I’d wager that cortisol has cropped up in at least one conversation you’ve had recently. Perhaps a friend has blamed it for her sleepless nights, or you’ve spotted yet another supplement promising to balance it. Either way, cortisol is fast becoming a celebrity villain of the wellbeing world. But here’s something I hadn’t given quite so much thought to until recently: the adrenal glands. I’ll admit, until a women’s health panel discussion put them on my radar, I hadn’t paid them much attention. We’ve become rather accustomed to talking about cortisol, but what about where it actually comes from?

Sitting just above our kidneys, these small glands have surprisingly big jobs on their hands. As well as producing cortisol, they release other hormones that help regulate blood pressure, metabolism and a whole host of essential bodily functions. So, there’s more to our stress response than the hormone that’s been hogging all the headlines.

With so much on our plates already, perhaps it’s time we paid a little more attention to the glands helping our bodies keep up. Because while feeling shattered, wired or permanently on edge might have become something of a personality trait for many of us, that doesn’t mean we should accept it as business as usual.

I spoke with endocrinologists about the role our adrenal glands play, what happens to the body under prolonged stress, and which symptoms are worth paying attention to. We’ll also be separating medical fact from wellness-world fiction, including the much-debated (and rather controversial) concept of adrenal fatigue.

You’ve Heard of Cortisol. Meet the Glands That Make It

First, what are your adrenal glands—and what do they have to do with cortisol?

“Most of us have two adrenal glands, which are small, pyramid-shaped organs sitting directly on top of our kidneys,” explains Dr Anjali Amin, consultant endocrinologist. “Each one is made up of two distinct parts: an outer layer called the cortex and an inner layer known as the medulla.

“The outer layer (cortex) is responsible for producing cortisol, which is important for salt and blood pressure regulation, and small amounts of sex hormones such as testosterone,” explains Amin. The inner layer produces adrenaline and noradrenaline—the hormones responsible for our fight-or-flight response. So, that sudden rush of adrenaline when something frightens you? Thank you, adrenal glands.

But let’s bring things back to cortisol. Made in the outer layer of the adrenals, this hormone has a much bigger job than helping us respond to stress. “Cortisol regulates almost every body function, including metabolism, blood pressure and how the body responds to stress,” says Amin. Quite the workload.

Of course, the adrenal glands don’t operate entirely on their own. “Their cortisol production is controlled by a communication system between the brain and the adrenal glands, known as the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis,” says Amin. A bit of a mouthful, but essentially, it’s the body’s way of making sure cortisol production stays on track. “The hypothalamus in the brain,” continues Amin, “signals the pituitary gland to release a hormone called ACTH. This travels through the bloodstream to the adrenal glands, telling the outer layer (the cortex) to produce cortisol. Once enough cortisol is circulating, a feedback signal tells the brain to ease off production—rather like a thermostat switching off once the room reaches the right temperature.”

In short, your brain issues the instructions, your adrenal glands make the cortisol, and your body has a built-in system to keep the whole operation in check. Teamwork at its best.

What happens to your adrenal glands when you’re under chronic stress?

Cortisol has something of a reputation as the body’s stress villain. The assumption? That constant stress would leave the adrenal glands in overdrive, producing far more cortisol than the body needs. But that’s not quite how it works according to Amin.

“When we’re faced with a short-term stressor, the body’s HPA axis temporarily kicks into action, prompting the adrenal glands to release a little extra cortisol to help us respond. It’s a perfectly normal part of the body’s stress response. But chronic stress is a different story,” says Amin.

Contrary to what some wellness claims might have us believe, prolonged stress doesn’t mean our adrenal glands are endlessly pumping out huge amounts of cortisol, or that they eventually burn out. As Amin explains, chronic stress does not cause your body to spew out huge amounts of cortisol, nor does it cause your adrenal glands to fail.

That’s not to say prolonged stress has no effect. “Rather than sending cortisol levels permanently soaring,” says Amin, “it can disrupt the body’s usual daily rhythm, potentially flattening your body’s morning peak or evening dip.” So the issue isn’t necessarily that your adrenal glands are working overtime; it’s that the body’s carefully choreographed cortisol routine can become less predictable.

It’s a reminder that our stress hormones aren’t quite as straightforward as they might seem. A 2024 review of 12 studies, published in Psychoneuroendocrinology, found no clear link between people’s usual daily cortisol patterns and how much cortisol they released in response to a one-off stressful situation. In other words, there’s more to the story than simply measuring how much cortisol we’re producing.

Low cortisol explained: what happens when your adrenal glands aren’t producing enough? The symptoms to look out for

We’ve talked about what happens when stress affects our cortisol levels, but what about the other side of the coin? What if your body isn’t producing enough?

First, let’s put this into perspective: “Genuine adrenal failure is very rare,” says Niamh Martin, Professor of Endocrinology at Imperial College London. “It can happen when the adrenal glands aren’t working properly, or when the pituitary gland—which sits at the base of the brain—fails to send them the signals they need to produce cortisol.”

When the adrenal glands are the problem, adds Amin, the condition is known as Addison’s disease, an autoimmune condition in which the body’s immune system attacks the adrenal cortex. “This damages the part of the glands responsible for producing cortisol and aldosterone, another hormone that helps regulate salt levels and blood pressure. This is the main cause of adrenal failure in the UK.”

But how would you know if something wasn’t quite right? This is where things get a little more nuanced. “Symptoms such as fatigue and muscle weakness can be associated with adrenal failure, but they’re also incredibly common in people whose adrenal glands are working perfectly well,” explains Martin.

Essentially, feeling exhausted doesn’t automatically mean your cortisol levels are low, and it’s important not to jump to conclusions. That said, there are some tell-tale signs doctors will be looking out for.

The symptoms of adrenal failure to be aware of:

• Severe, persistent fatigue: Tiredness that feels extreme and out of proportion to your usual day-to-day exhaustion.
• Dizziness or low blood pressure: Particularly when standing up, sometimes causing light-headedness or fainting.
• Nausea, tummy pain and unexplained weight loss: You may also notice a reduced appetite.
• Skin darkening: Sometimes described as an unexplained tan, this can be particularly noticeable in skin creases, around the mouth or on areas such as the elbows.
• Salt cravings: This can occur because low aldosterone levels cause the kidneys to lose more sodium than they should.

These signs aren’t exclusive to adrenal failure, so having one or more doesn’t mean you have the condition. If symptoms persist or concern you, speak to your GP, who can arrange further tests if needed.

Adrenal Fatigue: Can Stress Really Exhaust Your Adrenal Glands?

Before we wrap up this adrenal gland deep dive, there’s one rather persistent wellness claim we wanted to get to the bottom of: adrenal fatigue. A quick scroll through TikTok reveals a plethora of videos claiming that stress can leave your adrenal glands exhausted, depleted and desperately in need of a reset. But is there any truth to it?

To Amin, the answer is pretty clear: “Adrenal fatigue isn’t a scientifically recognised medical condition." Chronic stress doesn’t cause your adrenal glands to become tired, worn out or stop producing cortisol. As she puts it, adrenal glands “either work or they don’t.”

A systematic review published in the BMC Endocrine Disorders journal found no scientific evidence to support adrenal fatigue as a genuine medical condition. So, while the term might be popular in wellness circles, it doesn’t have the medical research to back it up.

That’s not to say the symptoms people associate with adrenal fatigue aren’t genuine. “Persistent exhaustion, poor sleep and feeling generally run down are very real experiences, but that doesn’t mean tired adrenal glands are to blame. Poor sleep and shift work, for example, can disrupt the body’s natural cortisol rhythm, while issues such as low iron stores or thyroid disorders can also leave you feeling utterly wiped out,” says Amin.

One final word of caution: Amin advises against spending money on at-home saliva or cortisol testing kits. “Cortisol naturally fluctuates throughout the day, so results without proper clinical context can be misleading—and may cause more worry than they’re worth.”

How to support your adrenal health: three expert tips

First things first: there’s no magic food, supplement or morning routine to directly ‘boost’, detox, or optimise your adrenal glands. As we’ve established, the brain and the adrenal glands work together through a finely tuned, regulated system, so there’s no need to go chasing another complicated wellness protocol. What matters is giving our bodies the care they need to maintain a healthy daily rhythm.

Nutritionist and author of Everything I Know About Cortisol, Hannah Alderson shares five simple places to start:

1. Don’t skip breakfast. Aim for a nourishing mix of protein, healthy fats, and fibre, such as eggs on seeded toast or Greek yoghurt with berries, nuts, and seeds.
2. Think nourishment, not restriction. Fill your plate with colourful plants, wholegrains, quality protein, nuts and oily fish.
3. Be mindful of caffeine. Enjoy your coffee, but try having it after food and keep an eye on how much—and how late—you’re drinking it.
4. Get outside in the morning. Natural daylight, consistent sleep times and a calming evening routine can help support your body’s natural rhythms.
5. Make room for recovery. Walking, gentle movement, socialising and even 10 minutes away from your to-do list can all help.

Ultimately, there’s no need to chase the latest (and ever-evolving) adrenal-boosting trend. Our adrenal glands either work or they don’t; what matters is looking after the body they support.

Take a breather: shop feel-good finds

In the ever-expanding list of things we're told to worry about, congratulations to us: we have another. ‘Ferritin face’ is the latest health trend sending women down a rabbit hole, questioning whether their dark circles, thinning hair and permanently knackered appearances could be signs of low iron. UK interest in the phrase reportedly surged 5,000% in a single week last month, according to Google Trends and TikTok data cited in reports. Five thousand per cent. We’re clearly hungry for answers—even if we’re not entirely sure what the questions are. And while ‘ferritin face’ might sound like another reason to inspect ourselves under unforgiving bathroom lighting, low iron is more than a beauty concern.

And while I'm not thrilled about having yet another thing to scrutinise under unforgiving bathroom lighting, I am pleased that ferritin is finally getting the attention it deserves. Iron deficiency is one of the most overlooked women's health issues, with symptoms too often brushed off and low iron stores (which is where ferritin comes into play) affecting us even before anaemia develops. If this trend is encouraging more women to ask questions, request tests and push for answers, I'm all for it. Even if we're not entirely sure what we're asking yet. The fact of the matter is: we deserve to understand our bodies, not simply learn to live with feeling rubbish.

There's really only so much Googling a woman can do, so in the name of womanhood, I've done the groundwork. I spoke to experts to unpack what ferritin actually is, which symptoms are worth paying attention to, what your blood tests can—and can't—tell you, and how to get the right support. Because, excuse the intrusive thought, but I can't help wondering how many women are walking around feeling rubbish simply because nobody's explained what their blood tests actually mean.

5 Subtle Low-Iron Signs in Women, Plus the Tests to Ask For

First, What Is Ferritin, How Is It Linked to Iron Deficiency, and Why Does It Matter?

Right, let’s dive in, because I know the woman on the other side of this screen is chomping at the bit to get to the bottom of what ferritin actually is.

First, a quick distinction: iron is the mineral your body needs to function; ferritin is the protein that stores it. “Measuring ferritin in your blood indicates how much iron you have in reserve. When those reserves run low, you can develop iron deficiency, even before you become anaemic,” says Professor Toby Richards of The Iron Clinic.

And iron matters for far more than making red blood cells: “your cells need it to produce energy, your brain needs it to make neurotransmitters such as dopamine and serotonin, which affect mood and concentration, and it is needed for normal thyroid hormone production,” explains women’s health advocate and medical doctor, Dr Faye Bate.

But what counts as low? Richards points to the World Health Organisation’s traditional threshold for iron deficiency: ferritin below 15 micrograms per litre. NICE guidance, updated in August 2024, uses below 30 as an indicator of iron deficiency, while newer 2026 guidance from the American Society of Haematology also used 30, with a threshold of 50 considered for some higher-risk groups, including women with heavy periods.

Why do these numbers matter? “Think of your ferritin as your body’s iron savings account. Your bone marrow needs iron to make red blood cells, but your body can dip into those reserves to keep production ticking along even as they dwindle. That means your ferritin can fall before your haemoglobin does—and before you meet the criteria for anaemia.” As Richards explains, you can be iron deficient without being anaemic. A haemoglobin result within the normal range, then, doesn’t necessarily mean your iron stores are in good shape.

Which leads me to our next collective question: why can women have low iron stores even when their haemoglobin levels appear normal? In short: “Your body uses up its iron reserves to keep haemoglobin stable for as long as it can,” explains Bate. “So ferritin can drop before haemoglobin does.” And because a standard full blood count from your GP doesn’t automatically measure ferritin, you can be told your bloods are normal without anyone having checked your iron stores. TDLR: low ferritin can mean iron deficiency, even if you’re not anaemic.

The symptoms of low iron every woman should know

Fatigue might be the obvious one, but if you’re constantly running on empty, don’t automatically write it off as a busy life or another night of rubbish sleep. Richards warns me that low iron can make even mundane tasks feel like an Olympic event, from climbing two flights of stairs without getting breathless to concentrating at work. “Dizziness, heart palpitations and restless legs, as well as “pica”—cravings for ice or even non-food substances—and itchy skin are also signs worth paying attention to, not simply pushing through,” he says.

Then there are the hair and skin changes fuelling the “ferritin face” frenzy online; “when ferritin falls below 15 micrograms per litre—particularly below 10—signs can become more visible, including increased hair shedding, a widening parting, brittle nails, dark circles, puffy eyes and a sallow complexion.” In severe cases, he says, women can look visibly unwell.

The stakes go beyond appearance. Richards points to The Lancet’s Global Burden of Disease Study when discussing how disabling iron-deficiency anaemia can be: “it can be more disabling than diabetes.” He estimates the average woman can spend up to eight years suffering from iron deficiency, including two to three years taking iron tablets. That’s a really long time to feel unlike yourself. So, if any of this sounds a little too familiar, don’t just put it down to being busy or run-down. Speak to your GP and ask whether your iron levels could be part of the picture.

Iron blood tests decoded: what tests to ask for and what your results mean

As we know, it’s not quite as simple as having your bloods done and being told everything looks fine. Heavy periods and diet are common causes of low iron in women who menstruate, but, as Richards points out, “other causes—including coeliac disease and hidden blood loss—may also need investigating.” So what should you be asking your GP to test for? Naturally, it depends on your medical history and symptoms, but here are a few key tests worth knowing about.

1. Full blood count (FBC):

This will check your haemoglobin and other blood components, helping identify anaemia. Disclaimer: A normal result doesn’t necessarily mean your iron stores are healthy.

2. Ferritin:

This test will measure your iron stores. If you’re concerned about low iron, this is a key number to ask for.

3. CRP:

Checks for inflammation, which can affect how your ferritin result is interpreted.

4. B12, folate and thyroid function:

These may also be checked because deficiencies or thyroid problems can cause symptoms like brain fog and fatigue that overlap with iron deficiency.

And even when you have those results in front of you, interpreting them isn’t always straightforward. “The tricky part,” Bate explains, “is that ferritin doesn’t always tell the full story on its own. Inflammation can cause levels to rise, potentially masking an iron deficiency, so results need to be considered alongside your symptoms, medical history and, where appropriate, other blood tests.”

One final tip: ask for the actual number, not just whether your results are “normal”. A result can fall within a lab’s reference range without necessarily answering every question about your symptoms. If you’re feeling unlike yourself, take those numbers back to your GP and ask whether further investigation or treatment is appropriate.

How to restore your iron levels and get back on track

If you’ve gotten this far and are feeling a little overwhelmed by how much of this you relate to, fear not; I have good news. Low iron and low ferritin are treatable, but Richards stressed that it’s about more than simply reaching for a packet of iron tablets and hoping for the best. “First up—you will need to treat the iron deficiency properly—the key to recovery is to replenish your iron stores and get to the bottom of why they’ve dropped in the first place.”

For many women, treatment starts with oral iron. “The standard regimen is an iron tablet containing 200 to 300 mg of the iron compound, providing around 80- 90 mg of elemental iron.” But here’s the catch: your body only absorbs a fraction of what you swallow. According to his numbers, that works out at around 200 to 240 mg of absorbed iron a month. What those numbers translate to: “If you’re trying to correct a deficit of roughly 1,000mg, it can take around six months to replenish those stores fully, although you may start to notice an improvement in how you feel after about a month.”

It’s also important to address what’s causing your levels to fall: “For vegetarians, I suggest considering a regular multivitamin containing iron. If heavy periods are behind your low levels, tackling the blood loss is also important. Tranexamic acid is one treatment that can help reduce blood loss by up to a third to a half, although you’ll need to speak to a healthcare professional about whether it’s suitable for you. Iron replacement may also be needed to replenish what you’ve lost.”

And if iron tablets aren’t doing the trick—or you struggle to tolerate them—an iron infusion may be another option. “These deliver iron directly into the bloodstream and can be useful in certain circumstances, although access and funding arrangements vary in the UK,” says Richards.

So, how do you know when you’re back on track? “Check your ferritin levels after three months of treatment, aiming for levels above 50, then test again six months later to make sure they’ve remained stable. The right target and timing will depend on your individual circumstances, so it’s worth agreeing a monitoring plan with your clinician.” Crucially, he warns me that treating the underlying cause matters just as much as replenishing your stores; otherwise, you risk ending up back where you started.

There’s something quietly reassuring about Richards’ final words to me: “Everything in life is about stability.” It’s a simple sentiment, but one that feels surprisingly reassuring when you consider how many women have come to accept feeling exhausted, foggy or just not quite themselves as their baseline.

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Love it or loathe it, AI is here to stay. Much of what we're told about artificial intelligence is steeped in negativity and a degree of scaremongering—from scare stories of robots taking over the world to dwindling water reserves—often the case when we're faced with something that many struggle to comprehend.

But there is one area where the advancements in computer science may be a solution to an ever more pertinent problem: women's health. Despite making up roughly 50% of the population, women's health is chronically underfunded and misunderstood. Decades of having our pain and symptoms minimised and brushed off are only recently starting to be taken more seriously, with conditions such as (but not limited to) endometriosis and PMOS finally receiving the airtime that they deserve.

In fact, recent research conducted by the University of St Andrews reveals that women are less likely to be offered treatments such as surgery or strong painkillers when presenting with exactly the same symptoms as men—even more baffling, when you consider that biologically speaking, women go through more medically significant periods throughout their lifetimes (including menstrual cycles, children, menopause and more).

Which makes it even more significant, then, that we're turning to AI in droves for medical advice. A 2026 YouGov survey showed that 8% of UK adults use AI as their first port of call for medical advice, a figure that rises to 13% for Millennials. Given that women are more likely to seek GP advice than men (according to this research from the British Medical Journal), it's not a huge leap to assume that many of these are also women.

So, can AI provide the understanding and information that is still so lacking in traditional medical settings? As many of us turn to cycle tracking apps and more, it could make perfect sense. We asked a range of experts for their honest opinions on this—keep scrolling to read their take.

We Asked Top Experts Whether AI Could Help Us Better Understand Women’s Health

How can AI be used to help us understand women’s health?

It's safe to say that the AI and women's health conversation is an engaging one. Whether you're pro-AI, on the fence or staunchly against it in all its forms, it's worth keeping an open mind on this.

So, how can it help us understand our health better? The answer is multi-layered—and fascinating.

1. It helps us track rhythms

Women's bodies—unlike men's—are cyclical, which has traditionally been one of the complexities in women's health research.

“Women's bodies run on rhythms—monthly cycles, pregnancy, perimenopause—and those rhythms create huge amounts of data that, until now, nobody had the time to make sense of,” agrees fertility coach and nutritional therapist Monica Kranner. “AI can connect the dots between sleep, mood, energy, cravings, cycle length and symptoms in a way a ten-minute GP appointment never could. Patterns that women have been describing for years, and often been dismissed, suddenly become visible and measurable.”

