention earlier than you might think - How menopause can affect sexual anatomy, arousal and orgasm - What to understand about hormone replacement therapy (HRT) and breast cancer risk - How to evaluate menopause supplements and “hormone balance” claims before spending your money You don’t have to remember everything or make eight changes tomorrow. Start with the moment that makes you think, “Wait, that’s happening to me.” Write down your question and bring it to your next appointment. If a woman in your life keeps telling you she doesn’t feel like herself, share this episode with her. And if these conversations have helped you, follow The Tamsen Show and leave a rating and review. This episode provides general education. Speak with a qualified healthcare professional about your symptoms and treatment decisions. If you want a say on our upcoming guests, fill out ⁠this form HELP US WIN A SIGNAL AWARD - VOTE FOR THE TAMSEN SHOW ⁠HERE Stay connected with Tamsen: ⁠⁠⁠⁠Get ⁠Tamsen's newsletter⁠⁠⁠⁠ filled with free tools⁠ to living better, feeling stronger, and knowing you’re never alone Get Tamsen’s NYT instant bestselling book, ⁠⁠⁠⁠How To Menopause⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠Free Resources⁠⁠⁠⁠ from Tamsen Watch all the episodes on ⁠⁠⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠⁠⁠ Follow Tamsen on ⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠ The Tamsen Show on ⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠ Follow Tamsen on ⁠⁠⁠⁠TikTok⁠⁠⁠⁠ Follow Dr. Malone on Instagram Follow Dr. Mosconi on Instagram Follow Dr. Harris on Instagram Follow Dr. Salas-Whalen on Instagram Follow Dr. Wright on Instagram Follow Dr. Casperson on Instagram Follow Dr. Bluming on Instagram Follow Dr. Gilberg-Lenz on Instagram Sponsors: This show is sponsored by Midi Health. Visit https://www.joinmidi.com/ today to book your personalized, insurance-covered virtual visit. Midi. The Care Women Deserve. Unlock your best hair & skin with @iRestorelaser and HUGE savings on iRESTORE with code TAMSEN at https://www.irestorelaser.com/TAMSEN! #irestorepod Medical Disclaimer: The information provided in this podcast is for educational and informational purposes only and is not intended as medical advice. Always consult with a qualified healthcare professional regarding any medical concerns or treatment options. The views expressed by guests are their own and do not necessarily reflect those of The Tamsen Show. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

HELP US WIN A SIGNAL AWARD - VOTE FOR THE TAMSEN SHOW HERE Why do we keep choosing emotionally unavailable partners? And why is it so hard to break unhealthy relationship patterns, even when we know better? In this episode of The Tamsen Show, dating and relationship expert Sabrina Zohar joins Tamsen Fadal to explain anxious attachment, avoidant attachment, relationship anxiety, and how childhood experiences shape the way we love, date, and connect with others. Tamsen opens up about her own history of chasing unavailable men, including her real-life Mr. Big, and how finding a secure relationship later in life changed her understanding of love. Sabrina, author of Why Am I Like This?, breaks down the four attachment styles, why anxious and avoidant partners get caught in painful relationship cycles, and why some of us keep choosing people who can’t give us what we need. More importantly, she explains how to recognize these patterns and start changing them. You’ll learn: - The four attachment styles and how they affect your relationships - Why anxious and avoidant partners get caught in a painful push-and-pull cycle - Why you keep attracting emotionally unavailable people - How childhood experiences can influence your adult relationships - The question to ask yourself when rejection or abandonment triggers you - How to build a more secure attachment style - What to know before dating again after divorce or heartbreak - Why choosing to stay single can sometimes be rooted in fear Whether you’re single, dating, married, or starting over, this conversation will help you understand the patterns you bring into relationships and how to stop repeating the ones that hurt you. If you liked this episode, listen to: The Narcissist Decoder: How Smart Women Get Trapped in Emotional Abuse If you want a say on our upcoming guests, fill out ⁠this form Stay connected with Tamsen: ⁠⁠⁠⁠Get ⁠Tamsen's newsletter⁠⁠⁠⁠ filled with free tools⁠ to living better, feeling stronger, and knowing you’re never alone Get Tamsen’s NYT instant bestselling book, ⁠⁠⁠⁠How To Menopause⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠Free Resources⁠⁠⁠⁠ from Tamsen Watch all the episodes on ⁠⁠⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠⁠⁠ Follow Tamsen on ⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠ The Tamsen Show on ⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠ Follow Tamsen on ⁠⁠⁠⁠TikTok⁠⁠⁠⁠ Follow Sabrina on Instagram Get Sabrina's book, Why Am I Like This? Sponsors: Unlock your best skin with @iRestorelaser and save on the new Laser Face Mask Pro! Use code TAMSEN at iRestore.com/TAMSEN. #irestorepod Use code TAMSEN at jonesroadbeauty.com to get a Free Gift with your first purchase! #JonesRoadBeauty #ad Rula patients typically pay $15 per session when using insurance. Connect with quality therapists and mental health experts who specialize in you at https://www.rula.com/TAMSEN #rulapod Learn more about your ad choices, click here Medical Disclaimer: The information provided in this podcast is for educational and informational purposes only and is not intended as medical advice. Always consult with a qualified healthcare professional regarding any medical concerns or treatment options. The views expressed by guests are their own and do not necessarily reflect those of The Tamsen Show. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

