Menopause, Exercise and Time Restricted Eating

Here’s an interesting study I came across that looks at how exercise, with or without time-restricted eating, might impact brain health in postmenopausal women.

The Study

Effect of Exercise Alone and in Combination with Time-Restricted Eating on Cognitive Health in Menopausal Women – Frontiers in Public Health, January 22, 2025.

Researchers followed 54 healthy, postmenopausal women for 12 weeks to see if exercise on its own, or combined with time-restricted eating (TRE), could improve memory and thinking skills. TRE means you eat all your meals within a set time window each day, in this case 8 hours, and fast for the remaining hours. So, it would look like skip breakfast, and eat your first meal at 12:00pm and your last one at 8:00pm. 

The women were split into three groups: exercise only, exercise plus TRE, and a control group. The exercise groups did supervised aerobic and resistance training three times per week, while the TRE group followed the same exercise plan but also limited eating to that 8-hour window.

After 12 weeks, both exercise and exercise plus TRE groups showed improvements in attention and executive function compared to the control group. But check this out, adding TRE didn’t boost brain benefits beyond exercise alone.

Why this matters

Exercise alone was enough to give these women a cognitive lift, without the need to add restrictive eating patterns. That’s good news, because this study does not show what happens beyond 12 weeks with fasting plus TRE. I can tell you now, I have enough evidence in our community that it doesn’t pan out too well. 

My take

I’m not a fan of long fasts or regular intermittent fasting for women in midlife, especially if you’re active. Sometimes we naturally or even unwillingly skip meals, and sometimes it feels like the lesser of two evils. Which is usually fine once in a while. But I’ve seen too many women pay the price with slower metabolism, extra weight, low progesterone, and poor thyroid function from the stress combo of exercise plus fasting for too long. Our bodies need fuel to function well. Eating enough calories, getting plenty of fiber, and filling up on nutrient-dense foods, while also hitting your protein targets might sound like a big job at first, but once you find your formula, it becomes second nature.

Tips for a better brain

If you’re looking to boost brain health, here are my top science-backed and experience-approved tips:

1. Keep exercising – Physical activity is a proven brain booster. Just 3 sessions a week of aerobic plus resistance training made a difference in this study.
2. Make sleep a non-negotiable – The fastest way to tank your cognitive health is to deprive yourself of sleep. No fancy science needed. We’ve all felt how foggy the brain gets after a bad night.
3. Eat mushrooms daily – All varieties have unique brain-supportive compounds. I eat them every day… sometimes twice a day. When I lived in Hong Kong, I had so much more variety, so now I fill the gap with supplements.
4. Try targeted nootropics – Qualia Mind gives me incredible focus from the very first time I tried it. Save 15% with code ZORA15 at qualialife.com.
5. Sip your mushrooms – If you don’t like swallowing pills, Mushroom Breakthrough by BiOptimizers is a delicious way to get cognitive benefits. I’m literally drinking one on ice right now as I type this. Save 10% with code HACKMYAGE at bioptimizers.com.
6. Consider bioidentical hormone therapy – Thanks to Dr. Lisa Mosconi’s research, we know the brain is loaded with estrogen receptors. When estrogen declines in menopause, it can affect memory, mood, and focus. Optimizing hormones with a knowledgeable practitioner can be a game changer for long-term brain health. Read this blog to find a practitioner near you no matter where you are in the world.
7. Challenge your brain – Learn a new skill, language, or instrument. Novelty and complexity strengthen neural connections and may even encourage new ones. This year I am learning Portuguese (my 7th language)!
8. Protect your social connections – Loneliness is linked to faster cognitive decline. Keep friends close and make time for meaningful conversations.
9. Nourish your gut – A healthy gut microbiome supports brain health through the gut–brain axis. Eat fiber-rich plants, fermented foods, and quality protein daily.

If you want to get more nutrition from your meals and rely less on supplements, read this article for practical tips.