2. It can help connect the dots

If you've ever wondered why you're feeling tired, headachey and drained—only to start your period the very next day, you'll relate to the idea that even when symptoms are (with hindsight) seemingly obvious, they can be easy to overlook. Here's where AI can help—take period tracking apps, for example.

“AI can help connect a health picture that is often fragmented,” shares founder of Fueld, Glenn Smith. “It can link nutrition, blood tests, specialist reports, wearable data and someone’s own account of their symptoms. Considering these together can make patterns easier to explore and help us highlight the right areas when speaking with a healthcare professional.

“Women’s health is much broader than reproductive health alone, so this can cover not just menstrual health and perimenopause; it also extends to cardiovascular and metabolic health.”

3. It give space and time to a complex conversation

Unless you have the means to go private, getting a face-to-face GP appointment can be like gold dust—and if you are lucky enough to land one, you'll only have a few minutes to download all your concerns. AI, on the other hand, has all the time in the world.

“For me, one of the most interesting questions is: what happens when women finally have a tool that will sit with the detail of their symptoms for as long as they need it to?” notes consultant psychologist Dr Louise Goddard-Crawley. “Women’s health can be incredibly complex, and historically it hasn’t been researched to the same extent as men’s health. Symptoms can cut across hormones, fertility, pregnancy, menopause, mental health, sleep, medication and physical health, and it can be difficult to make sense of how everything fits together.

“AI gives women the time and space to put the whole picture down, organise what has been happening, understand terminology and work out what might be worth taking to a doctor.”

4. It can help us advocate for ourselves

Used well, AI can help women advocate for themselves—something that, traditionally, we're not all brilliant at.

“AI can help women walk into an appointment with a clearer idea of what has been happening and what they want to ask,” Dr Goddard-Crawley shares.

It also takes away some of the societal pressures that can come alongside a doctor's appointment. “You can ask AI the same question in different ways, go back over something you didn’t understand or mention a detail you thought might be irrelevant, without feeling you’re taking up too much time,” she adds.

5. It helps us make informed choices

AI has shown that it has the potential to support diagnoses, and this is a developing area. the experts admit that it's exciting.

“A Swedish MASAI AI-supported breast screening trial detected a greater proportion of cancers while maintaining the same specificity as standard screening,” shares Smith. “That is evidence of benefit in a defined clinical setting, and as these tools improve, we expect their contribution to diagnosis to grow. Each application still needs testing in the people and settings where it will be used, but the promise is a clearer picture, a better conversation and a more informed next step.”

6. We can be more open and honest

If you've ever lost your train of thought and totally forgotten what you meant to say at the GP—you're not alone. So, popping your concerns into AI from the comfort of your own home might ease some of these worries.

“There can also be a sense of neutrality with AI,” agrees Dr Goddard-Crawley. “You don’t have to worry about sounding dramatic or silly, being embarrassed, or whether someone has already formed an impression of you. AI isn’t truly objective, of course, but the interaction can feel less socially loaded.”

What are the drawbacks?

Of course, AI isn't the perfect solution to the women's healthcare paradox, so if you're still on the fence—we're right there with you. And honestly? We wouldn't use it to diagnose a broken nail, let alone a legitimate medical concern.

“The obvious problem to me is that AI can be wrong while sounding incredibly convincing,” cautions Dr Goddard-Crawley. “It can miss important context, make a connection that sounds plausible but isn’t, or reassure someone when they actually need medical assessment.”

Additionally, it's worth bearing in mind that AI works by utilising existing knowledge—something that the experts warn is distinctly lacking when it comes to medical research on women. “AI doesn’t magically remove these gaps or biases,” shares Dr Goddard-Crawley.

It's also wise to remember that AI is only as good as the questions we're asking it, and it can soon start to resemble an echo chamber.

“There’s a psychological risk, too,” Dr Goddard-Crawley acknowledges. “Over time, an AI conversation can start to reflect the concerns and assumptions the user brings to it. If someone is anxious about a symptom and repeatedly asks about increasingly frightening possibilities, AI may continue engaging with those possibilities rather than recognising that the questioning itself has become part of the anxiety.

“This means you can end up in a negative feedback loop where the conversation inadvertently gives more weight to a fear than it deserves. And for someone prone to health anxiety, that constant availability can also make reassurance-seeking very easy.”

How can we use AI for women's health safely and mindfully?

1. Give it a clear task

AI works best with clarity, notes Smith.

“Ask it to explain a result, summarise changes in your eating and sleep, or prepare questions for an appointment,” he advises. “Check that it has understood your information correctly. Diagnosis and treatment decisions need appropriate professional assessment; urgent symptoms should never wait for an app’s interpretation.”

2. Be vigilant about privacy

One of the biggest concerns around AI has to be how safe your information is.

“Be deliberate about privacy,” cautions Smith. “Ask where your information is stored and (importantly) processed, including when it is passed to an external AI provider. Does it stay in the UK or EU, or travel to the US or elsewhere? Who can access it, is it used to train models, and can you delete it?

“You should understand where your health data goes as clearly as you understand the insight coming back.”

3. Step away if needed

Constantly tracking and monitoring stats certainly isn't for everyone, and if you're prone to health anxiety or obsessing over results, you may want to check yourself.

“I’d also pay attention to how you’re using AI,” shares Dr Goddard-Crawley. “If you notice you’re asking the same question repeatedly, looking for certainty or becoming more frightened with every answer, that’s probably the point to stop. The AI may still be answering your questions, but the conversation may no longer be helping you.”

4. Understand the limitations

Last but not least, do keep in mind that you're essentially dealing with a computer—which has limitations.

“AI can be really useful for helping you understand information, organise symptoms, prepare for an appointment or think about what questions you might want to ask,” Dr Goddard-Crawley explains. “But we also need to remember what it can’t do. It can’t examine you, take observations, see the full clinical picture or take responsibility for a diagnosis. I’d use it as another source of information and a way of thinking things through, rather than as a replacement for medical care.”

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Resting while awake? Honestly, not my strongest skill. I don’t mean scrolling Instagram, watching Netflix while your mind is crafting tomorrow’s to-do list, or spending Sunday blitzing through everything I didn’t manage during the week. I mean properly switching off. No productivity, no little side quest. Nothing to show for it.

I realised quite how bad I’d got when someone asked when I’d last taken a whole day just to rest. A whole day? I drew a blank. Like so many women I know, I’ve become convinced that every spare minute needs to earn its keep. Whether it’s an overachiever habit or the curse of a generation hell-bent on optimising absolutely everything, sitting still without feeling vaguely guilty is harder than it should be.

My apparently very reasonable conditions for resting: inbox zero, washing done, life in order. Only then may I lay down. Except, well, you know how that goes. So, in the spirit of finding balance, I had a difficult discussion with myself (and my psychic)... I need a way to switch off that didn’t mean relinquishing all my control to consumerism, buying another supplement, mastering an elaborate routine or adding yet another habit to my already overbooked day. Enter NSDR, or non-sleep deep rest: a practice that promises meaningful rest in just ten minutes. The gist? Lay down, close your eyes, follow a guided relaxation. No sleeping, no striving, no gold star required.

For six weeks, I tried ten minutes of NSDR a day, tracking my energy, mood, concentration and sleep, while speaking with experts to separate the science from the wellness waffle. Could ten minutes really help me feel less knackered? And could I finally switch off without mentally adding relax properly to my to-do list?

Can Finding Time to Do Nothing Really Boost Our Energy? I Tried the ‘NSDR’ Relaxation Technique for 6 Weeks to Find Out

What is NSDR, and how much of it is backed by science?

Before I committed to six weeks of lying around with my eyes closed (a daunting task for any restless Type A), I wanted to know whether NSDR was genuinely doing something for my brain, or whether I was essentially taking an elaborate nap minus the score points on my Oura ring.

First things first, explains neuroscientist and Brainwave founder Anne-Sophie Fluri: “NSDR is a label rather than a separate technique. Popularised by neuroscientist Andrew Huberman, it describes older practices such as yoga nidra, where you lie down, follow a guided focus on your body and breath, and stay awake while letting go of effort.” As Fluri points out, almost all scientific literature focuses on yoga nidra, with very little research looking specifically at NSDR. So, if you're scratching your head wondering why you haven’t come across NSDR before, then the lack of research under that name is probably why.

But why can doing nothing feel so difficult? Neuroscientist Farah Qureshi explains that “when we stop focusing on a task, the default mode network in the brain becomes more active” - a network involved in processing memories and experiences. Perhaps this helps explain why a quiet moment with our own thoughts can feel anything but relaxing. In a 2014 study, participants were so reluctant to do it that they preferred giving themselves a mild electric shock. Suddenly, my inability to sit still felt a little less ridiculous.

And while sitting still might not come naturally to all of us, there are potential benefits to giving it a go. Qureshi points to a 2002 study that found a rise in dopamine release during yoga nidra (although it involved just eight experienced practitioners). There’s also research suggesting that a little time spent doing absolutely nothing could help our brains consolidate new skills, giving them a chance to bed in what we’ve just learnt.

So, the science is promising, but yoga nidra and NSDR aren’t interchangeable, and neither is a magical dopamine reset or a substitute for sleep. Still, there are reasons to think deliberate rest could help us feel a little less frazzled. The question is how to fit it into everyday life - especially if, like me, sitting still for ten minutes feels like a challenge in itself.

5 ways to practise NSDR in everyday life

Where do we start when switching off doesn’t exactly come naturally? I asked the neuroscientists for their go-to NSDR techniques, from guided yoga nidra to purposeful slow breathing, and used their advice to shape my six-week experiment. As Fluri stresses, “there’s no single scientifically proven protocol, so the aim was to find something simple enough to stick to and easy to squeeze into everyday life.” No overhauled routine, no wellness homework, no new habit to feel guilty about not keeping up with. Promise.

1. Try a guided Yoga Nidra session

If you’re new to NSDR, start here. Yoga Nidra is the practice most of the research focuses on: you lie down, close your eyes and follow a voice guiding your attention through your body and breath. Fluri suggests starting with a recording of around 10 minutes, building up to 30 if it suits you. “The idea is to let the recording do the work, rather than turning relaxation into another task to get right.”

2. Breathe out a little longer

Both experts recommend slow breathing, particularly with a longer exhale, to help shift the body towards a calmer state. Qureshi recommends trying five minutes of cyclic sighing: inhale through your nose, take a second, shorter inhale, then exhale slowly. In a 2023 Stanford study, even just five minutes a day improved mood over a month, with greater improvements than mindfulness meditation. “It’s a simple standalone practice, or a gentle way to ease into yoga nidra when your mind is still racing,” says Qureshi.

3. Do a morning body scan

Rather than reaching for your phone the moment you wake up, try spending a few minutes noticing how your body actually feels. Fluri recommends a body scan: “Moving your attention slowly from one part of the body to another is central to yoga nidra, and gives a busy mind something gentle to focus on.” Fluri also sees it as a way to develop interoception: the ability to notice your body’s internal signals, from tension to tiredness. No wearable required; just a little curiosity about how you’re feeling before the day takes over.

4. Give your brain ten quiet minutes after focused work

This might just be the easiest habit to sneak into a busy day, and maybe one for the corporate baddies of the world to take note of. As Qureshi suggests above, there is solid evidence suggesting that resting quietly after learning something new can help the brain retain those memories, making a short, screen-free pause after a meeting, reading session or demanding task worth trying.

5. Make it work with your routine

There’s no magic hour for NSDR, but Qureshi recommends choosing a regular time, whether that’s first thing in the morning, before bed or somewhere in the middle of the day. “The brain responds well to routine,” she explains, “so consistency is a more useful goal than chasing the ideal moment. Find somewhere quiet, sit or lie comfortably, close your eyes and follow a guided recording so you don’t have to decide what to do next.”

I planned to experiment with these approaches over six weeks and see which, if any, made a noticeable difference, because knowing that rest should be good for me and actually managing to switch off two very different things.

Six weeks, 10 minutes a day: I put NSDR to the test.

Recently I found myself giggling with our Senior Health and Sustainability Editor, Ally Head, about just how spectacularly bad I am at doing nothing. A facial where I’m left alone under a red light for 20 minutes? Lovely in theory. In practice, my brain has worked through every email I need to respond to, replied to all of my 38 unopened WhatsApps (sorry to everyone waiting for a response), and telepathically asked my partner what he’s cooking for dinner, all before the therapist has even left the room. Being alone with my own racing mind isn’t exactly my happy place. Which, I figured, made me the perfect candidate for NSDR.

I’m also in the process of buying a house, and it turns out the rumours are true: it really is up there with the most stressful things you’ll ever do. If my solicitor happens to be reading this, rest assured I’m trying to find my calm.

Across the six weeks, I tried to work all of the NSDR techniques into my routine, from morning body scans to ten-minute yoga nidra sessions. I also experimented with where I practised. Living by the beach, I was curious to see whether taking my ten-minute rest outside, with the sea in front of me (and my Pomeranian in tow), would feel any different to lying down at home. Some days, I kept it simple and stayed put; on others, I took myself out for a little change of scenery.

And the best bit? I could always find ten minutes. Between emails, house admin and the general business of being a person, I could always find ten minutes to lie down, close my eyes and give my brain the breather it hadn’t quite realised it needed.

Qureshi assures me that repeating the practices daily can help my brain adapt. “Six weeks is a really good start”, she says, although research suggests longer-lasting changes may take eight weeks or more. “Building a habit takes around two months on average, too, with plenty of variation between people.”

I’ve found myself turning to those ten minutes when the house-buying admin starts mounting, my inbox feels vaguely threatening, or my brain has approximately 29 tabs open and no idea which one to deal with first. Does NSDR make the stress disappear? Sadly, no. My solicitor still thinks I'm a basket case. But taking a few minutes to lie down and stop feeding the mental to-do list does seem to give me a little breathing room…quite literally.

Need a breather? Shop MC's essentials for a little everyday reset

For most women, finding a breast lump is the stuff of nightmares. While we know that the symptoms of breast cancer are more varied (and often harder to spot) than simply a lump, this is the scenario we tend to worry about in the middle of the night.

For 41-year-old psychotherapist and mum of two, Roxy Rhodes, it was exactly this discovery that changed her life forever. Just days after a close family member finished her own breast cancer treatment, and the night after her 39th birthday, Rhodes felt a tiny, pea-shaped lump in her chest.

What followed was a gruelling two-year journey that pushed her to her limits, both mentally and physically, while also challenging all her preconceptions of breast cancer and the treatment process.

Below, she shares her story.

“Being ‘Young’ When Diagnosed With Cancer Changed the Course of My Treatment.”

“In December 2023, between Christmas and New Year, one of my family members found a lump in her breast. In May, we were all booked on a long-awaited family holiday to DisneyWorld, which had been postponed due to the COVID pandemic.

The day before my birthday in April, my relative got the all-clear after a lumpectomy and five rounds of radiotherapy. We were all thrilled as it meant that she’d be able to join us on our much-anticipated trip.

But on 23^rd April, the day after my 39^th birthday, we were dealt another blow. I was just going to sleep; I’d said goodnight to my husband, Tom, and as I rolled over to get settled, my hand grazed my boob, and I felt the tiniest lump. It was total luck that I felt it. I immediately asked Tom to feel it, and he agreed there was something there, but as I’d had cysts in the past, I just assumed that that’s what it was again.

It was very round and pea-like, but smaller than a pea. If ever I felt that there was someone looking after me, it was in the weeks that followed, and it became clear how fortunate I’d been to have found it.

My overriding feeling was how on earth I was going to find the time to deal with making a doctor’s appointment and everything else that would be needed—I honestly just wasn’t overly concerned about it. That became a recurring theme throughout my treatment: I had to find time to fit it in.

What Happens After You Find a Breast Lump

I messaged the GP, and they rang me to tell me to go in and get it checked, which I did the same day. Again, the doctor was quite reassuring, but he said he could feel a lump and he had to refer me for a mammogram. So, I was put on the two-week cancer pathway, which is standard NHS practice whenever someone presents with a lump.

The service is very stretched in my area, so I ended up waiting longer than two weeks. But I was keen to get seen as soon as possible, so I ended up making a private scan appointment.

The clinic was amazing; it’s essentially a one-stop shop where you can go through the whole diagnostic process in one go, from mammogram and ultrasound to biopsy. When I was having the ultrasound, the doctor was incredibly thorough—and I was so fortunate that she was. She said that because she couldn’t quite see the very bottom of the lump, she was going to do a biopsy for the sake of clarity. If she hadn’t done this, things could have looked very different for me.

As soon as we walked into the consultant’s room, I knew instantly that I had cancer. As a psychotherapist, I’ve worked a lot in the NHS, and the moment I saw her face, I just knew. And then came the absolute worst part of the whole journey for me, which was having to watch my husband find out. Out of everything that was to come, that was my worst moment.

After Diagnosis, Things Happen Really Fast

I found out that the lump was hormone-positive but didn’t yet know if it was HER2-positive (HER2-positive cancers are typically more aggressive and are treated in different ways), so we weren’t sure of my treatment route.

Despite this, once you’ve been told you have cancer, you move into the life of being a cancer patient that same day—and it’s genuinely like a full-time job. I can’t explain how many letters you get, how much admin there is to deal with, how many appointments get cancelled, or how you don’t know what they’re for. It’s a constant bombardment of letters and paper arriving. Trying to manage where I was supposed to be and where, and then fit my life in around it, was a real challenge.

Since I was under 40, I was sent for an MRI scan, and there they discovered another lump lower down the same breast, which hadn’t shown up on the ultrasound. Because there were two lumps, I had to have a full mastectomy; I couldn’t just have a lumpectomy anymore.

We found out that the cancer was grade 1, stage 1, which is the tiniest cancer. I still count myself incredibly lucky we caught it at that stage when I think about how much treatment I ended up having. However, because they still weren’t sure about my Her-2 results, they couldn’t confirm my treatment plan for what felt like ages.

I finally had my mastectomy in mid-July, but I still didn’t know whether I’d need to have chemo, and we were all just praying I wouldn’t need it.

However, we eventually found out that the tumours were HER2-positive, which meant I did need chemo. I had twelve weeks of treatment, every Friday. They also removed my lymph nodes. Because I was so young, they didn’t want to risk skipping chemo, plus wanted to ensure nothing was floating around.

I also had a year of Herceptin injections, every three weeks for a year, which started when I was in chemo.

Again, because I’m young, the advice was to take Tamoxifen, a drug that blocks the effects of the hormone oestrogen in certain tissues, for ten years, but I chose to come off it after four months. They push you into full menopause, and I couldn’t handle it. The joint pain, exhaustion and lack of energy were too much for me after everything I’d already been through.

Don't Be Scared of Chemotherapy

From the moment I found out I had cancer, my biggest fear was chemo, due to my perceptions of what it would be like from seeing it portrayed in the media. And one of the most important things I would say is that it’s absolutely nothing like you think it’s going to be—it was totally fine.

TV tends to show perfectly bald people throwing up, but I wasn’t sick once. You’re given anti-sickness tablets the whole way through, and the dose is fine-tuned to your exact weight and height, so it’s so well controlled. I felt a bit nauseous after my first session, so I took two anti-sickness pills but never had to take them again—I didn’t even feel sick. I also don’t know anyone else who was sick—and I got to know everyone.

The first chemo session is terrifying. There are so many different types, and before you go into your first session, you have a kind of therapy session, and it seemed almost like they were trying to scare us. Bearing in mind, I was terrified. I felt like they were trying to get us to take it seriously, when all the way through I’d tried to maintain a positive outlook.

I was so lucky that I live close to a specialist cancer treatment centre where I had all my treatment, and I can honestly say that I used to look forward to it. On a Friday, it was only breast cancer patients as well, which made it feel almost like a little coffee morning—all the nurses were amazing, and I got to know the other women really well. You’re given lunch and endless cups of tea by the wonderful volunteers, and it’s just such a gorgeous atmosphere. We were all laughing and giggling, and it was honestly lovely.

On the chemo ward, you’re meeting people at their very bravest, and it’s such a privilege to spend time with them when they’re at their most vulnerable.

Losing My Hair Was So Much Harder Than I'd Expected

I finished chemo at the beginning of December, and I lost my hair after my fourth session, and that was the second worst day of the whole experience. I’d thought I might get away with it, and I felt like I’d gone through so much already. It felt like I was losing my hair forever.

I remember we shaved my head on a Sunday, and on the Monday I had to go to a school assembly for one of my kids, I wore a wig for the first time—and honestly, that was the time I had to be the absolute bravest, as I felt like everyone could tell. Over time, I got used to the wigs, and I wore some pretty crazy ones.

I do feel, looking back, that I could have challenged the chemo decision, but I didn’t realise at the time that I may have had a choice. I don’t know if I would have said no to it, but with hindsight, one of my biggest takeaways is that you have to question everything, much more than you think.

The cancer teams tell you that when you have to make a decision, to ask yourself the following questions:

• What are the consequences if I do this?
• What are the consequences if I don’t do this?
• What other options are there?
• What if I do nothing?

The Type of Cancer You Have Changes Your Treatment Plan

Be prepared to wait to find out what type of cancer you have, and make sure you get this information as soon as possible, as your whole treatment plan depends on it.

Hormone-driven tumours tend to be a ‘good’ thing, as they can be treated with medication and you might not require chemotherapy. So, it’s vital to be clear about what kind of tumour you have, as early on as possible.

People will surprise you all the way through the process, in good and bad ways. People you hardly know will step up and be amazing—there was one guy I worked with who used to cook me a homemade pie every week without fail and drop it round to my house—a good hour’s round trip for him, once a week.

And other people will let you down beyond belief, and you have to be ok with that, too. People that you’d think would be there won’t be. Also, once you’ve finished chemo, everyone thinks you’re back to normal, and things are fine again, but your life has changed forever. Any grace you had was gone.

Finishing Chemo Might Feel Like an Anti-Climax

I finished chemotherapy after three months, and I expected to feel relieved. But it’s not relief. It’s so strange, this whole thing that you had for three months that took up so much time and headspace just ends, and there’s no transition period or support through this—you just stop going there. In a way, I felt thankful that I still had to go back for Herceptin injections every three weeks for nine months, as I felt a little untethered without the support and routine of chemo.

You’ve built it into your life, and suddenly it’s gone, and you don’t have that structure—it’s such a weird feeling not to have any more appointments. You don’t get to say goodbye to the team who have cared for you; you just never go back—and it feels like you’re cut off from that support.

I feel really strongly that there should be more focus on the transition out of active treatment, in the same way as there is going in. I didn’t feel like I needed that much support while I was in treatment, but afterwards I really struggled and felt a bit numb.

Please don’t ever think you’re too young for critical illness cover.

I wasn’t even aware that I had this cover in place, but I’m so grateful that I did. They paid out immediately as soon as I was diagnosed—it’s not life-changing money, but it’s absolutely allowed us to do some things that we wouldn’t otherwise have been able to.

I’m self-employed, and I managed to carry on working fairly normally, but if you do have to take leave, this money will be incredibly important. There’s no financial support when you’re self-employed, so critical illness is crucial.”

Ladies, I’m calling a town hall meeting—I need to air an intrusive thought. When did being knackered become a personal failing—and “fixing” it a measure of how well we’re doing at life?

Actually, I lied. This isn’t an intrusive thought so much as a conversation I’ve been having with almost every woman in my life. We’re on the same treadmill—the seemingly endless urge to fix everything, with the wellness world giving us an ever-expanding toolkit to keep us running.

Guilty as charged. The minute I feel sluggish or vaguely unlike myself, I’m hunting for answers, only stopping when I feel satisfied with my “fix”. That fix being: supplements, cold plunges, earlier bedtimes, caffeine hacks, morning sunlight, protein, electrolytes, exercise. Anything to get me back to firing on all cylinders, preferably by tomorrow. It rarely occurs to me to question the pace I'm trying to maintain. I simply want to feel better so I can crack on. Perhaps that’s the mantra of modern life: feel better, do more.

Hardly surprising really when there’s always another fix promising to get us back to 100%. A 2025 Which? survey found that 76% of UK adults surveyed took supplements, with one in six supplement users taking at least four. We’re certainly not short of solutions. But are we getting any closer to asking the right questions?

So, for the sake of our fatigue, take a seat: an intervention is on the cards. For a month, I stopped trying to “fix” my tiredness and started paying attention to what it might be telling me. With expert advice, I’m separating useful fixes from wellness waffle—and discovering whether, in trying to outrun my tiredness, I’ve lost touch with the basics my body actually needs.

What Happened When I Stopped Trying To “Fix” My Tiredness For A Month

Is It Normal to Feel This Tired? What Tracking My Energy Revealed

Tracking my fatigue for a month was always going to be humbling for a chronic Type A who says yes to everything, then wonders why she’s got nothing left. Being busy is my kryptonite, but also my go-to excuse for feeling tired; finding a fix is my knee-jerk reaction. Cue a flurry of little rituals designed to wipe the fatigue slate clean: checking Oura scores, bargaining with myself over whether a sluggish morning needs a stronger coffee or an earlier night, the PM slump fixed with a protein bar of electrolyte (yes, I really do tell myself these work)

But my notes revealed that tiredness wasn’t the shapeless fog I’d assumed. It has rhythm.

Where I was in my cycle was a clear starting point. My energy ebbed and flowed with it, while the daily dips were surprisingly predictable: I often felt a slump around noon, then another between 4 pm and 6 pm. Mornings between 8 and 10 a.m. were generally better; I’d often get a second wind around 1 pm, and sometimes again in the evening. Exercise threw up another surprise: on days when I felt too exhausted to move, a workout could leave me feeling as though someone had plugged me back in.

My Oura score was less straightforward. I’d become so invested in its nightly verdict that a poor score could have me writing off the day before it began. More REM sleep also seemed to coincide with better energy, even after fewer hours overall—an interesting pattern, though hardly proof that one sleep stage held the key.

To make sense of it all, I spoke to GP Dr Jessica Little, who explained that she would first look at three things: “the pattern of fatigue, the duration of fatigue, and the impact it is having on everyday life”. ​

My cycle, it seemed, offered a useful clue. Little says, "A predictable dip linked to poor sleep, stress, or the days before a period can be reassuring. If tiredness follows a familiar menstrual pattern but you otherwise feel well and can carry on as usual, that may represent your individual normal.”

I’m assured that understanding our baseline matters more than running to any “fix”. “A noticeable change from this—struggling with work, exercise or socialising when you previously managed comfortably - is more concerning”, explains Little—particularly if someone who previously managed work, exercise and socialising comfortably is now struggling to get through an ordinary day. "Fatigue that persists for several weeks without explanation, worsens, doesn’t improve with adequate rest or starts affecting everyday life warrants investigation. The same goes for fatigue accompanied by symptoms such as breathlessness, palpitations, unexplained weight loss or heavy menstrual bleeding."

My cycle explained a familiar dip, but not necessarily everything. To stop reflexively reaching for another hack, I first needed to understand what was driving my tiredness in the first place.

Sleep Debt, Stress or Something Else? How to Work Out What’s Behind Your Fatigue

According to my Oura ring, I’m accumulating sleep debt. But what does that actually look like beyond a less-than-glowing sleep score? My stress levels? Also seemingly endless. With sleep deprivation, stress and the general admin of being a functioning adult all competing for the blame, how can I work out which is contributing the most?

Sleep scientist Sophie Bostock explains that the effects of sleep loss can show up in surprisingly everyday ways: “We become more easily distracted, our reactions slow down, and everyday tasks require more effort. Sleep loss can also make us more emotionally reactive and less motivated.” So, with my energy diary full of afternoons when concentrating feels like wading through treacle, my first port of call before heading for my usual oat flat white or magnesium supplement is to check whether I'm getting enough sleep to begin with.

Bostock also points out, “we can become so accustomed to functioning below our best that we forget what feeling properly rested is like” - a rather uncomfortable home truth. “One of the warning signs,” she continues, “is when tiredness starts to feel normal.”

To work out whether sleep debt might be contributing to my fatigue, her advice is refreshingly unglamorous: try going to bed ten to fifteen minutes earlier a week, and see whether my mood, concentration or energy improves. If I have the opportunity, allowing myself the gift of sleeping without an alarm could offer further clues. Am I naturally sleeping longer? Does my energy improve after a few days?

But what if being tired isn’t the problem—but how we feel about it?

Psychotherapist for female leaders, Katie Williams, has an explanation for my need to fix my fatigue. A caveat: I think a few of us are about to feel very seen. She suggested the rather alien concept: what if it’s not the tiredness we can’t stand, but what we’ve come to believe it says about us? “Most of us are carrying far more than we can handle, and have been doing so for years,” she says. “ For high-achieving women, productivity can become so tangled up with self-worth that when our bodies can’t keep up, it feels like a threat.”

I’d say we all know this feeling far too well. It’s not just that I’m feeling exhausted; it’s that I’m exhausted and not getting everything done. I’m falling behind. I’m not keeping up. And apparently, another thing I need to control.

Research from 2012 backs this up. A longitudinal study of 2,121 working adults found that performance-based self-esteem was a strong predictor of burnout over time, with a stronger association among women than men. It begs the question: are we tired, or do we feel guilty about not doing more?.

“When we’re stressed and activated, we’ll look for solutions, something to ‘do’ or a way to fix the problem, rather than considering changing our way of being,” Williams says. Perhaps I’m not just trying to get my energy back. I’m trying to get back to being the version of myself I think I ought to be—minus the fatigue.

Beyond the Quick Fix: What Helped When I Stopped Trying to Outrun My Tiredness

Without my classic “fixes”, I turned to nutritionist Hannah Alderson and GP Dr Ravina Bhanot to ask what going back to basics looks like. No, we’re not talking about another self-improvement project, but a toolkit for tuning in to what my body needs, what’s genuinely helping, and when to simply leave my tiredness alone.

1. Get Curious Before Reaching for a Fix

“When does your energy dip? Are you dragging yourself through the morning on coffee alone, hitting a wall mid-afternoon or feeling inexplicably exhausted in the days before your period? Do you feel better after eating, moving or resting?”

Alderson suggests looking for clues in the rhythm of your day. Skipping meals, under-eating, or relying on caffeine to compensate for poor sleep can all contribute to feeling depleted. “The point isn’t to diagnose yourself from an energy diary, but to spot patterns before automatically reaching for another supplement.”

2. Eat Enough Before Adding More

Wellness culture loves a new superfood, but Alerson’s advice is disarmingly simple: “start by checking you’re eating enough.” Build meals around protein, fibre, healthy fats and carbohydrates (remember: carbs are not the enemy), rather than obsessing over one macronutrient or cutting out entire food groups.

3. Don’t Expect Electrolytes to Rescue a Bad Night’s Sleep

Maybe a “fix” I relied on a little too much. “Using electrolytes to fix your tiredness is another example of wellness culture turning something physiologically important into something we supposedly all need more of, " says Alderson.

She notes these are essentials for fluid balance and muscle and nerve function; however, “most people eating a varied diet and drinking enough will get what they need. They’re useful when you’ve lost significant fluid and salts through prolonged sweating, vomiting or diarrhoea—not as an automatic upgrade to your water bottle.”

4. Give Your Body the Cues It Needs

A personal favourite, and one I’ve been really leaning into this month, is a warm shower or bath before bed. Bhanot suggests that this simple ritual, ideally one to two hours before bedtime, may help us fall asleep faster and improve sleep quality. And there’s evidence to back her up: a 2019 review found that passive warming before bed was associated with faster sleep onset and better self-rated sleep quality.

A win-win situation if you ask me.

5. Stop Treating Every Dip in Energy as a Problem to Solve

Maybe the bigger lesson for me. The basics—eating enough, drinking water, getting the rest you need—matter. But the point isn’t to turn them into six more rules to follow perfectly.

It’s to pause when the familiar urge to fix kicks in and ask a different question: what might I actually need right now? Food? Water? A break? An early night? Or perhaps a change to the pace I'm expecting myself to maintain?

Hey, sometimes a practical adjustment helps. And sometimes tiredness is a signal that you’ve taken on too much. I went into this experiment wanting to, ironically, find the right “fix” for my tiredness in relinquishing control and ditching everything I held so dear in the fight to find something that alleviated my tiredness. But instead, I came out more confident in my ability to recognise when I was reaching for one of my “crutches” by default. Not every feeling needs optimising. So, without further ado, I’ve put down the quest for a quick fix and picked up a little curiosity instead.

Shop MC UK Anti-Fix Wellness Picks Here:

Scroll through wellness TikTok long enough, and you’ll find a new promise: fix your energy, curb your cravings and boost your mood in just three days. You only need to search #hormonereset to see there’s no shortage of day-by-day plans, along with real-life testimonies of women claiming they feel like a completely different person by day three.

It's not hard to understand the appeal of a three-day hormone reset. Instead of completely overhauling your life, you commit to 72 hours of ‘clean eating’, early nights and a few supplements, and your hormones supposedly fall back in line. And for women in perimenopause or menopause who are often dealing with symptoms that can easily be dismissed, a quick fix can feel especially tempting.

I’ll admit it’s something I’m more intrigued by, particularly after turning 40 this year and knowing that stage of life is slowly creeping up on me. But can you really fix your hormones in just three days? With October marking Menopause Awareness Month—a time when women are looking for answers about their hormones—I wanted to know how much can change in our bodies in 72 hours, and how much of the hype actually holds up?

The research is a good starting point. Take this 2026 systematic review of almost 2,000 women experiencing menopausal-related symptoms, published in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. It found some evidence that dietary changes may improve certain symptoms. But the researchers said more high-quality evidence was needed, and crucially, they weren't ‘three-day hormone resets.’

So, what do the experts say? I spoke to three leading women’s health professionals to find out whether there’s any such thing as a quick fix for hormone health. Keep scrolling for your guide, and while you're here, don't miss our explainers on the everyday habits that can be impacting your hormones, how to balance your hormones and the best foods for hormone health.

As 3-Day Hormone “Resets” Trend—What Our Hormones Actually Do In 72 Hours

What is a 3 day hormone reset?

While there’s no official definition, the plan tends to follow a pattern. “These diets and resets typically promise things like blood sugar stabilisation, reduced inflammation and improved insulin sensitivity to ‘reverse’ hormone resistance and reset metabolism,” explains Bethany Francois, a specialist eating disorder dietitian.

Typically, this includes cutting out foods, such as refined sugar, alcohol, gluten and dairy, as well as prioritising high fibre, healthy fats and lean proteins and reducing snacking to promote a longer overnight fasting window. Francois says that they can also encourage supplements or herbal products like magnesium or ashwagandha.

While most of this probably sounds sensible enough, Francois warns there isn’t good evidence that any of these behaviours can reset or rebalance your hormones. “Cutting out gluten and dairy without evidence of an allergy or intolerance isn’t going to improve someone's health.”

Chartered clinical psychologist Dr Tracy King explains why the idea of a three-day hormone reset is so appealing. “Instead of thinking, “I need to change my whole life and sort myself out,” a three-day reset gives us a boundary,” she says. “Doing something different for three days feels possible and gives us a sense of self-efficacy (the feeling that our actions can change how we feel), which reduces helplessness and naturally improves mood.”

Can you actually reset your hormones in 72 hours?

In short, no. “The idea around needing to ‘reset’ your hormones is generally misleading, especially whether it can be done in such a short timeframe,” says women’s wellness issues expert Dr Shirin Lakhani.

Hormones naturally fluctuate throughout the day, as well as across the menstrual cycle and during perimenopause and menopause. “It’s very important to note that hormones aren’t something you need to ‘fix’,” says Dr Lakhani. “The aim should be to understand and manage symptoms where they are affecting quality of life, rather than trying to force the body back to an earlier hormonal state.”

And Francois agrees. “Your body is constantly checking and regulating your hormone levels, so it’s not something that needs periodically resetting,” she adds. “Blood sugar is another popular target, but rises in glucose and insulin are normal and necessary. Companies know that menopausal women are a vulnerable group—but implying that they all need to be worried about possible insulin resistance and their blood sugar levels is really damaging,” she says.

And while diet can influence hormones, the evidence isn’t exactly suggesting a quick fix. One 2025 trial of 234 postmenopausal women found that a mainly plant-based dietary intervention was associated with lower levels of estradiol and free estradiol—but the intervention lasted 24 months, not 72 hours. The study doesn’t tell us how quickly these changes occurred, but it certainly isn’t enough to provide evidence for a three-day hormone reset.

That doesn’t mean you can’t feel differently after three days, though. “What you eat over a 3-day period can absolutely change how you feel,” adds Francois. Bloating, for example, can be affected by short-term factors including fibre, stress, salt, fluid intake and portion size.

And it’s worth bearing in mind Dr King’s point that how we feel can change much faster than our underlying hormonal system. “If we have poor sleep, stress, irritability, or are more tearful or anxious, a structured three-day plan can really help improve some of these things.”

Put simply, a three-day reset might change how you feel, but that doesn’t mean it has reset your hormones.

What can you realistically do to support your hormones in three days?

Rather than trying to completely reset anything, experts suggest focusing on behaviours that can make you feel better. “I’d move completely away from the idea of needing to reset anything,” says Francois.

Instead, start with these four areas.

1. Eat regular, balanced meals

There’s a lot of advice about what we should and shouldn’t eat when it comes to supporting hormone health, and it can quickly become overwhelming. Francois’ advice is refreshingly simple: eat regular, balanced meals.

“I’d focus on eating regular meals that include a combination of protein, carbohydrates and fats,” she says. She recommends eating a variety of fruit and vegetables, plus getting fibre from foods such as beans, pulses and wholegrains.

Going too long without eating can also make cravings harder to manage. “Cravings for food that provide quick sources of glucose tend to increase the hungrier we are,” says Francois. She suggests snacks combining different food groups, such as carbohydrates with protein or healthy fats.

2. Get outside every day

We know movement can support mood and energy, and Dr King has a particularly simple suggestion: get outside every day for a short walk early in the day, ideally around the same time each morning.

“A short walk outdoors early in the day combines several things our brains respond well to: daylight, movement, routine and a clear signal that the day has begun by the regulation of melatonin, which impacts our sleep-wake rhythm.”

It might not sound like a revolutionary hormone hack, but that’s the point. According to Dr King, our nervous system responds well to predictability, so a simple routine can be more useful than constantly searching for the next wellness fix.

3. Prioritise sleep

If you’re not always prioritising sleep (guilty), you’ll know only too well the impact a rough night can have on your energy and mood. And while one good night’s sleep won’t magically rebalance your hormones, it can help you feel better surprisingly quickly.

“You can definitely implement strategies that can make you feel better within three days, such as making changes to sleep,” says Dr Lakhani.

Francois also points to sleep alongside regular movement and social connection as important lifestyle factors when it comes to energy and mood.

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A woman is diagnosed with breast cancer in the UK every nine minutes, and a man is diagnosed every day, according to the UK's leading breast cancer charity, Breast Cancer Now. Every October marks Breast Cancer Awareness Month, an initiative designed to raise awareness of this, the most common cancer in the UK.