HELP US WIN A SIGNAL AWARD - VOTE FOR THE TAMSEN SHOW HERE Women learn early which parts of themselves make other people comfortable. After enough years, that performance can begin to feel like our identity, and the intuition underneath it goes quiet. Dr. Ellen Vora spent much of her life inside that worldview. A Yale- and Columbia-trained psychiatrist, she built her life around science and skepticism. Then, during an acupuncture treatment, Ellen received a message she couldn’t explain away, and it opened a question her training couldn’t answer: When someone dies, does the relationship actually end? That experience forced her to reconsider what she believed about grief, intuition, and the limits of what we can prove. Today, Ellen shares the full story behind her new book, Season of the Witch: A Psychiatrist’s Case for Magic, and why women are taught to give up essential parts of themselves in order to be taken seriously. She argues that we’ve been missing something, and the way back starts in the body. In this episode, you’ll learn: - How being agreeable and low-maintenance can become a form of self-abandonment - Why women have been taught to distrust their intuition - How to distinguish intuition from anxiety, and the ways the body signals yes and no - Why menopause can represent a rebirth rather than a disappearance - What grief can teach us about continuing relationships with the people we have lost - Why the “witch” archetype has always been connected to women who are no longer easily controlled - Simple ways to become more receptive to meaning, guidance, and magic in everyday life This is a conversation about returning to the parts of ourselves we learned to suppress, and letting life become a little more mysterious and alive. If you liked this episode, then you’ll like: Why You Feel So Lost Right Now (And How to Finally Heal) If you want a say on our upcoming guests, fill out ⁠this form Stay connected with Tamsen: ⁠⁠⁠⁠Get ⁠Tamsen's newsletter⁠⁠⁠⁠ filled with free tools⁠ to living better, feeling stronger, and knowing you’re never alone Get Tamsen’s NYT instant bestselling book, ⁠⁠⁠⁠How To Menopause⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠Free Resources⁠⁠⁠⁠ from Tamsen Watch all the episodes on ⁠⁠⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠⁠⁠ Follow Tamsen on ⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠ The Tamsen Show on ⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠ Follow Tamsen on ⁠⁠⁠⁠TikTok⁠⁠⁠⁠ Follow Dr. Vora on Instagram Get Dr. Vora's book, Season of the Witch Sponsors: Learn more about your ad choices, click here Medical Disclaimer: The information provided in this podcast is for educational and informational purposes only and is not intended as medical advice. Always consult with a qualified healthcare professional regarding any medical concerns or treatment options. The views expressed by guests are their own and do not necessarily reflect those of The Tamsen Show. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

HELP US WIN A SIGNAL AWARD - VOTE FOR THE TAMSEN SHOW ⁠HERE⁠ What do women need to know about menopause care, menopause treatment, insurance coverage and their rights in the workplace? Jennifer Weiss-Wolf, attorney, women’s health advocate and author of When in Menopause, joins me to talk about the systems surrounding perimenopause and menopause that most of us never think about until we need them. Jennifer has spent years fighting for women, from helping lead the movement to end the tampon tax to advocating for better menopause care, research, treatment access and workplace protections. In this conversation, we break down what is changing, where women are still falling through the cracks and what we can actually do about it. In this episode, you’ll learn: - Why menopause care and treatment still aren’t uniformly covered by health insurance - Why vaginal estrogen isn’t currently covered by Medicare - What states are doing to expand access to menopause treatment - What rights women actually have when it comes to menopause in the workplace - Why workplace accommodations without discrimination protections can be complicated - What to consider before disclosing menopause symptoms at work - How to better advocate for yourself in the doctor’s office - How to navigate the explosion of menopause supplements, creams and products being marketed to women - Why Jennifer believes better care, education, research and treatment access could make a bigger difference than workplace accommodations alone - How women can get involved in menopause advocacy without becoming policy experts This is one of those conversations that makes you realize how much of the menopause experience is shaped by systems most women have never been taught to think about. The more we understand how they work, the better equipped we are to ask for what we need. Learn more about menopause advocacy, policy, and how to drive change HERE If you liked this episode, you'll love: Estrogen 101: What I Learned From the World’s Top Menopause Doctors If you want a say on our upcoming guests, fill out ⁠this form Stay connected with Tamsen: ⁠⁠⁠⁠Get ⁠Tamsen's newsletter⁠⁠⁠⁠ filled with free tools⁠ to living better, feeling stronger, and knowing you’re never alone Get Tamsen’s NYT instant bestselling book, ⁠⁠⁠⁠How To Menopause⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠Free Resources⁠⁠⁠⁠ from Tamsen Watch all the episodes on ⁠⁠⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠⁠⁠ Follow Tamsen on ⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠ The Tamsen Show on ⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠ Follow Tamsen on ⁠⁠⁠⁠TikTok⁠⁠⁠⁠ Follow Jennifer on Instagram Sponsors: Head over to Bombas.com/TAMSEN and use code TAMSEN for 20% off your first purchase! Taking care of your health just got easier – start here with Zocdoc:https://zocdoc.com/TAMSEN #sponsored Machine Washable Rugs, Made Better. For a limited time only, our listeners get 10% off + free shipping at tumbleliving.com/TAMSEN #Tumble #ad Our listeners can buy one pair of glasses and get 20% off any additional pairs at WarbyParker.com/TAMSEN — and using our link helps support the show. #WarbyParker #ad Learn more about your ad choices, click here Medical Disclaimer: The information provided in this podcast is for educational and informational purposes only and is not intended as medical advice. Always consult with a qualified healthcare professional regarding any medical concerns or treatment options. The views expressed by guests are their own and do not necessarily reflect those of The Tamsen Show. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices