Behaviors

Monitor cycle shortening and symptoms such as anxiety and difficulty sleeping as signs of perimenopause; for example, cycles moving from 28 days to 25 days.

Included among practices for relieving stress.

Measure estrogen metabolites because some are protective and others may be problematic.

As cycles shorten with age and progesterone declines, test sooner, around day 19–20.

Know insulin levels, preferably including post-prandial and fasting insulin, because they can change years before glucose does.

Testing for elevated testosterone or other androgens in the teenage years may change how you care for yourself long term.

In your 30s, establish baseline thyroid, estrogen, and progesterone levels to guide future menopause-related decisions.

Recommended for monitoring, especially for ovarian cancer vigilance and in higher-risk women.

Pay attention to how many bowel movements you have and the timing of those bowel movements per day as part of monitoring the microbiome.

Assess B-vitamin status, especially if genetic polymorphisms may impair absorption; includes vitamin B9/folate and vitamin B12.

If current training is worsening stress biology, shift to more adaptive exercise; Pilates and yoga are given as examples that helped lower perceived stress.

Assessing cortisol in your 20s may help you change behavior earlier if stress biology is high.

Run nutritional testing panels that assess antioxidants in blood, including vitamin A, vitamin C, alpha lipoic acid, plant-based antioxidants, and glutathione.

Develop awareness and identification of your own emotions as a first step toward regulating them, and cultivate emotional granularity by distinguishing finer-grained emotional states rather than treating them as one undifferentiated feeling.

Use acceptance as an emotion-regulation strategy depending on what works for you.

Structure your environment to avoid situations likely to trigger unwanted anxiety, guilt, sadness, or other emotions; described as the earliest and often most successful emotion-regulation strategy.

Practice until emotion regulation becomes smooth, effortless, and automatic rather than requiring overthinking.

Intervene at the earliest stage of an emotional spiral or rabbit hole; described as the most successful general strategy.

Keep your phone off or avoid carrying it on your person to reduce distraction and incoming demands.

General recommendation encompassing different forms of meditation discussed: mantra meditation, breath-focused meditation, and awareness meditation.

Maintain cholesterol control as part of a lifestyle associated with cognitive resilience.

Stay curious and open-minded by engaging in something new, such as a new hobby or pursuit; associated with lower dementia risk.

Do not smoke; mentioned as part of a lifestyle associated with resilience against cognitive decline.

Monitor for prediabetes or diabetes as part of reducing risk factors associated with cognitive decline.

Keep, increase, or maintain the number of social relationships over time; associated with lower dementia risk.

Recommended for people with chronic depression, multiple prescription medications, disabling symptoms, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, or similar conditions; medication adjustment or tapering may be needed, and getting off psychiatric medications is difficult and dangerous without supervision.

Hydrate regularly as part of core foundational health practices.

Drink the last beverage of the day more slowly rather than quickly to reduce middle-of-the-night waking to urinate.

Avoid highly novel or stress-inducing stimulation just before bed, including stress-inducing video games, because it may excite arousal systems and impair sleep quality.

Aim for about 7.5 to 8 hours of sleep, corresponding to roughly four to five 90-minute sleep cycles.