The chances are we all know someone who has been affected by breast cancer in some form or another, and most of us know that we should be checking our breasts on a regular basis for changes and irregularities that aren't normal for us. But many people are still only checking for obvious signs (a lump), and potentially overlooking other, more insidiously hidden symptoms.

So, this October, MC UK is on a mission to re-educate us all on the lesser-known signs of breast cancer, and how to check yourself properly. Because we know that early detection can, quite literally, be a matter of life and death. According to further research from Breast Cancer Now, in cases of breast cancer that are detected early (stage 1), 98% of people survive for five years or more.

With this firmly in mind, we've spoken to leading oncologists and cancer specialists about the symptoms we should all be aware of - keep scrolling for all the information you might need this month, and beyond, plus their advice on what to do if you do notice something out of the ordinary.

While you're here, do check out our excellent women's health content (if we do say so ourselves) on everything from the key breast cancer signs and symptoms, the truth about the biological clock, elite sportswomen speaking up about endometriosis and boring habits for PMOS right through to the top micro-habits for hormonal health, here.

I'm an Oncologist: 5 Breast Cancer Symptoms Women Still Miss

What are the most common signs and symptoms of breast cancer?

When we think about breast cancer signs and symptoms, it's highly likely most of us think about finding a lump. And it's a fact that in over 80% of cases, a lump is the first sign that there's anything suspicious going on.

But it's not just the breasts we should be checking for lumps. In fact, charity CoppaFeel uses the words 'breast' and 'chest' interchangeably to refer to the whole area from ribs to collarbone, including the armpits.

"Breast cancer can have many symptoms, though in some cases you may not feel or see anything at all," shares Dr Saleem Azeem, Clinical Oncologist and Trustee at Breast Cancer UK. "The most common symptoms are a lump in the breast or armpit, which can be painless. While most lumps are under the skin, meaning you need to apply some pressure to feel them, sometimes they can also be found on the surface of the breast or chest or on the skin leading up to the armpit. These look more like a bump or spot that can also feel hard to the touch."

It's important to note here that if you do find a lump, try not to panic.

"Most breast changes, including lumps, won’t be cancer," reassures Catherine Priestley, senior clinical nurse specialist on secondary breast cancer at Breast Cancer Now. "That being said, it’s important to get any new or unusual changes checked by your GP."

What are the other symptoms of breast cancer?

While 83% of breast cancers first present with a lump, not all breast cancers present this way. The experts caution that some of the more subtle warning signs are easily overlooked, with around one in six women reporting symptoms other than a lump.

Other common symptoms include:

• A change to the skin, such as puckering or dimpling;
• A change in the colour of the breast - it may look darker, red or inflamed;
• A nipple change, for example, it has become pulled in (inverted);
• Rash or crusting around the nipple;
• Unusual liquid (discharge) from either nipple;
• Changes in size or shape of the breast.

And most importantly, many breast cancers have absolutely no symptoms at all. "About a third of breast cancers in England are only identified through the NHS Breast Screening Programme," notes Dr Lucy Hooper, private GP and co-founder of Coyne Medical. "This is why screening is such an important part of early breast cancer detection."

What signs of breast cancer are women still missing?

"Around one in six people with symptoms of breast cancer present with symptoms other than a lump," notes Dr Hooper. "We know that people often delay seeking medical attention for these symptoms, and that delay might be important."

So, in addition to the above, what are women commonly still overlooking when it comes to breast checks?

1. Painless lumps

"It’s really important to be clear about breast pain," shares Dr Coyne. "Most breast cancers are painless, so people shouldn’t be falsely reassured if a lump doesn’t hurt. A painless lump doesn’t mean it can be ignored."

2. Skin changes

"Skin changes such as dimpling and puckering must never be ignored," urges specialist breast surgeon at Nuffield Health Leeds Hospital, Mr Philip Turton. "If you glance at your breast in the mirror and see subtle indrawing, particularly when raising your arm, never ignore this even if you feel nothing. Similarly, subtle thickening or an area that appears tethered deeply across the boundary of the breast, just as the crease line can easily be overlooked but is an important sign."

3. Nipple changes

"Spontaneous nipple discharge, particularly if it is bloodstained or comes from one breast, should also always be checked," continues Mr Turton. "Persistent redness, scaling or eczema-like changes affecting the nipple can occasionally indicate an underlying cancer, with no lump; we call this Paget's disease of the nipple, which is cancer starting in the tiny terminal ducts within the nipple itself."

4. Inflammed breasts

"Inflammatory breast cancer is another particular type of breast cancer that people should be aware of because, rather than causing a specific lump, it often causes the whole breast to become swollen, warm, red or painful," advises Dr Hooper. "These kinds of symptoms can easily be mistaken for mastitis. Many people might initially be treated for this, but if their symptoms are not getting better, they should have further checks on the breast."

5. Dense breasts

Dense breasts are not a sign of breast cancer, but it's absolutely worth knowing if you have them, Dr Hooper advises.

"Breast density is a topic that really deserves more attention," she tells MC UK. "In the UK, it isn’t routinely reported as part of NHS breast screening, despite women in other countries, such as the United States and France, being routinely informed about their breast density on mammograms.

"It’s really important because breast density is something you can only see on a mammogram. You can’t check or feel it yourself, and women with extremely dense breasts not only have a higher risk of developing breast cancer, but mammograms can also miss about one in two cancers in this group.

"This is because dense breast tissue appears white on a mammogram, which is the same appearance as most breast cancers. Women who are having private screening, especially, should know about their breast density and be informed about whether supplemental imaging, such as ultrasound or MRI, could improve early detection of breast cancer for them."

How to be breast aware

It's clear that early detection is vital, and for this, the experts are unequivocal that we all need to be 'breast aware'. This means becoming familiar with what is normal for you and your breasts, whether they're natural or enhanced.

“I encourage women to become familiar with the normal appearance and feel of their breasts rather than relying on a rigid examination technique," advises Mr Turton. "Look at your breasts in the mirror, both with your arms relaxed and raised, paying attention to any new asymmetry, indrawing, skin changes or alterations in nipple position (retraction).

"When feeling your breasts, use the flat pads of your fingers to examine the whole breast and surrounding area, including towards the armpit. This can be done in the shower, but my preference is for women to do it lying down as they will feel the breast tissue better."

Don't forget, though, that fluctuations in lumpiness, size and sensation are totally normal within the menstrual cycle, so it's good to get to know how you feel at different times of the month, too.

"The most important thing is recognising what is normal for you and noticing when something changes," continues Mr Turton. "Breasts naturally vary in texture, and hormonal fluctuations can make them feel different at different times of the month.”

Ideally, you should conduct a thorough check at least once a month, around a week after your period. The experts recommend a four-weekly check even if you don't have periods due to, for example, the coil or other contraception. But don't become so concerned that you're checking every day.

"There is no need to examine your breasts obsessively or worry about performing a perfect technique," reassures Mr Turton. "Breast awareness is about recognising changes, not searching for abnormalities every day.”

What to do if you're concerned about breast changes

You've found a lump or one of the other symptoms discussed above, and you're fearing the worst. It can be difficult to think clearly when this happens, but it's important to try not to panic. We are incredibly fortunate in the UK that the breast cancer pathway is straightforward and, most importantly, fast.

“The first step is to arrange an appointment with your GP, who will assess the symptoms and examine the breasts," shares Mr Turton. "A GP will usually refer the patient to a specialist breast clinic under the two-week referral system, giving rapid access.

"In the UK, women with any symptoms with any possible suspicion for breast cancer are generally referred through this urgent suspected cancer pathway."

Make sure you tell a friend or family member, as you'll want someone to go to the appointment with you - and stay calm.

"At the breast clinic, assessment usually involves what we call triple assessment: a specialist clinical examination, appropriate breast imaging using ultrasound and/or mammography, and a needle biopsy if an abnormality requires tissue sampling," Mr Turton goes on. "These investigations often allow us to establish a diagnosis quickly.

"It is important to reassure women that the majority of breast symptoms turn out to be benign. However, early assessment is essential because identifying breast cancer at an earlier stage can significantly improve treatment options and outcomes.”

Anyone seeking information and support can speak to Breast Cancer Now’s expert nurses by calling their free, confidential helpline on 0808 800 6000, or via their online forum or email service.

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Say the word “treatment” to anyone with endometriosis, and you’ll probably get one of three reactions: one all-too-familiar glaze over the eyes because, honestly, we’ve heard it all before; a weary shrug because, quite frankly, what more can we give; or the cautious, wait, what? Look reserved for the rare piece of endometriosis news that actually carries some weighted hope.

So, you can imagine the collective eyebrow raise when ENDO-205 pulled up to the scene, promising something endometriosis treatment desperately needs: another option.

Why? Because unlike existing treatments that manage symptoms or suppress the hormones that can fuel endometriosis, ENDO-205 is being developed to target the disease more directly, rather than suppressing the hormonal system around it. A non-hormonal treatment designed to go after endometriosis while leaving hormones and ovulation alone? Well, that’ll get our attention. But—and I’ve been around the endometriosis-news block enough times to know better—there’s a rather large asterisk attached.

Let us hold our horses—Endo-205 isn’t an FDA-approved treatment, nor is it something you can ask your GP to prescribe next Tuesday. In March 2026, the FDA cleared its Investigational New Drug application, allowing the company developing Endo-205, EndoCyclic Therapeutics, to move into its first human clinical trial. The wheels are now in motion for the five-year study, with Phase 1 expected to begin soon.

Naturally, as your in-house endometriosis reporter, I wanted to get to the root of it, ask all the questions we’re itching to ask, and get the answers from the experts before we all collectively disappear down the dark depths of TikTok. I spoke to consultant gynaecologist Dr Lucky Saraswat, alongside other endometriosis specialists, to separate the genuinely exciting stuff from the very important reminder that we’re not quite at the victory parade stage yet.

Spoiler: ladies, we’re one step closer. Albeit a small step. But when you’ve spent years being told to wait, manage, endure and try again, even a tiny move in the right direction feels… significant. Is it the finish line? Absolutely not. But it is movement—and for those of us desperate to see a real win for endometriosis, that matters.

First, Why Isn’t Hormonal Treatment Enough?

Before we unpack ENDO-205, let’s take a quick step back to look at the hormonal-treatment merry-go-round—because if you have endometriosis, chances are you’ve been on it before. So, what do current hormonal treatments actually do, and perhaps more importantly, what don’t they do?

As Dr Raj Arora, a GP with an interest in women’s health, explains, the hormonal options most commonly used in endometriosis—from the combined pill and progestogen-only treatments such as dienogest and desogestrel, to the hormonal coil and GnRH medications—are all essentially working towards the same goal.

“Endometriosis lesions feed on oestrogen, so by suppressing ovulation and lowering or blocking oestrogen, we can reduce the inflammation, bleeding and pain those lesions cause,” she explains.

Sounds great in theory. But the frustrating reality is that the lesions are still there.

“What’s important to understand is that these treatments manage the environment around the disease rather than the disease itself,” says Arora. That distinction is pretty crucial. “Hormonal treatment can quieten the conditions that allow endometriosis to cause trouble, but it doesn’t necessarily remove the lesions themselves—which is one reason symptoms can return when treatment stops.”

And for many women, even that symptom control isn’t enough. Arora notes that around a quarter to a third don’t get adequate relief, while side effects can make treatment difficult to stick with. Then there’s the not-so-small matter of fertility: hormonal treatments are contraceptive, so they aren’t an option when you’re actively trying to conceive.

So yes, hormones can help. But they don’t work for everyone, and they don’t actually target the disease itself. Which brings us neatly to ENDO-205…

So, What Exactly Is ENDO-205?

In the simplest terms, it’s an experimental, non-hormonal peptide treatment being developed specifically for endometriosis. And if “peptide” sounds like something you’d find on the back of a very expensive skincare bottle, stay with me.

Saraswat explains that a peptide is essentially “a small chain of amino acids”—think of it as a tiny biological message designed to interact with particular cells. The clever bit, at least in theory, is what that message is looking for.

“We know that the endometrium—the lining of the womb—is structurally and functionally different in women with endometriosis,” says Saraswat. “However, that difference is not what ENDO-205 is targeting. The endometriosis cells in the peritoneal cavity have a different microenvironment, which allows the drug to identify them, bind to them and selectively destroy the endometriosis cells.”

Strip away the science for a second: ENDO-205 is designed to recognise features of the environment surrounding endometriosis lesions, allowing it to target them (and hopefully destroy them), rather than simply changing the hormonal environment in which the disease exists. That’s the theory, anyway—and it’s an important distinction. Unlike hormonal treatments, which mainly help manage symptoms by altering hormonal activity, ENDO-205, on the other hand, is designed to go after the lesions themselves

But—and it’s a rather large but—we don’t yet know whether it works in humans. That’s what the clinical trials are for.

“Phase 1 will primarily establish whether the drug is safe and how the body responds to it. If those results are positive, it can then progress to Phase 2 and 3 trials, where we can begin to assess whether it works as a treatment for endometriosis properly. It’s a process that could take around five years.”

As you can see, there’s plenty to be intrigued by here, but it’s far too early to crack open the champagne.

Why Non-Hormonal Treatment Could Be a Game-Changer

Hormonal treatments and I have a complicated relationship. By complicated, I mean we clash. Majorly. We cannot coexist.

And I know I stand in a crowded room. For some women, hormonal treatments aren’t medically suitable; others are trying to conceive, struggling with the side effects or finding that they don’t work well enough to outweigh the cons. Some would rather not take them at all.

Riddle me this: if hormones aren’t an option—or just aren’t working—what happens next?

It’s a question that matters when hormonal treatment remains such a common starting point for endometriosis care. According to Endometriosis UK’s 2026 State of Endometriosis Care report, 80% of women surveyed had been prescribed hormonal contraception for their symptoms before any investigations. Of those women, 55% said they hadn’t discussed what might be causing their symptoms.

For a condition that affects women so differently, that’s a compelling argument for having more options—and for looking beyond hormones alone.

As endometriosis specialist Dr Martin Hirsch explains, “The development of non-hormonal treatments represents one of the most important priorities in endometriosis research.”

“A successful non-hormonal treatment could potentially expand patient choice and support more personalised care,” says Hirsch. “Rather than relying on a relatively small group of hormonal therapies, clinicians might eventually have a broader toolkit that could be tailored to different patient circumstances and disease phenotypes.”

And that right there is a reason we should feel hopeful. A non-hormonal treatment option wouldn’t automatically be better—it would mean more choice. And in a disease as complex and individual as endometriosis, having more options to work could be life-changing. ENDO-205 may be in the very early stages, but that possibility alone is worth paying attention to.

So, Could This Actually Change Things for Women With Endometriosis?

In the words of naturopathic endocrinologist Dr Jolene Brighten, "Potentially. But we’re not there yet. ENDO-205 entering human clinical testing is an important milestone, but it doesn’t tell us that the treatment works in humans, shrinks lesions, is safe for widespread use or will ultimately be approved. Those are the questions the clinical trials now have to answer."

And there are plenty of them. "We still need to know whether ENDO-205 is safe, what dose works, whether it actually reduces lesions and symptoms, and whether those benefits last.”

For now, there are more questions than answers. But if those answers eventually come back positive, ENDO-205 could represent something that goes beyond a new name on the treatment list. It could begin to change what women with endometriosis are offered, and what they have to put up with in the absence of anything better.

Because living with endometriosis can mean spending years negotiating with your own body, weighing up treatments that come with their own compromises, and trying to make peace with options that never quite feel like enough. It can mean becoming an expert in your own pain while still waiting for the medical world to catch up.

Right now, we can’t say whether ENDO-205 will make a difference to any of the above. It may not be the answer many of us are hoping for. But the possibility of a treatment that takes a different approach is still worth holding on to, carefully, cautiously, without asking anyone to mistake promise for proof.

For now, we wait. Not because waiting is easy; anyone living with this disease knows it rarely is. But because, for once, there is something new to wait for. And perhaps that, in itself, is where the hope begins.

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It’s not news that the things that have the biggest impact on our health are often the least exciting or “sexy”—and the least likely to go viral. But I believe that health is really the accumulation of what we do most of the time.

These “boring” habits work because they’re repeatable, accessible, and they compound over years. The catch is, you do have to be willing to show up and be consistent. Unfortunately, if something promises a quick fix, it’s probably too good to be true, and chances are, you’re not going to stick to it long-term.

It’s important to remember that health isn’t all or nothing, and too much of a good thing can sometimes become a bad thing. Some of the healthiest communities in the world aren’t healthy just because of what they eat or how much they exercise—they also prioritise connection, relationships and community.

So if your “healthy lifestyle” (whether that’s your exercise routine or the way you eat) is getting in the way of living a full life, spending time with family, seeing friends or going out for dinner, perhaps your relationship with being healthy has become the opposite.

While the word is overused, there needs to be balance. Yes, move your body regularly, but you don’t have to do intense exercise every single day. Yes, try to eat nutritious foods most of the time, but have the slice of birthday cake or get the pastry on the weekend. Track your sleep if you find it useful, but if checking your sleep score is making you anxious and even causing you to lose sleep, then maybe not monitoring your sleep is actually the healthier choice.

Below, I share the simple, ‘boring’ day-to-day non-negotiables I prioritise for my PMOS, which, as one of the world’s leading female health experts, I believe you’ll benefit from, too.

8 Boring Habits That Transformed My PMOS Symptoms

1. Adding 1 tbsp of Flaxseed to your Breakfast

Why it works: I sprinkle it on oats, blend it into smoothies and add it to baking—it’s so easy to use!

Research, including these 2020, 2023, and 2025 papers, suggests it may support ovulation, insulin sensitivity and cholesterol levels, with some studies also reporting improvements in excess hair growth.

2. A 10-Minute Walk After Lunch

Why it works: After a meal, your blood sugar naturally rises. A short walk helps your muscles use some of that glucose for energy, leading to a smaller and more gradual rise in blood sugar, as this study highlights.

As an added bonus, it gets me away from my desk for ten to 15 minutes.

3. Swapping Afternoon Coffee for Spearmint Tea

Why it works: I used to have coffee at 3 pm—not great, I know—but I swapped that for spearmint tea. Not only was this better for my sleep, but according to some research—including these 2007, 2010 and 2020 studies—two cups a day may also help improve symptoms such as excess hair growth and acne in women with PMOS.

4. I Got Myself a PT So I Made It to the Gym

Why it works : I love running, but strength training is one of the most beneficial forms of exercise for PMOS.

Studies—including these 2020 and 2022 papers—show that it can improve insulin sensitivity, body composition and hormone levels. I aim to do it twice a week—and I actually enjoy it.

5. Investing in a Pill Box So That I Take My Supplements

Why it works: I’m not great at remembering my supplements, so this has helped so much with consistency—which is key if you actually want them to do their job.

Of course, the “right” supplements will vary depending on your symptoms, diet and medical history.

6. Meal Planning on a Sunday so I Hit my Oily Fish Intake

Why it works: Oily fish is rich in omega-3 fats, which may help improve insulin sensitivity, reduce inflammation and support heart health in women with PMOS, according to these 2017, 2018, and 2022 studies.

I plan ahead to make sure I eat two portions per week—otherwise I can forget.

7. Sticking to a Simple Skincare Routine

Why it works: I have acne-prone skin because of my PMOS, and constantly swapping products was not helping.

I’ve stripped things back and now stick to a few simple products that work for me and help prevent flare-ups.

8. Investing in a Good Eye Mask

Why it works: Sleep disturbances and fatigue are more common in women with PMOS, so protecting my sleep has become a priority.

Wearing an eye mask is such a simple habit, but it helps me fall asleep faster, stay asleep longer and wake up feeling more rested.

There are a lot of popular wellness habits or trends RN that distract us from the basics that actually matter—vibration plates, big supplement stacks, red light therapy, continuous glucose monitors, saunas, cycle syncing workouts, and so on.

Don’t get me wrong, some of these things do have a place, and I’m not saying they’re all pointless. But if you’re not doing the 95% of things that actually matter, i.e. getting 7-8 hours of sleep, eating well, moving your body, managing stress and maintaining relationships, then obsessing over that extra 5% probably isn’t going to move the needle very much.

I’d much rather someone focus on small things they can do consistently than going all-in for a few days and then giving up.

There are few things I’ve done more often as a woman than choose a form of contraception. I've tried seven, to be precise - and yet, somehow, I still couldn’t give you a particularly convincing answer to the question: what exactly have I been putting in my body? Which feels… problematic.

I’ve taken the pill; switched pills; stopped taking it. I’ve had things inserted into my body, removed from my body and spent more time than I’d care to admit wondering whether what I was experiencing was “normal”. The conversation, more often than not, has been simple: here are your options, here’s how effective they are, and then came the part I came to know all too well: wait it out and see.

Contraception is hardly niche. In the latest Women’s Reproductive Health Survey published in 2025, more than 41,000 people in England reported using contraception - and almost a third had stopped using a method in the previous year. Of those who stopped or switched, 54% said side effects were a reason. So when something so deeply embedded in women’s lives still involves so much trial and error, it's worth asking why. Of course - some trial and error is inevitable. Everyone’s experience is different. But there’s a difference between knowing something might take time to settle and feeling like you’re being asked to wait it out and hope for the best.

That doesn’t mean every woman leaves the doctor's office confused, or that every symptom is caused by contraception. But it does make me wonder: are we being given enough information, space and agency to make genuinely informed choices about our bodies?

So, I’m using my slightly chaotic contraceptive history as a starting point to interrogate the gap between what we’re told to expect and what it’s actually like to live with contraception.

I’m not here to demonise it. I’m here to ask the questions we should have been asking all along - because “give it a little while and see” probably shouldn’t be the end of the conversation.

I've Tried 7 Types of Birth Control. Here's What I Wish I'd Known Sooner

What is contraception actually doing to your body?

For something so many of us use, contraception comes with a surprising amount of folklore. "Take a break every few years." "It’ll ruin your fertility." "No period? Surely the blood must be building up somewhere." "And if you gain weight on the pill, then the hormones have changed your metabolism."

The trouble is, it can be surprisingly difficult to separate what we’ve heard from what we actually know.

So, before we get into the myths, what is contraception actually doing? “Hormonal contraception essentially changes the hormonal signals that control ovulation and the menstrual cycle. Depending on the method, it can stop an egg being released, thicken the mucus at the cervix so sperm can't travel through it as easily, and make the lining of the womb thinner,” explains Dr Mahshid Nickkho-Amiry, Fertility Specialist. “Different methods do this differently. The combined pill, patch and vaginal ring contain oestrogen and progestogen and primarily work by stopping ovulation. Progestogen-only methods, such as the implant, mini-pill, injection and hormonal coil, work mainly through the effects of progestogen, although their effects on ovulation vary."

The hormones aren’t simply sitting there indefinitely, either. “You're not ‘storing up’ hormones in your body or permanently switching off your reproductive system," Amiry goes on. "These are reversible effects.”

Which brings us back to the folklore. On the idea that you need to periodically stop contraception, Amiry is clear: “For most reversible contraceptive methods, there isn't a medical reason to periodically stop if the method is working well for you and remains medically appropriate.”

The fertility question is similarly persistent, but not factually accurate, according to the doctor. “For the majority of reversible methods, that isn't the case. Using contraception doesn't mean you're damaging your future fertility.”

Which side effects should you expect - and which shouldn’t you have to endure?

Crowdsourcing contraception is a skill so many of us have learned: "The pill gave me migraines." "My contraception made me feel low." "Her coil changes her periods." Everyone’s experience is, and will be, different - but share enough of these stories and “common” can start morphing into “normal” - and “normal” can start to feel like something we’re expected to endure. Turns out, it's very much not the same thing.

I learnt that distinction the hard way. I had a coil for 18 months and, after six of those, was having two periods a month, with bleeding lasting an average of nine days (tear-jerking, I know). Because I’d been pre-warned by so many women who’d come before me, I assumed this was simply part of the deal and bore it.

But that raises a more useful question: Is this normal, and is this something we should accept?

“‘Common’ describes how frequently something happens, but it does not tell you how much of an impact you should be willing to accept. A side effect can be completely expected and still be a very valid reason to change methods. Understanding what side effects exist allows you to make a personal decision and weigh the risks and benefits of each contraceptive choice yourself,” says fertility physician Dr Natalie Crawford.

And therein lies the problem: “We sometimes confuse a side effect being medically expected with it being something a woman should have to tolerate. A symptom may improve with time, but if a contraceptive is negatively affecting how someone feels or functions, it may simply not be the right method for her. Contraception is an important healthcare decision, and women deserve to be making these choices with true informed consent - which includes believing that women should not have to suffer.”

So, repeat after me: expected is not the same as acceptable.

Why does finding the “right” contraception feel so much like guesswork?

After seven different methods, I’ve learnt that choosing contraception is less like making an informed prediction and more like placing a small, medically supervised bet on your own body. And as it stands, that uncertainty isn’t anecdotal. Jennifer Hall, Professor of Reproductive Health at UCL, points to a bigger problem: despite decades of widespread use, we still know surprisingly little about why one woman will experience a particular side effect and another won’t.

“Given that billions of women have used hormonal contraception over the last 60+ years, it's staggering how little research has been done on this. With sufficient research, we could get to a point where we would have a better idea of who is more likely to experience which type of side effects from a given contraception. This information could then form part of the counselling and decision-making process and reduce the trial-and-error process.”

And, as a woman in 2026, her point feels particularly pertinent now. Let’s be clear: contraception has transformed women’s lives by giving us unprecedented control over fertility, and in many cases, pain management. Its place in women’s health cannot be underestimated. But, Hall says, expectations have changed: women - particularly younger women - “are less willing to simply accept debilitating side effects as the price of that freedom. The innovation hasn’t kept up with the changing expectations,” she says.

That, right there, is the uncomfortable gap: contraception has come a long way, but the way we find out whether it suits us hasn’t kept pace. We still ask women to try a method, wait a few months, and see what happens - then call the result “finding what works.”

How long are you really supposed to wait it out?

“Give it a little while and see how you get on” sounds harmless enough, right? When you’re living through the "little while", it can be surprisingly difficult to know when you’ve waited enough. I’ve counted the cycle, second-guessed the symptoms, and had multiple breakdowns as proof of wondering whether stopping would mean I’d given up too soon. Then comes the even more daunting thought: if this isn’t working for me, I have to go through the whole process again.

“When you start a hormonal method- the pill, patch, ring, injection, implant, or hormonal IUD - the body needs time to adjust,” says Sasha Hakman, reproductive endocrinologist. “Common early effects - breast tenderness, nausea, mood changes, and irregular spotting - are possible adverse effects but usually fade on their own within three to five months of continuous use.”

That gives “wait it out” a timeframe. But it doesn’t mean you have to keep waiting indefinitely. Among contraceptive users in England who had stopped or switched methods, a 2023 UCL analysis found that 54% said side effects were a reason for doing so. Suddenly, my habit of thinking “just give it another month” feels less like patience and more like procrastination.

So when does waiting become a decision rather than a default? “If breakthrough bleeding or spotting is still significant after about three months, it's reasonable to consider a new method and/or be evaluated for other causes,” Hakman says.

The point isn’t to tough it out. It’s to know that “wait and see” should come with a plan.

The trade-offs nobody thinks to tell you about

The thing about contraception is that the benefits can be huge - think regular periods, less pain, and clearer skin, not forgetting having to think about pregnancy every time you have sex. But sometimes, getting one thing you want means accepting something you really don’t. I, for one, have become a reluctant connoisseur of contraceptive trade-offs: lighter periods, but more frequent ones. Better skin, but a disappearing sex drive. No hormones, but heavier bleeding. Set-and-forget convenience, but a whole new set of symptoms to contend with.

And that’s where we begin to see the gaping holes in our contraception knowledge. The choice starts to look less like: which method works? And more like: what trade-offs work for me?

Research backs this up. In a 2015 study of 2,590 women choosing a new contraceptive method, 44.6% ranked side effects among their top three considerations, alongside effectiveness and safety. What this tells us is clear: we’re not just choosing contraception based on our needs anymore; women are weighing up a whole list of competing priorities.

“No method is ‘best’ for everyone; the right choice depends on your medical history, what you most want to prioritise (reliability, bleeding pattern, hormones or not, reversibility, convenience),” says Hakman. “Combined methods tend to make periods lighter, more predictable, and less crampy. Progestin-only methods often make bleeding lighter or absent but sometimes unpredictable. The copper IUD is hormone-free but can make periods heavier and more crampy.”

On paper, those are clinical outcomes. Translate those to real life; they’re your sex life, your periods, your body. There’s no universal hierarchy - only what you’re willing to trade.

What science still can’t tell us about mood, libido and weight

Mood, libido and weight: three things we like to assume we have control over. So imagine noticing a change in one of them after starting contraception - and not really knowing whether contraception caused it, whether it will settle, or whether you’re simply going to have to live with it.

“Many factors are influencing all three. One of these is your hormones. But hormonal contraception is not all the same. Different hormones, doses, and delivery routes all impact women differently. The biggest gap is that research can tell us what happens on average, but we are still not very good at predicting who will personally experience a side effect. If you notice a change in your mood, libido, or weight after starting a new contraceptive, trust your body and don’t suffer,” says Crawford.

What doesn’t sit right with me is that two women can take the same thing and come away with completely different stories. A 2025 UK study of 337 women found that side effects could look very different from one woman to the next - even among those using the same method. What suited one could leave another wondering what on earth was going on with her body.

Which brings me to the slightly maddening bit: some of the things women most want contraception to explain - our mood, libido, weight - are also some of the hardest things for science to pin on one variable.

As Dr Richard Ma, researcher specialising in sexual and reproductive healthcare, explains, “There are so many other factors at play that researchers can struggle to isolate the effect of the contraceptive itself. Stress, relationships, sleep, mental health, lifestyle, age - all the usual suspects are capable of muddying the waters. In research speak, these are “confounders”. In real life, they’re just… life.”

The irony is that the very things that make women’s experiences hard to study are also what make them so personal. Sure, studies can tell us what tends to happen across a group, but when you’re sitting in a GP’s office to do the math on whether your pill is behind your disappearing libido, “on average” isn’t especially helpful.

What should a good contraception appointment actually look like?

Maybe a tale as old as time: you walk into your GP appointment with a few reasonable questions, and somehow walk out having agreed to “see how you get on” again.

After enough of those conversations to last a lifetime, I qualified to offer this slice of wisdom before I hand things back to the professionals: you do not have to leave your appointment with contraception. Revolutionary, right?

I’ll admit, there’s no eighth round of trial-and-error for me. After having my coil removed a year ago, I’ve decided that if something were to happen, I’m in a place where I’d be more than happy with that. That’s a very personal decision, and one that absolutely won’t be right for everyone. But after seven different runs, it’s made me think about what I wish the 16-year-old version of me had known before she started on this journey.

Let us spare a minute for the generations before us who had far fewer options. The fact that we can choose between pills, implants, coils, patches, rings, and more is a brilliant thing. But choice only counts when you understand what you’re choosing. So, in the spirit of not letting the generation of women to come feel the burden of confusion, Hall gives us insight into what your appointment should look like: "Think about what you want from your contraception before you start talking about what’s available. We can only counsel based on what we know about how common certain effects are. I think it’s also important to remember that what is an unacceptable side effect for some people is an ideal outcome for others."

For some people, not having a bleed is unacceptable. For others, it’s the best “side effect” contraception could offer. Knowing what matters to you is part of the decision.

Next, do a little homework. “There are so many different options that there isn’t time in an appointment to go through every single one and all its pros and cons, and even if there were, you might then feel rushed into making a decision.” She recommends reliable sources such as the NHS website and Contraception Choices, and suggests thinking about what you do and won’t want before you walk in.

Then, ask the questions - all of them. “I would want women to know that they are allowed to ask anything!” Hall says. “Ask whatever it is you are concerned about - this is different for everyone.”

Will it make my boobs bigger? Does it increase my risk of cancer? Could it affect my fertility? Will my partner be able to feel it? What pain relief is available for insertion or removal?

Ask. That appointment is yours for the taking.

So, to the woman on the other side of this article, maybe recognising yourself in my seven-method drama, take this with you: you are not a passive passenger in your healthcare. Ask. Question. Pause. Change your mind. Your brain is your plus-one to the appointment, so make sure it gets a seat at the table.

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There’s a particular kind of anxiety that seems to arrive in your late twenties: suddenly, everyone becomes very interested in your ovaries. The phrase “biological clock” starts appearing everywhere - in conversations, social media, normally served alongside nuggets of unsolicited advice. Tick-tock. Your eggs are ageing. Your fertility is declining. And here’s the thing: some of it is true. But generations of women have been handed the same message: don’t wait too long. And that fear can be hard to shake.

​Yes, fertility changes with age. But knowing that doesn’t have to mean living your twenties in panic, feeling as though you’re racing against an invisible deadline. There is power in understanding your fertility, knowing what actually matters, and making decisions based on facts rather than fear. Your biological clock is information - not a countdown to your life expiring.

​The irony is that, despite being told to start thinking about my fertility journey at 20 (thank you, endometriosis), I know surprisingly little about it. I know the basics. But ovarian reserve? AMH? When fertility actually begins to decline, and by how much? I couldn’t confidently tell you.

​And as a women’s health journalist, that feels like a fairly glaring omission.

​So, consider this me staging a mini intervention with the phrase we’ve all come to share a universal shudder with. I’m not asking for false reassurance; I don’t think any of us are. What we want is to know what’s true, what’s exaggerated and what, frankly, we should have been told years ago. Because understanding our fertility won’t stop the clock ticking. But it might mean we’re finally the ones holding the stopwatch.

Here's what actually happens to fertility with age

Right, let’s get down to business. If, like me, you’ve been throwing the phrase around with enough confidence to convince yourself you know what you’re talking about, gather round. It’s time for a fertility 101.

​According to reproductive health expert and founder of Hertility, Professor Helen O’Neill, there isn’t actually one biological clock ticking away. There are two separate things happening at once: how many eggs you have, and how healthy those eggs are.

First, egg number. “You’re born with every egg you’ll ever have,” explains O’Neill, “and that number falls steadily from before birth onwards. By 30, around 12% remain; by 40, around 3%. Eventually, that supply runs out, and menopause occurs.”

Then there’s egg quality, which is less about how many eggs you have and more about whether an egg has the right number of chromosomes when it divides. O’Neill likens it to skin ageing: the process happens to everyone, but the pace varies from woman to woman. “Chromosomal errors become noticeably more common from the mid-thirties,” she explains, and crucially, it’s egg quality rather than egg number that matters the most for whether a pregnancy happens and continues.

So, what about the number 35 we’re so often served as a landmark number? Well, nothing dramatic happens on your 35th birthday. “It’s a gradual curve that steepens over time,” says O’Neill. Thirty-five is a medical convention, not a switch that flips on your birthday. In fact, one 2014 landmark study of six natural-fertility populations found that only around 12% of women had reached the end of their natural fertility by 35.

Time to take stock: society would have us believe it’s the clock we need to be watching. But what O’Neill is saying is: yes, age is a factor. A factor. Not the entire equation. Egg quality matters, too - which makes me realise I’ve spent an awful lot of time worrying about the countdown, and remarkably little time understanding what’s actually happening inside it.

What do we really know about egg quality, ovarian reserve and ovulation?

To women’s health specialist Dr Ravina Bhanot, there’s another misconception worth filing away: your periods aren’t a fertility report card. “Egg number starts declining before birth, while markers such as AMH, which reflect your ovarian reserve, tend to fall more steeply from the mid-to-late thirties. Egg quality becomes increasingly important from the mid-thirties, while ovulation and regular cycles are usually affected last.”

Feeling the fertility haze? No need. Put simply, you can have perfectly regular periods while your fertility has already begun to decline - and a low ovarian reserve marker doesn’t automatically mean you can’t conceive.

But what exactly is ovarian reserve? In short: an indication of how many eggs you have left. One of the main ways doctors assess it is through AMH, a hormone produced by the small follicles in your ovaries. Think of it as a rough indication of your egg supply.

And the more I learn about all of this, the less I’m beginning to see my fertility as a literal clock at all. There isn’t one number counting down towards some great reproductive deadline. Several things are happening at once, each on its own timeline - and even the tests we have to measure them come with caveats.

And as O’Neill points out, while we can measure ovarian reserve, “there’s currently no test that can directly tell us the quality of our eggs. Quality isn’t uniform: even in your twenties some eggs are abnormal, and even at 40 some are perfectly normal.” AMH doesn’t measure egg quality either, and a 2017 study of 750 women found that low AMH did not meaningfully reduce their chances of pregnancy within six or 12 cycles. “It’s not a fertility score,” says O’Neill, “and it can’t predict natural conception on its own.”

One more thing worth bringing into the conversation: fertility isn’t solely a female responsibility. “Sperm quality also declines with age, while lifestyle factors can affect male fertility,” says O’Neill. “A healthy pregnancy is a shared biological project, not simply a countdown on the woman’s side.” So, if we’re going to talk about reproductive timelines, perhaps we should stop acting as though there’s only one biological clock in the room.

So, what I’ll be taking from all of this - and perhaps you are too - is that AMH can be useful, particularly as a personal baseline tracked over time, but it’s only one piece of the picture. Age shifts the odds; it doesn’t sort women neatly into ‘fertile’ and ‘infertile’. Fertility is less a countdown and more a collection of moving parts.

So why has this become such an anxiety-inducing conversation?

As I’ve been in the depths of research, I keep coming back to one question: why is fertility so often treated as something we only need to think about when we’re ready for a baby, despite being part of our wider health? By the time we do start looking, we’re confronted with a confusing mix of statistics, success stories and, increasingly, social media advice.

There’s evidence that we’re not exactly being handed the tools to navigate it. A 2024 UCL study of 931 teenagers found that 45% were already worried about future parenthood, yet just 35% rated their sex education as good or very good. They also found that fertility was among the topics more likely to be learnt about outside school.

​I don’t think the answer is to tell women not to worry. Fertility really does change with age. Instead, we need to ask whether we’ve turned a genuine biological reality into a level of urgency that isn’t always proportionate.

​Joyce Harper, Professor of Reproductive Science at UCL, says conflicting messages are part of the problem. “Celebrity pregnancies and influencers talking about having children later in life can feel more relatable than population-level statistics, while the reality is that fertility does decline with age. Women today are juggling a lot,” she says - from careers and finances to housing and finding the right partner - so fertility decisions are rarely based on biology alone.

​The language around fertility can be as powerful as the biology itself. “Repeated messages that women are ‘running out of time’ can create anxiety, guilt and pressure,” says Harper. Some women may feel pushed into decisions before they’re ready; others may disengage because it all feels too overwhelming. “Neither outcome is helpful.”

​And honestly, that’s what I’ve wanted from this conversation all along. Knowing the facts shouldn’t leave women feeling like they’re running out of time. It should leave us feeling like we finally have some.

So, what does all this mean for women who aren’t ready yet?

Where does that leave those of us who aren’t ready for children yet (or might not ever be)? According to reproductive specialist Dr Lucky Sekhon, the most useful thing is to know all the information, rather than panic.

"If having biological children is important to you," she says, "it’s worth understanding how fertility changes with age and paying attention to your reproductive health. That means not ignoring very irregular periods, severe pelvic pain or other symptoms, and speaking to an OB/GYN or reproductive endocrinologist if you have concerns - particularly if you have endometriosis, previous ovarian surgery or a family history of early menopause."

“Egg freezing may be worth discussing for some women, too,” she mentions - particularly if you think you’re likely to build your family after 35 or have certain fertility risk factors. But importantly, it isn’t something everyone needs to rush into. Nor should an AMH result become another number to obsess over.

Sekhon's key piece of advice is this: “Know your reproductive health before you need it. Pay attention to your menstrual cycle, don’t ignore symptoms like very irregular periods or severe pelvic pain, and understand that fertility is part of your overall health.” And I’m taking that as permission to wrap myself in information, rather than letting my “biological clock” wrap itself around me.

Maybe the point isn’t to stop the clock

Here’s my truth: what if I leave it too late? still pops into my head at least once or twice a month.

I’m an anxious girl. I live by what-ifs: what if I want children one day, but not for another five years? What if I spend so long being certain I’m not ready that, by the time I am, my biology has other plans?

But this is precisely why this conversation matters: whether you desperately want children, aren’t sure, or know you don’t want them at all. You deserve to understand what’s happening in your body without feeling like every birthday is a deadline. And, actually, this is a conversation men need to be a part of, too - fertility is not a one-woman story.

Because fertility decline is real. But so is the anxiety we’ve built around it. The answer isn’t to pretend either one doesn’t exist, but to understand the difference.

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Oh, hormones. If there was ever a subject a woman could feel truly at peace with, this is not it.

We’re taught the basics at school, then more or less sent out into the world to figure out the rest on our own. And if the group chat - aka my FYP - is anything to go by, we’re all trying to navigate the minefield of “hormone balance”: what to eat, avoid, take, track and whether we’ve somehow been sleeping, exercising and drinking our coffee incorrectly. Somewhere between seed cycling, cortisol cocktails, cycle syncing and oestrogen detoxes, the saxophones of hormone health are getting louder, aren’t they?

I say this as someone who spends a lot of time writing about women’s health. I’ve saved the posts, read the studies, and lord knows my cupboards have seen every supplement on the market. I’ve even wondered whether a late dinner might somehow be sabotaging my endocrine system.

So, rather than adding to the noise, I wanted to do the opposite. I asked some of the best experts in women’s health to strip things right back: if you’re hormonally challenged, feeling depleted, and just outright lost in the sauce of it all, what should actually be on your list? Whether that means your period has gone rogue, your sleep is all over the place, or you simply want to look after your hormones as you get older.

Consider this your very own hormone-health checklist - micro-habit edition. The one to return to before you buy the powder, download the tracker or convince yourself you’ve been doing it all wrong. Twenty-five genuinely micro things, backed by the best in the business, that are worth knowing about - and, importantly, actually doable.

Right. Get your checklist out. And for once, let’s make this a list of things women are supposed to be doing a manageable one.

Your Hormone Health Edit Starts Here

Ladies, pull up a chair and get comfy, because I’ve done the homework for you: five experts, five categories, and the small shifts they’d prioritise if they were starting from scratch. Let's get into it.

Sleep: Let's Start With Your Body Clock

Our first guest, and our first category to conquer: sleep. And who better to kick things off than world-leading sleep scientist Wendy Troxel. She’s spent years studying the relationship between sleep, our body clocks and our wider health, so I asked her which small habits she’d prioritise if we wanted to give our hormones a helping hand. Here are the five she’d start with.

1. Wake up within the same one-hour window

You don’t need a military-grade bedtime. Wendy’s priority is simply keeping your wake-up time relatively consistent, aiming to get up within roughly the same one-hour window each day. It gives your body clock a reliable cue - and yes, that includes weekends.

Why it matters: Your wake-up time is one of the strongest cues for your circadian rhythm, which helps regulate the daily timing of your hormones, including cortisol and melatonin. Keeping that rhythm steady can support more consistent sleep and overall hormonal health.

2. Take your coffee outside

Your morning light exposure can be as simple as taking your coffee into the garden, onto the balcony or outside the front door. Even a few minutes of natural light soon after waking gives your body clock a useful signal that the day has begun.

Why it matters: Morning light helps set your body clock, which in turn helps coordinate the hormones that govern your sleep-wake cycle - so think of it as giving your hormones a useful little nudge in the right direction.

3. Charge your phone across the room

Keep your phone more than an arm’s reach away at night.

Why it matters: That tiny bit of friction can make late-night checking less automatic, reducing exposure to stimulating content when your brain should be winding down. Remember: better sleep matters > a more regulated system involving stress, appetite and metabolism. Evidence shows that - need evidence that supports

4. Dim one light before bed

There’s no need to transform your bedroom into a candlelit retreat. Simply switch off one bright overhead light or dim the lights a couple of hours before bed. If you’re using devices, turn down the brightness, too.

Why it matters: Evening light can suppress melatonin and shift your body clock later. Creating a darker environment helps reinforce the natural rise in melatonin that prepares your body for sleep, supporting the hormonal rhythms that keep your sleep-wake cycle on track.

5. Use two duvets

For those sharing their beds: consider the Scandinavian method: one bed, two separate duvets, so you can each control your own temperature without disturbing the other.

Why it matters: Hot flushes and night sweats can repeatedly interrupt sleep, while being too cold can make it harder to settle back down. Having control over your own bedding is a tiny practical change that can help you stay comfortable when your temperature decides to do its own thing.

Food: More, Not Less

Our second guest, and arguably the category with the most rules attached to it: food. Eleanor Hoath, registered nutritionist, is here to make a compelling case for doing something slightly different: instead of asking what we should cut out for the sake of our hormones, what could we simply add? From a spoonful of flax to being a little more intentional about breakfast - five tiny habits she’s recommended - no elimination diets welcome.

6. Add protein to your first bite

Whatever you were already planning to eat, add a source of protein. An egg, a spoonful of nut butter, a scoop of Greek yoghurt, or a handful of nuts. That’s it.

Why it matters: Protein can help keep blood sugar steadier after eating, which takes some pressure off insulin and cortisol - two hormones closely involved in the body’s wider hormonal and metabolic picture. And the best bit? It costs seconds.

7. Stir in a tablespoon of ground flaxseed

Once a day, stir one tablespoon of ground flaxseed into something you’re already eating. Porridge, Yoghurt, a smoothie, even soup. Buy it pre-ground and keep it in the fridge; whole seeds can pass through largely undigested.

Why it matters: Flax contains fibre and lignans that can help bind used oestrogen in the gut, supporting its removal from the body. Research, including trials in postmenopausal women, suggests flax can influence oestrogen metabolism - making this more than just another wellness rumour.

8. Add a handful of broccoli sprouts

Not broccoli - broccoli sprouts. Keep some in the fridge and add a small handful to something you’re eating: eggs, a sandwich, avocado toast, whatever’s happening.

Why it matters: Broccoli sprouts are rich in sulforaphane, supporting liver enzymes involved in processing oestrogen. Eleanor sees this as a useful partner to the flax habit: one helps with processing, the other with getting used oestrogen out of the body.

9. Give yourself 10 minutes without input

Less about what’s on your plate, more about what you’re putting into your head. For the first 10-15 minutes after waking, resist the urge to press play. No podcast, news, emails. Just get ready, make your tea, and let the morning happen in relative silence.

Why it matters: The idea here isn’t to suppress our cortisol, but to avoid immediately bombarding ourselves with information before our nervous system has had a moment to find its footing.

10. Don’t ignore the urge to poo

A very simple habit: when you need to go, go. Don’t routinely hold it because you’re mid-meeting, running late or otherwise pretending your bowel doesn’t exist.

Why it matters: The gut is one of the routes the body uses to remove used oestrogen. Certain gut bacteria can allow some of that oestrogen to be reabsorbed, so keeping things moving with regular bowel movements supports the body’s natural clearance process. The micro-habit is simply listening when your body says now.

Strength: Lift for the Long Game

11. Fit in a 15-minute “exercise snack”

Next up: your metabolic secret weapon - strength. And who better to make the case for getting stronger than Laura ‘Biceps’ Hoggins? An award-winning PT, she's keen to remind us that our hormones aren’t static - so there’s no one “best” workout for hormonal health. And the good news? You don’t need hours in the gym - Hoggins says even 15-minute "exercise snacks”, dotted throughout your week, can make a real difference. Here are the five she’d start with.

12. Aim for consistency

Aim for resistance training 2-3 times a week. Bodyweight exercises, weights, bands - it all counts. Resistance training builds lean muscle, supports bone density and can improve insulin sensitivity, making it a pretty useful tool for metabolic health.

13. Pick exercises that do more

During your strength work, choose compound movements that recruit several muscle groups at once - think squats, lunges, rows or presses.

14. Make those final reps count

Repeat after me: you don’t need to go max out every time. Instead, choose a weight resistance where the last few reps feel genuinely challenging, while still keeping your form. You can build strength and muscle across different rep ranges - it’s the effort that counts. And remember, recovery is part of the training, too.

15. Spread protein across the day

Short but sweet: adequate protein helps support muscle growth and repair and gives your body what it needs to recover from all that strength work. So, don't sleep on this part of your training.

16. Get stronger as oestrogen declines

As oestrogen declines with age, particularly through perimenopause and menopause, strength training becomes even more important. Start where you are, then progressively overload. You don’t need to start heavy - just keep giving your muscles a reason to get stronger. Progressive overload is the name of the game.

Nervous System Support: Give Your Body a Break

Next up: your nervous system. Contrary to popular belief, stress isn’t just about what happens when you have a terrible day - it’s also the cumulative effect of everything your body is processing, from caffeine and alcohol to constant stimulation and everyday chemical exposure. Kayla Barnes-Lentz, a longevity expert and advocate for nervous system health, focuses on creating small opportunities for the body to reset. Leaving all elaborate rituals at the door.

17. Have your coffee with breakfast

Have your caffeine alongside food rather than on an empty stomach. And make sure your last coffee is early enough that it’s well out of your system before bed - a conservative 10-hour cutoff.

Why it matters: Caffeine can raise cortisol and blood sugar, adding to the body’s stress response. Having it with food and cutting off your supply early gives your nervous system - and your sleep - a little less to contend with.

18. Make your next drink alcohol-free

You don’t need to make a dramatic declaration about your drinking. Swap your next alcoholic drink for something alcohol free when you can.

Why it matters: Alcohol can affect sleep, cortisol and oestrogen metabolism. Small reductions in exposure still count.

19. Take a Zone 2 walk

Walk at a pace where you can still hold a conversation, but wouldn’t exactly want to give a TED Talk. Aim for most days if you can.

Why it matters: Zone 2 builds mitochondrial health and supports fat oxidation, while being gentle enough not to add to your overall stress load. Think of it as a movement that gives back, rather than takes more out of you.

20. Swap one plastic container

Put the plastic Tupperware down - you don’t need to bin your entire kitchen. Start with the thing you use most. Move your daily water bottle, lunchbox or food container to glass or stainless steel.

Why it matters: Chemicals can migrate from plastic into food and, in recent laboratory testing, some of these migrants have been shown to interact with hormone-related receptors in the endocrine system. One small swap is an easy way to reduce everyday exposure.

21. Go fragrance-free with one daily product

Pick one product you use every day - perhaps your moisturiser, body wash or deodorant - and choose a fragrance-free version next time you replace it.

Why it matters: fragrance can contain multiple undisclosed ingredients, including chemicals with potential endocrine-disrupting effects. The goal isn’t perfection; it’s gradually reducing your everyday exposure, one product at a time.

Know Your Normal: Your Hormones Are Information

And finally, perhaps the most important one: knowing your normal. Because before we start blaming our hormones for everything from bad mood to a breakout - a natural default I’m sure we can all relate to - it helps to know what normal looks like for us. Dr Ravina Bhanot, women’s health GP, is here to give us tips on how to tune into what our bodies are telling us - before Google gets involved.

22. Keep a two-minute cycle diary

Jot down when your period starts, how heavy it is, and whether you spot anything that feels unusual. Two minutes, once a month.

Why it matters: Your cycle can offer useful clues about your wider health - especially if something suddenly changes.

23. Eat regularly

Three meals a day might sound wildly uncontroversial, but in a world obsessed with fasting windows and eating schedules, it’s worth saying: your hormones need fuel. You don’t need to follow a perfect eating schedule, but regularly skipping meals or chronically under-eating isn’t doing your body any favours. Aim for regularity.

Why it matters: Your body needs enough energy and nutrients to support healthy hormone production.

24. Know when to take a five-minute stress reset

Walk, stretch, move your body or simply step away from whatever is stressing you out. And yes, that may mean closing the laptop.

Why it matters: Short bursts of movement and recovery can help your body shift out of stress mode

25. Talk about your period

I think this may be my favourite of all the habits.

Tell your partner, friends, siblings - whoever you feel comfortable with. Let’s make periods less of a family secret.

Why it matters: Talking openly helps chip away at period stigma and makes reproductive health easier to discuss. Being open about our periods might also help someone recognise that something they’ve been experiencing isn’t something they have to put up with - or encourage them to get something checked. And sometimes, simply hearing someone talk honestly about their own experience can make someone else feel comfortable doing the same. That’s a huge thing.

26. Keep your health checks in check

Once a month: get familiar with your breasts. Keep up with STI testing when appropriate. And go when your cervical screening is due.

Why it matters: These tiny bits of health admin can help spot changes early - which is exactly what they’re there for.

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If you have PMOS, you’ll know it doesn’t exactly do neat boxes. Or predictable symptoms. Or, frankly, much else by the book.

One diagnosis can come with a million ways to experience it. One woman might be dealing with unpredictable periods and fertility difficulties; another with acne and unwanted hair growth; someone else might be quietly navigating insulin resistance or changes in weight. And yes, you can have several of these going on at once.

It’s also part of what makes PMOS so frustrating to diagnose and treat. There isn’t one neat symptom checklist, one magical blood test or one universal treatment that works for everyone. What helps one woman can leave another wondering what all the fuss was about.

But new research could be about to change the way we think about the condition altogether.

A team at Shandong University in China, alongside an international group of researchers, has identified four distinct biological ‘subtypes’ of PMOS - each with its own pattern of hormonal and metabolic characteristics.

The important bit? Researchers aren’t suggesting there are suddenly four new diagnoses to add to your medical records. What they are suggesting is that PMOS may never have been one singular condition in the first place. Ladies, we know that matters. Because when your symptoms have felt confusing, inconsistent or even dismissed, having an actual biological explanation for why your experience looks different from someone else’s could be hugely validating.

Dare I say it, but it could also mark the beginning of something women with PMOS have been waiting a long time for: treatment that recognises the individual, rather than simply treating the diagnosis on your chart. Knowing the subtype you’re dealing with could help make sense of why your body is behaving the way it is - and, in time, could change how those symptoms are treated, too.

So, perhaps the future of PMOS isn’t about finding one answer for millions of women. It’s about finally recognising that there was never supposed to be just one.

For more, keep scrolling - and don't miss our guides to the science-backed PMOS treatments, nutritionist-approved PMOS supplements, and why PCOS has changed its name to PMOS, here.

PMOS Isn’t Just One Condition - and That Could Explain Why Diagnosis Is So Complicated

The Different Types of PMOS

If you’ve ever looked at another woman with PMOS and thought, Hang on, how can we possibly have the same condition? Rest assured, your version of PMOS is no less real.

​That’s something Dr Emily Jackman, a GP who also has PMOS herself, understands both personally and professionally. “One of the biggest challenges with PMOS, formerly known as PCOS, is that it can look incredibly different from one woman to another,” she explains. “Someone might predominantly experience irregular periods or fertility difficulties, while someone else may struggle with acne, excess hair growth or metabolic issues such as insulin resistance, and there can be considerable overlap between these features.”

And that variation can make diagnosis feel like something of a postcode lottery. There’s no single symptom, blood test or presentation that neatly announces this is PMOS. Instead, women can arrive with completely different combinations of symptoms - some of which can overlap with other conditions, while others may be dismissed altogether.

For Jackman, that isn’t just something she sees in the consulting room. “I have PMOS myself and, when I initially sought help, I didn’t necessarily fit what was perceived to be the ‘typical’ picture, so my concerns were initially dismissed.”

If we’ve spent years squeezing women with PMOS to fit one “typical” picture, perhaps the problem is the picture. “The recent change in name from Polycystic Ovary Syndrome to Polyendocrine Metabolic Ovarian Syndrome reflects our evolving view of this as much more than an ovarian condition. This research feels like another important step in that direction, recognising the huge variation within PMOS rather than expecting everybody with the diagnosis to look the same.

The Four PMOS Patterns: What Type Do You Have?

There was no deciding upfront what the four PMOS patterns should look like - the data got to do the talking. Researchers analysed nine clinical characteristics in 11,908 women, using a statistical technique called “unsupervised clustering” to see which patterns naturally emerged.

And, interestingly, four did.

Dr Giuseppe Aragona, GP and medical adviser, helps break down what actually sets these four patterns apart - and could one help make sense of your PMOS?

1. The androgen-heavy patterns

Think: acne, excess hair and hair thinning.

“This was the group where androgens - including testosterone and DHEA-S - were the loudest signal,” says Aragona, "it most closely reflects the PMOS many people instinctively picture: acne, excess facial or body hair and scalp hair thinning."

2. The Metabolic pattern

Think: weight, insulin and blood sugar.

“Here, weight, insulin and blood sugar were the giveaway. Women had higher BMI, fasting glucose and insulin, alongside the highest rates of type 2 diabetes, dyslipidaemia and hypertension,” says Aragona.

However, he stresses that this doesn’t mean obesity causes PMOS - or that lean women can’t have insulin resistance. It means these metabolic problems are clustered together in this group.

3. The quieter hormonal pattern

Think: a leaner profile and fewer metabolic red flags.

“Women in this group had higher SHBG - a protein that affects how much testosterone is available in the body - alongside lower BMI and testosterone levels. They also had the lowest rates of diabetes and high blood pressure, with generally more favourable reproductive outcomes.”

TDLR: “Quieter” doesn’t mean symptom-free, just a different overall pattern.

4. The fertility-focused pattern

Think: hormones involved in ovulation and ovarian function (your ovaries holding on for dear life)

This pattern was strongly linked to ovarian and reproductive hormones. “Women in this group had higher LH and AMH - hormones involved in ovulation and ovarian activity - as well as higher FSH.”

And that hormonal picture seemed to matter when fertility treatment entered the picture. As Aragona notes, this group had the highest risk of ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome (OHSS) and the lowest rate of PMOS remission.

What This Could Mean for Your Symptoms - and Your Treatment

I hear you: what does this actually mean if you have PMOS?

For starters, it could help explain why your experience looks so different from someone else’s. “One woman might have significant acne, excess hair growth or thinning, while another with the same diagnosis struggles mainly with insulin resistance, weight or fertility. The research suggests those differences may reflect underlying biological patterns - rather than PMOS simply being one condition that happens to look different from person to person,” says Aragona.

But the bigger question is: could this eventually change how we treat it?

And that, ultimately, is where Aragona sees the real promise: “Excitingly, I see this research potentially paving the way towards more personalised care rather than changing what we do in the consulting room immediately.”

As we speak, treatment is already guided by what you actually need - whether that’s managing irregular periods, trying to conceive, tackling acne or unwanted hair, or reducing metabolic or cardiovascular risk. However, Aragona hopes that, with this research, your symptoms could be combined with a handful of blood tests and other health markers to build a much more precise picture of your PMOS.

That could mean knowing which risks to watch more closely, which treatments are more likely to help, and potentially even how fertility treatment should be tailored to you.

There is one important reality check, though - and Aragona is keen to make it. “We’re still firmly in the research phase. This isn’t a new NHS test or treatment pathway just yet. But it could be an intriguing first step towards something more personalised.”

My take: I’d argue that one of the most important takeaways is that PMOS may be far more individual than diagnosis suggests. The next step is finding out whether understanding those differences can actually help treat women better.

The More We Know, The More We Can Ask For

If there’s one thing diving into this research has reinforced for me, it’s this: the more we understand our own bodies, the more powerful we become in advocating for them. Living with a chronic condition can sometimes feel like handing over the expert status to everyone else - the GP, the consultant, the blood test, the diagnosis. But understanding what’s happening inside your body gives you the confidence to ask better questions, push back when something doesn’t feel right and have a more informed say in your care.

Knowledge won’t magically fix PMOS. But it can give us something important: agency. And if this research ultimately helps move us towards care that recognises just how different our experiences can be, then perhaps understanding our bodies won’t just help us live with PMOS - it’ll help us demand better from the system treating it.

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You know the question: if you could have anyone, living or dead, round for dinner, who would you invite? My table would be less dream dinner party, more women's health dream team - some of the world’s leading experts, with Madonna and Emily Brontë sandwiched somewhere in between. And there’s one thing I’d ask them: in a world that is constantly telling us to invest in this, buy that, track everything and optimise ourselves into oblivion, what do you actually spend your own time and money on?

If we’re all honest, the wellness industry has given us all a few trust issues. A product promises to transform your hormones? Sure. A wearable claims it can decode your sleep? Stunning. A supplement that claims it’ll help you live longer? Naturally, our interest is piqued.

Strip away the noise, the trends and the increasingly expensive business of “wellness”; what genuinely makes a difference? I asked the women who know best. So, park yourself up - consider this your ultimate wellness shopping list, curated by the experts leading the conversation - from the habits they swear by to the appointments, treatments, tests and products they believe are actually worth your time, money, and, crucially, attention - the good stuff, in other words, with the wellness-world nonsense left at the door.

Keen to read more expert-backed advice? Scroll our features on the best healthy ageing habits, the blue zone habits to try, and the simplest ways to improve your health here.

5 Best Health Investments of All Time, According to Top Experts

The women who know what’s worth investing in

So, who made the guest list? Five experts; five very different health investments. Around the virtual round-table we have: a sleep specialist, a cardiovascular expert, a menopause doctor, a longevity specialist, a women’s health GP, and a fitness expert - all revealing the health investments they genuinely rate.

The answers range from the things you can buy to the things you absolutely can’t - and, perhaps unsurprisingly, there’s a lot less biohacking and a lot more of the basics than you might expect.

1. The Sleep Investment That Pays You Back Every Day

If there’s one thing Dr Wendy Troxel, clinical psychologist and sleep scientist, would like us to stop doing, it’s looking for a pill to “switch us off.” She’s sceptical of the booming market of sleep supplements and “hacks” promising the perfect sleep. “There are effective strategies to improve sleep quality across all stages of a woman’s life, and they don’t come in a pill,” she says.

"For chronic insomnia, the gold-standard investment is cognitive behavioural therapy for insomnia (CBT-I), while the everyday basics matter too: a consistent wake-up time, plenty of light and movement during the day, a proper wind-down routine and resisting the late-night doomscroll."

And for her own investment? Start with the place where you spend a third of your life. “What other piece of furniture do you spend eight hours a day in?” She has a point: research using wearable data suggests adults spend around 7.5 hours a day actually sleeping, while estimates that include the time we spend awake in bed put that figure closer to nine hours.

So, creating a comfortable sleep environment, for Troxel, is one of the wisest investments you can make for your sleep.”It’s not a case of spending £3,000 on the latest sleep-enhancing mattress; comfort is personal, and your sleep set-up should change as you do. Your mattress may need to change with you too.”

Her more unexpected investment is an eye mask with Bluetooth speakers. “If I wake, I’ll listen to a short story rather than lie there trying to force myself back to sleep. The harder we try to make sleep happen, the more elusive it can become - the best thing you can do for your sleep is stop trying so hard.”

2. The Heart Check You Shouldn’t Wait For

For Dr Nabila Laskar, consultant cardiologist and cardiac imaging specialist, the smartest health investment she made was understanding a good route into prevention. "I prioritise knowing my own cardiovascular risk rather than assuming that because I feel well, everything must be fine. I keep an eye on things such as my blood pressure, cholesterol and blood sugar." As a cardiologist, she sees how easily those risks can develop silently, which is why she favours prevention and knowing her numbers over spending money on the latest wellness product.

​But cardiovascular health isn’t just about numbers. Laskar wants women to remember three things: "First, your pregnancy history is part of your heart history. Conditions such as pre-eclampsia and gestational diabetes can be important markers of future cardiovascular risk, even years after the pregnancy itself."

​Menopause is another opportunity to take stock. “It’s not simply about hot flushes, sleep and hormones; changes in cholesterol, blood pressure, body composition and metabolic health can also affect cardiovascular risk."

​The third point is not to normalise a change in what your body can do. “If a woman who has always been able to walk up two flights of stairs comfortably suddenly finds herself unusually breathless,” Laskar says, “don’t automatically blame age, menopause or stress."

This isn't about becoming obsessed with your health. It's about recognising that prevention can give you something far more valuable than another monetary "wellness" hack: time to act before a risk becomes a problem.

3. Forget Biohacking: This Is What Actually Helps You Live Well for Longer

If anyone is qualified to tell us what’s worth spending money on in the pursuit of longevity, it’s Kayla Barnes-Lentz. Having invested more than $1 million in her own health optimisation - and personally trialled everything from hyperbaric chambers and red-light therapy to PEMF, cold plunges and brain photobiomodulation - she has a surprisingly simple conclusion: “The basics absolutely must be prioritised. Not only are they most backed by science, but they’re also where I’ve seen the most measurable shifts in my biomarkers.”

That doesn’t mean Barnes-Lentz has abandoned optimisation altogether. One area she invests in significantly is her everyday environment. “We know environmental toxins like BPA, parabens and phthalates have a detrimental impact on our health,” she says, pointing to air and water filtration as two of her priorities. She also monitors the air quality in her home. “We breathe more than we do anything else,” she says, whilst also arguing that a high-quality water filter is worth the investment.

And of all the advanced interventions she’s tried, her standout is decidedly old-school: the sauna. “Out of all my ‘tools’, the sauna has the best data,” she says, personally using one four or more times a week. Regular sauna use has been linked with lower blood pressure and better vascular function, essentially giving your cardiovascular system a workout while you sit still. For a longevity investment, it’s hard to argue with something that asks you to do very little beyond sit, sweat and relax.

4. The Exercise Investment That Makes the Biggest Difference

For fitness coach Laura Hoggins, the best investment she’s made in her physical health wasn’t a piece of equipment - it was joining a great gym or being coached in her formative years. She’s quick to acknowledge that having the financial freedom to do so is a privilege, but says the experience was game-changing. “The small yet mighty community gave me a sense of belonging, accountability and a shared goal to be our best selves inside and outside of the gym,” she says.

And there's evidence that this sense of community can make a huge difference. A 2025 systematic review spanning 68 studies found that social support and accountability were among the factors that helped people maintain physical activity over the long term.

But the good news? “You don’t need an expensive membership to get stronger. If I had £100 to spend on fitness for the year, I’d buy a good pair of durable, supportive trainers.”

When it comes to women's health, Laura is less interested in the latest wellness promise and more interested in getting the fundamentals right. Which is why there's one category she wouldn't spend her money on: "Supplements promising to balance your hormones. Let’s start with the basics and ensure your lifestyle choices, nutrition and stress management are in shape first. This will be the biggest contributor to your ability to manage hormonal changes."

5. The Health Appointment You Should Stop Putting Off

For women’s health expert and GP, Dr Raj Arora, the smartest health investment isn’t money. It’s time - time to understand your body, stay ahead of prevention and notice when something changes. “Invest in understanding your own health and your own body,” she says. Know your normal, know your numbers and don’t wait until something feels wrong to start paying attention.”

It’s a particularly important message for women, who Aurora says can become “incredibly good at putting their own health at the bottom of the list”. And she’s not wrong. Raise your hand if you’ve ever thought I don't have the time when it comes to booking that appointment, chasing that referral or getting that check-up. In shame, I’ll go first.

Her advice? Make your health an appointment in the diary, rather than something you’ll get around to eventually. Cervical screening is a key preventative check, alongside breast awareness and regular blood pressure checks. “You don’t need to become anxious about every symptom,” Aurora says. “But you do deserve to take your own health seriously.”

So, What’s Actually Worth Spending Your Money On?

Five women at the forefront of women’s health. Thousands of pounds’ worth of expertise. And the verdict? You probably don’t need to buy that much stuff.

Here’s the expert-approved wellness shopping list: what’s worth it, what’s nice to have, and what you can safely leave in the basket.

Worth the investment

• A good bed: Let those 9 hours be comfortable.
• The right health checks: Know your metrics; stay on top of cervical screening and understand yours and your family’s history. Prevention may not be sexy, but neither is finding out you should have checked something five years ago.
• Strength Training: You don’t need a boutique gym or PT. Your muscles don’t care whether your weights come from a luxury fitness studio or Argos.
• Good Trainers: Spend the money here rather than on a designed water bottle. Laura Hoggins has spoken.
• Therapy or evidence-based treatment when you need it: Particularly for something like chronic insomnia, where CBT-1 beats hoping the latest sleep gummy will do the job

Nice to have

• A sauna.
• An eye mask with Bluetooth speakers.
• A decent gym membership if you genuinely enjoy going.
• Air and water filtration if it’s within your means.

The experts aren’t anti-wellness - they’re just much more interested in what actually earns its place.

Where to save

• The biggest (and cheapest): time. Time to sleep. Time to move. Time to notice when something has changed. Time to make an appointment. Time to look after yourself before your body forces you to.

As a woman who loves a little treat in the name of “wellness”, it pains me to say this, but it turns out you can’t really buy your way to better health. But you can spend your money and your time - a little more wisely.

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So, you’re burnt out. Properly burnt out. The kind where answering “how are you?” feels like an unreasonable question and your idea of self-care is moving your laptop from the desk to the sofa. And yet, for the go-getters, over-achievers, chronic over-committers, and serial multitaskers, many of us are genuinely shocked when a week of annual leave doesn’t magically fix us.

We all (sadly) know the drill: you spend six months running on caffeine, high cortisol and sheer force of will, finally collapse onto a sun lounger, and expect your body to go, 'Ah, lovely. We’re healed.' Except not quite.

Because if the environment, habits and boundaries that got you to burnout in the first place are waiting patiently for your return, a week off can feel less like recovery and more like borrowed time.

The harder pill to swallow? Genuine recovery asks a little more of us. Fueling adequately has to be non-negotiable. Training needs to match your actual capacity, not the imaginary version of yourself who apparently has unlimited energy. And rest comes in more forms than lying horizontally for seven days and hoping for the best.

Reportedly, 776,000 UK workers experienced work-related stress, depression or anxiety in 2023/24, resulting in 16.4 million working days lost. The picture being painted is clear: burnout may not be an official medical diagnosis, but it’s become one of the defining health challenges of modern work. Yet, somehow, we’re still expecting a week off to fix it. So, I put it to the experts: what does genuine recovery actually look like - physically, mentally, and emotionally?

Don't miss our guides to avoidable energy-draining habits, how to boost energy, and how to beat fatigue while you're here.

The Real Reason Why You’re Exhausted But Still Can’t Switch Off

Before we brand ourselves as burnt out because one final straw sent us spectacularly over the edge, it’s worth remembering that burnout has a specific definition. As Emily Austen, author of The Smarter, an empowering manifesto for breaking free from burnout, explains, it isn’t simply another way of saying you’re tired of your job.

“The World Health Organisation classifies it as an occupational phenomenon resulting from chronic, unmanaged workplace stress,” she says, “characterised as exhaustion, growing cynicism or mental distance from your work, and a drop in your sense of effectiveness. Crucially, burnout is not a medical diagnosis in itself.”

That distinction matters. “Burnout isn't just a mood, and it's also not a catch-all,” Austen says. It can affect mood, regulation, physical health, mental load and social capacity - which perhaps explains why a week in the Algarve isn’t quite the reset button we imagine it will be.

“Here’s what nobody tells you about burnout: it isn’t a deficit you can top up. It’s not a battery. It’s a pattern,” she adds. "A week away doesn’t necessarily touch the pattern, because the pattern was never really about location."

So why, when you’re utterly exhausted, are you still so wired?

Clinical Psychologist Dr Emma Hepburn explains that changes in the brain and body mean that, although you’re worn down and depleted, your threat response can be ramped up - making it surprisingly difficult to switch off. “This leads to one of the ironies of burnout,” she says. “Although you need rest and replenishment, you are on high alert, which makes it hard to sleep or rest.”

Hepburn describes our resources as a kind of ‘body budget’, with the brain constantly trying to keep things in balance. “In burnout, that budget is chronically overdrawn, perhaps even bankrupt”. And, just as one pay cheque won’t clear a mountain of debt, “a short break won’t bring it back into balance”; the body needs longer-term input to replenish its resources.

The Link Between Burnout, Safety and Recovery

We’ve established that burnout can leave your threat response ramped up. But what does feeling safe actually have to do with being burnt out - and why does it matter for recovery?

​Maybe I’m naive, but I’d never really connected the two. In my head, burnout was exhaustion, irritability and brain fog - not something that had anything to do with whether my body felt safe.

​But this is where the physiology gets interesting. When your brain perceives an ongoing threat, your body responds accordingly. “When your body doesn't feel safe, it is in what I refer to in my book as ‘threat mode’,” explains health psychologist Dr Sula Windgassen. “Multiple systems - including your hormonal, metabolic, cardiovascular and immune systems - become activated to protect you.

​The problem? They’re not designed to stay switched on indefinitely. “Over a long time, this activation results in further depletion, because you simply don't have the resources to remain activated chronically,” says Windgassen.

​And that creates a rather vicious cycle: the longer your body stays in threat mode, the more depleted its resources become, while that depletion itself makes recovery harder. “When these systems become depleted, your body's ability to recover is physiologically impeded,” she explains.

​TLDR: recovery isn’t simply about doing less. Your body needs to feel safe enough to come out of threat mode.

The Overlooked Role of Food in Burnout Recovery

Now, for the often overlooked piece of the puzzle: food. I’m guilty of blaming exhaustion on under-fuelling, but I’d never really considered that not eating enough could be contributing to how burnt out I feel.

“Chronic stress is energetically expensive,” says nutritionist Hannah Alderson. “When the stress response is repeatedly activated, cortisol helps mobilise glucose to give the brain and muscles energy to deal with a perceived threat. Your body’s greatest asset when you are stressed is energy.”

So what happens when you’re already stressed and then take that energy away? “You’ve got an even more stressed system,” says Alderson. “Skipping meals or chronically under-eating can create another physiological stressor, while falling blood glucose can trigger hormones such as cortisol, potentially adding to that familiar shaky, anxious, irritable, exhausted-but-wired feeling.”

Emerging research supports this: a 2025 study of working adults found that more nutrient-dense dietary patterns were associated with lower levels of emotional exhaustion and cognitive fatigue; meanwhile, research on low energy shows that chronic under-fuelling can affect multiple physiological systems, reinforcing why adequate energy intake matters when the body is already under strain.

The answer isn’t necessarily some magical “stress-busting” nutrient. “Food can support and optimise your stress and resilience and therefore recovery from burnout,” says Alderson. She recommends focusing on the nutritional foundations: regular meals containing protein, healthy fats, fibre-rich carbohydrates and plenty of colourful plants, “to provide steady energy and the nutrients needed for normal nervous-system and energy metabolism.” Magnesium, B vitamins, Omega-3 fats, iron and vitamin D all have a vital role to play, she adds, “although supplements shouldn’t replace food or correct a genuine deficiency.”

5 Science-Backed, Simple Ways to Fix Burnout - According to the experts

Pause the scrolling; we have some good news. Recovery doesn’t have to mean radically overhauling your life overnight. Here, the experts share five simple places to start.

1. Eat breakfast before you reach for the coffee

At the point where you’re completely frazzled? Alderson has one simple nutrition habit she wants you to prioritise: eat breakfast.

“This is a hill I will die on. Ideally, eat within 90 minutes of waking, including a good source of protein alongside fibre and healthy fats. Something as simple as eggs with wholegrain toast and avocado, or Greek yoghurt with berries, nuts and seeds, can give the body a much more supportive start than running on caffeine alone.”

And importantly, have your coffee after food. “Let’s not throw a stimulant into the system first thing,” she says. “Caffeine shouldn't have to do breakfast's job.”

2. It’s time to inspect your boundaries

Repeat after me - your capacity is not a character flaw. Windgassen wants you to start noticing where you’re consistently saying yes when your body is screaming no - and put a boundary there. “Burnout accumulates through repeated breach of your capacity.” This might mean continually saying yes and taking on more than you have the resources for.

And there’s evidence behind the boundary-setting argument. Research increasingly links poor work-life boundary management with poorer wellbeing and burnout, while interventions that actually change workload, job demands and employee control show some of the strongest evidence for reducing burnout.

3. Try a two-minute stress check-in

In a world constantly telling you that you need more - productivity, discipline, wellness - clinical psychologist Dr Claire Plumbly’s advice rings refreshingly simple: you might just need to check in with yourself.

“You don't need an hour-long meditation retreat. Instead, use the natural transition points in your day: between meetings, before picking up the kids or when you shut your laptop, for a quick nervous-system check-in.”

Ask yourself: What state am I in, and what does my body need right now?

After a stressful meeting, that might look like stretching, walking round the block, or shaking off some pent-up energy.

The aim, says Plumbly, is to “listen to your body and choose to respond to its need in that moment”

4. Find a way to psychologically clock off

Contrary to popular belief, answering a few emails from the bathtub at 9 pm doesn’t count as switching off. A 2021 study suggests that psychological detachment from work is quite possibly one of the most important skills for reducing burnout - and, rather inconveniently, the more stressful your job, the more you need it, yet the harder it can be to achieve.

Plumbly recommends finding an easy, transportable activity that “anchors your attention away from work, ideally something that doesn't involve your phone, which can easily become a portal straight back into your inbox. Reading, music, knitting, puzzles, gaming, sport: whatever genuinely absorbs you.”

And if you’re a workaholic - expect resistance. “You will get urges to continue working and to discontinue the detachment activity,” she says. Ride out the urge. “Like any habit, it gets easier with repetition.”

5. Borrow someone else’s compassion

Burnout doesn’t just drain your energy. It can turn up the volume on that horrible voice in your head: You’re failing. You’re behind. You should be coping better.

Hepburn says self-compassion can be an antidote to the shame and negativity that’s often associated with burnout. The problem? When you’re already depleted, finding that compassionate voice yourself can be surprisingly difficult.

Her solution is wonderfully simple: borrow someone else’s.

“When you notice your brain spiralling into hyper-negative territory, think about what a kind friend, partner or person you trust would say to you in that moment, and let their voice replace yours for a while.”

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Hands up if you're yet to master the slow, 5 am wellness routine? We've all seen the super luxe reels of impeccably clad women waking up with the dawn to manifest while practising breathwork, and while it looks undeniably dreamy, for most of us the reality is very different. But we come bearing great news: you don't have to overhaul your entire morning and family situation in order to cultivate just a little bit more calm - all you need is two minutes.

Yes, really: 'micro recovery' is trending as an alternative to lengthy nervous system resets, and experts think it might just be as effective when it comes to boosting focus, resilience and mental clarity.

We're talking just a few moments of calm - nothing big, and nothing expensive. And the science here is compelling: research shows that micro breaks are effective in enhancing both wellbeing and performance (check out this study from the PLOS journal), while further studies reveal that if these breaks are combined with nature (termed 'green breaks'), the wellbeing benefits increase exponentially.

We're into it, and we're pretty sure you will be, too. Keep scrolling for all the details, but if you're in need of more wellbeing content, don't miss our guides to how to master emotional fitness, Blue Zone living, Mediterranean health tips and how to find joy - plus, find out how one Health Writer got on when she tried stacking her week with low-stimulation moments, here.

‘Micro-Recovery’ Is In: Your Guide

What is micro recovery?

Interested? The concept of micro recovery is refreshingly simple: quick, totally do-able mini breaks interspersed throughout the day, for your mind and body to decompress and restore.

"Micro recovery is just giving your mind and body small, intentional opportunities to come down from the day," explains psychotherapist, women's wellbeing expert and founder of Female Focused Therapy, Cheryl Kennedy MacDonald. "It might be 60 seconds of slow breathing, a short walk, moving away from screens or sitting quietly in the car before moving on with your day. You don’t need candles or a set organised morning - and that’s kind of the point."

How has the concept of micro recovery come about?

While the idea of taking mini resets during the day is really nothing new, the terminology around it has elevated it from a simple habit to a wellness trend - and it's the antithesis of the heavily curated hacks we're consumed by right now.

"I think micro recovery is part of a much bigger shift in how we’re starting to think about wellbeing," muses life coach and entrepreneur, Jo Irving. "For years we’ve been sold this idea of the perfect morning routine. Get up at 5 am, meditate, journal, exercise, drink loads of water and do all of these things before you’ve even started your day. And if you love doing that, brilliant. I meditate. I use breathwork. There are loads of things I do that support me. But I don’t think you can meditate for twenty minutes in the morning and then spend the next twelve hours completely stressed out, rushing from one thing to another and expect those twenty minutes to somehow cancel everything else out.

"That’s the bit I think we’re starting to understand. Recovery doesn’t only need to happen in the morning, at the weekend or when you finally go on holiday. We can bring little bits of it into our actual day."

What are the benefits of building micro recovery into our day?

Still sceptical? Allow us to set out the benefits of the trend.

1. They're accessible

Let's be clear: many wellbeing trends simply aren't compatible with everyday life, but micro recovery is all about small, achievable moments of calm, taking mental and physical rest from just another thing on our to-do list to something that, actually, we can all make time for.

"The idea of micro recovery is gaining popularity because over-the-top morning routines have become yet another thing we need to do,” shares Kennedy MacDonald. "Most of us don’t have three spare hours before work, and we don’t need another 12-step routine to fail to do. Instead, it's about taking brief pauses that help restore some of the attention and energy we naturally use throughout the day."

2. They spread calm through the whole day

To truly feel as if we're doing our frazzled nervous systems some good takes more than a spa break once a year - and micro recovery taps into this idea that our bodies and minds need (and deserve - we don't have to earn it!) rest regularly.

"A good morning routine is great, but 20 minutes of journalling at 6 am doesn’t counteract an entire day of rushing, screens and work," cautions Kennedy MacDonald. "Micro recovery spreads restoration across the day. It gives your nervous system repeated opportunities to move out of high alert, helping us notice when we’re clenching our jaw or barely breathing."

3. They boost resilience

Resilience is a vital component of mental wellbeing, and micro recovery is brilliant for boosting this skill.

"In terms of resilience, micro-breaks allow us to maintain a baseline of calm and presence," explains psychotherapist Eloise Skinner. "Over time, this means that future challenges don't make us feel as though we're 'on the edge', and easily tipped into fight or flight, or into a feeling of anxiety or overwhelm."

4. They enhance focus

Ever noticed the more stressed you are, the harder it is to concentrate? You're not imagining it. But as well as boosting resilience, micro recovery is useful for enhancing focus, too.

"Our attention is limited, and it’s common to jump from one task to the next, but this is tiring for the brain," notes holistic life coach Nichola Henderson. "Micro-recoveries offer a chance to pause and gain clarity, which can help productivity. As humans, we are not designed for ongoing activation, so moments of recovery can help us to stabilise, to reset."

5. They help reduce overwhelm

"Micro-recoveries can give the nervous system time to pause from sustained effort," shares Henderson. "Sometimes, this can prevent someone from tipping into overwhelm; sometimes this is enough to sustain attention and focus before the prefrontal cortex does not function optimally."

How to actively incorporate micro recovery into your day

Totally sold on the idea but not sure where to start? We've got you. Henderson recommends following these steps to cultivate tiny moments of calm:

• Start small. The best way to get started is to begin small. A micro moment of just a few minutes before your day starts might include some fresh air outside, a few deep mindful breaths, enjoying the smell of a good coffee, or a few stretches.
• Look for breaks. After this, for the first week, look for those natural moments where your mind and body authentically need a break – perhaps when you need a comfort break, when you lose concentration on a task, or you feel yourself getting stiff in your body. These are an invitation to incorporate a micro-recovery.
• Aim for authenticity. Take an extra couple of minutes to move, to breathe, to pause and notice what’s happening internally. The most sustainable habits are the ones which fit your lifestyle most authentically, so whenever that is in your day, invite the pause in.
• Stay flexible. Don’t get attached to particular times; keep it flexible, so the micro-recoveries may change and adapt over the week; that’s OK – keep it flexible, and go easy on yourself.

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I first met Bryony Deery a few months ago, at a lululemon event where she hosted a mat-based classical Pilates workout for 450 attendees. She was clear with her instructions, concise in her encouragement, and effortlessly charming in the way she guided the room while I was fighting for my life. It was one of the spiciest workouts I'd done in a while, and I'm a Health Editor who works out for a living.

A classical Pilates instructor who's built her empire around the premise of helping women feel strong, Deery is so much more than "just" a Pilates instructor. She's the founder of Pilates By Bryony, a Dior Beauty Global Wellness Expert, and author of the revered Notes To Self Substack, as well as the co-founder of Cloudcha Matcha.

At the end of last year, she gave birth to her first child, an experience that, when we chat, she shares she felt well prepared thanks to her Pilates background. But nothing, she openly admits, could have prepared her for the physical and emotional transformation of becoming a mother.

Deery is candid and open, sharing her lived experience and how her own birth experience unfolded in ways she couldn't have prepared for. Like so many women before her, she had to navigate the messy, often confusing terrain of postpartum recovery—where joy sits alongside grief, exhaustion and uncertainty, and where healing is front and centre of mind, but far from linear.

Now, seven months postpartum, Deery is purposely forging her own path—prioritising softness, self-compassion, and coming back to herself, while enjoying all of the joys that new motherhood brings over the outdated notion of "bouncing back."

Below, she shares her birth story, the lessons she's learnt in the last year, and why redefining what strength really means after birth is so critical.

My Honest Birth Preparation and Postpartum Recovery

I've spent my career teaching movement and structure through Pilates, and in some ways, that expertise shaped how I approached preparing my body for birth.

I felt so lucky approaching the birth of our daughter, because there aren't many things that ask you to tune into your body quite like preparing for labour.

Pilates had already given me that. More than anything, it gives you a mind and body connection that lets you really know when you can challenge yourself and when your body needs to rest, which becomes invaluable in pregnancy when everything is changing week to week.

Physically, it prepared me in all the ways that are key for birth: the mobility to stay open and comfortable as my body changed, the strength to carry the bump as well as possible, the core and pelvic floor awareness you rely on so heavily during labour, and the controlled breathing that honestly was one of the biggest things during labour. The method I teach is classical and low-impact; I could keep going for as long as it felt right, adapting as I went rather than stopping and starting.

But the benefits aren't only physical. Pilates was the only time when I found my calm, centred myself, got into the zone and really learned to believe in the power of the female body.

So much of pregnancy is spent preparing for the baby, and we forget that we're the ones who have to go through the birth and recover afterwards. For me, Pilates was how I prepared myself and the more you invest in yourself during pregnancy, the more prepared you feel when your baby arrives, and you're more depleted than you've ever been.

If I could recommend one thing to other expectant mums, it would be to find a practice that strengthens your body and quietens your mind in equal measure. Preparing yourself is preparing for your baby too.

Preparing both body and mind

My birth preparation was a mix of physical and mental.

Physically, I kept my body moving in a way that felt supportive rather than strenuous. I carried on with my Pilates, adapting as I went. I filmed our prenatal workouts in real time while I was pregnant, so the sessions on the app are the exact ones I was doing myself right through those months. I also added lots of walking, good rest and really nourishing food, because I wanted to go into birth feeling strong and looked after rather than depleted. In the final weeks I also used an EPI-NO, a device that helps you gently prepare and train the pelvic floor and perineum for birth. It also really helped me to visualise the birth itself and practise my breathwork.

Mentally was just as important to me, if not more. I spent a lot of time getting into the right headspace and protecting my mindset, and I chose not to fill my head with other people's birth stories. The biggest thing I did was listen to positive affirmations, over and over, until believing in my body felt completely natural. By the time I went into labour, I had my headphones in and those affirmations playing, and they genuinely carried me through.

I can't recommend preparing your mind as seriously as you prepare your body enough. Find the affirmations, the breathing and the calm that work for you, and practise them long before the day so they're already in your system when you need them. The physical preparation matters enormously, but feeling calm and truly believing in yourself is what you'll lean on a lot too, alongside small, practical things like the EPI-NO that genuinely make a difference.

A calm mind and body will carry you through the unexpected

The birth itself I felt so ready for, but what I hadn't expected or prepared for came 24 hours after having Elle. I had a large blood clot, and having it removed was worse than labour. It was the worst pain I've ever felt in my life. No amount of understanding the female body, workouts, or visualisation can prepare you for a pain like that.

My doctor removed it by hand as I didn't want to go through an operation. I had gas and air and put my headphones in, listened to Louise Hay affirmations and reminded myself that my body knew what it was doing and that I could trust my amazing doctor, Claire Mellon.

It taught me that you can prepare so thoroughly and still be handed something you never saw coming, and that your calm mind and your body will carry you further than you ever think they can.

Gently rebuilding

In those first few weeks postpartum, I really had to listen to my new body rather than stick to my usual routine. Movement is such a huge part of who I am, so of course I craved it, but I also knew this was a time to rebuild gently rather than pick up where I'd left off. I started modifying and slowly building my core back up; at first it was just breathwork and small activations, as the body needs time to reconnect and get strong again.

Within a couple of weeks, I was moving in a really gentle, considered way. I would always recommend that people typically wait between 6 and 8 weeks depending on their delivery, but I was lucky - I've been teaching for so long and had a very easy delivery, so I was able to very slowly start to introduce movement early on.

It felt so good not because I was “getting back” to anything, but because movement has always been how I feel like myself. It's become much more of a mental thing for me, and I am hearing that it's the same for so many of our members.

Preparation for the baby as well as recovery of the mother

One thing nobody told me about postpartum recovery is how depleted you feel, and how much of it isn't purely physical. You expect to be tired, but no one really prepares you for the way your hormones are completely all over the place at the same time as you're caring for this tiny human who needs you constantly.

Even in the wellness world, we talk so much about preparing for the baby and so little about the recovery of the mother. I wish someone had told me that looking after yourself in those early weeks isn't selfish; it's essential, and that giving yourself even thirty minutes in the day to move, breathe or just something for me still is part of the recovery, not a luxury on top of it.

Your body has done the most extraordinary thing. It deserves to be looked after just as carefully as your baby is. The hormonal side of pregnancy and postpartum really surprised me; it's really important to ask for help from family, doctors and friends when you feel you need it or something is off.

Rest and stillness

Rest and stillness played a much bigger role in my recovery than I expected, and it was probably the hardest lesson for me. My whole life is built around movement, structure and showing up every day, so learning to be still and let my body simply recover didn't come naturally at all.

But rest is where so much of the healing actually happens, and in those early weeks it truly was the work, resisting the urge to prove I was fine, and instead allowing myself to slow down. I came to see stillness not as doing nothing, but as another form of looking after myself, just as important as any workout. Choosing to rest was its own kind of discipline.

Understanding movement in a new light

Motherhood has completely changed the way I teach and think about Pilates and movement for other women, and I think for the better.

Before, I taught pre- and postnatal movement from everything I'd studied and knew was right, but now I teach it from having actually lived it. I understand the exhaustion, the small windows of time a new mum really has, and why the reconnection has to come before anything else.

I'm gentler with it now in terms of how much pressure we put on ourselves as women and our limited time, and I give women so much more permission to go slowly and to meet their bodies where they are, rather than rushing towards where they think they should be.

Having Elle made it so real for me in a way no training ever could, and I think the women I work with can feel that difference. It's no longer theory to me; it's something I've been through myself.

My top piece of advice?

If I could go back and give myself one piece of advice before giving birth, it'd be to trust my body and let go of trying to control every part of it. I'm someone who likes to prepare and plan, and birth is the one thing that asks you to surrender to it completely. I'd tell myself that all the preparation was done, that my body already knew what to do, and that I could simply trust it and let it lead.

I'd also remind myself to be just as gentle with the recovery afterwards as I was diligent with the preparation before because that part matters just as much. I would also tell myself to soak up every little self-care moment for myself as much as possible.

"Bouncing back"

I've never really loved the idea of “getting your body back,” because it suggests the body you had before was the one you were meant to keep, and that pregnancy is something to undo. I think of it far more as rebuilding — gently, and in the right order, into a body that's actually stronger and more capable than before. Having my daughter deepened that completely. I understood it as a teacher, but living it made it real: feeling how much the body has to reconnect and rebuild from the inside out, and how well it does when you give it time and consistency rather than pressure. You're not going backwards. You're building something new, and that feels like a far kinder and more powerful way to look at your body after birth. Equally, I do really understand it because we want to feel good and ourselves again. I reframed it to wanting to be the strongest I have ever felt and gave myself that goal.

I feel quite conflicted about the phrase “bounce back." On one hand, I completely understand the message that you don't bounce back, because you're a new person now and it's not realistic to expect your body to simply return to how it was. But at the same time, I don't think a woman should feel guilty for wanting to feel strong or like herself again, because having physical goals that make you feel confident is more than okay too.

There's no single right way to do this. Whatever feels right for you is the answer, and everything else is just noise you can quieten. My whole approach has always been about strength and confidence built gently and consistently over time, never quick fixes or pressure, and that's even more true after birth.

Give yourself grace, move in a way that makes you feel good, and do it entirely in your own time. There's enough pressure on women already, especially now, without us adding to it ourselves.

At 35, I'm still not sure whether I want children. Like so many women my age, I hoped a fertility assessment might offer the kind of certainty I couldn't find on my own. Instead, it left me asking a much bigger question than whether I'd ever become a mother.

What It Feels Like Looking for Answers About Your Fertility

I used to think that getting older meant becoming more certain of yourself. At 15, I was steadfast in my decision not to have children. At 25, I wore that certainty almost as a badge of honour. At 35, I find myself utterly bamboozled, plagued by indecision, unable to answer what feels like one of adulthood's most fundamental questions.

I've lived in this state for the best part of five years now, and it seems to me that the harder I search for answers, the more they elude me.

"Whether I want kids is a secret I keep from myself—it is the greatest secret I keep from myself," Sheila Heti writes in Motherhood. A friend sent me the book from Japan after reading an essay I'd written about being 33 and unsure whether I wanted children. She'd taped that sentence to the front cover with a Post-it note.

"Will I ever know?" I'd written back then.

Over two years later, I'm more confused than ever.

It seems I'm not alone. "It's not something that's always at the forefront of my mind," one friend told me when I asked whether she felt similarly. "But it's always there."

Another friend had recently taken an AMH test; a blood test that measures Anti-Müllerian Hormone and is often misleadingly marketed with ominous taglines suggesting it can tell women "how long they've got left". In reality, it offers an indication of ovarian reserve and is mainly used in IVF to estimate how many eggs might be retrieved during treatment. What it can't tell you—and what no current test can—is whether those eggs are viable, or whether you'll ever need them.

Still, she'd found reassurance in her results. "It might give you some clarity," she suggested.

Clarity, rather than an egg count, was what I was searching for.

The World's Most Fertile Couple (Or So I Hoped)

I'd like to tell you that what followed was exhaustive research into the most reputable fertility clinics, spreadsheets comparing success rates and patient reviews.

Instead, the clinic found me. While reporting on the UK's fertility industry , I'd spoken to IVI London about the growing number of misconceptions women have about fertility. Later, they reached out to ask whether I'd be interested in experiencing their most comprehensive fertility assessment. I said yes.

On the surface, I didn't think I had particularly strong feelings about it. I was grateful for a job that occasionally grants me access to experiences I'd never otherwise be able to afford, especially on an editorial salary. The couple's fertility assessment would normally have cost hundreds of pounds, before the additional AMH blood test.

And yet I couldn't bring myself to book it. The clinic emailed every few weeks. I kicked the can down the road. Months passed. A new year arrived. "The Year of the Fire Horse is going to kick you into action," a friend joked when I admitted I'd still not arranged an appointment.

Eventually, I ran out of excuses.

Booking the assessment was easy. Neither my partner nor I needed to prepare in advance, and so all I did was harbour the secret fantasy that we'd be told we were the most fertile couple the clinic had ever seen.

"My God," I imagined the nurses gasping. "You two are so fertile it's a wonder you haven't had an accident yet."

Needless to say, this did not happen.

Good Swimmers, Great Expectations

I walked down Harley Street on an a bright morning towards IVI London's discreet entrance. By the time I arrived, my partner had already completed his part of the assessment. His sperm analysis was over before mine had even begun.

We were shown upstairs, where a nurse checked my BMI and blood pressure before leading us into the consultant's office. Before the examination began, we talked through the mechanics of fertility, and I was surprised by how little I actually knew.

Despite years reporting on women's health, often with a laser focus on the so-called "fertility cliff" and motherhood, so much of fertility remained a mystery. The conversation also seemed almost entirely directed towards my body; the egg rather than the sperm.

When my partner's results came back, I was relieved—and vaguely repulsed—to hear he had "good swimmers". Then I felt something else: pressure. He'd been given the all clear, now it felt as though everything rested with me.

Lying back on the bed, I watched as the ultrasound moved across the walls of my womb before darting from one ovary to the other. Every so often, the consultant would pause to point something out. I tried to hold onto the information, but another thought kept crowding out what the doctor was telling me: What if they find something?

The feeling reminded me of an investigative colonoscopy I'd had the previous year. Rationally, I knew this appointment was meant to reassure rather than alarm. But there's something about seeing the inside of your own body displayed on a screen that makes catastrophe feel inevitable.

The consultant talked us through what she was seeing. I had a small uterus, she explained, though not one that should cause concern. It was slightly triangular rather than T-shaped, but unless I experienced difficulties carrying a pregnancy, there was no reason to intervene. If problems ever did arise, some procedures could reshape it. Knowing there were options felt reassuring.

Then she counted the follicles on my ovaries: six on one, eight on the other. Instinctively, I knew those numbers were lower than I'd hoped.

Perhaps because my partner had already been told he had "good swimmers", I couldn't shake the feeling that he'd somehow passed his test while I hadn't. The consultant tried to assure me this wasn't how fertility worked; she'd be far more concerned by visible cysts or structural abnormalities than the number of follicles she'd counted.

And yet I knew I hadn't heard the last of those follicles.

The Advice I Wasn't Ready to Hear

Once we'd gone through the results in detail, those follicles appeared again. The consultant explained ovarian reserve and how follicles are used to estimate the number of eggs remaining. Every month, a group begins the process of maturing before one is released and the rest disappear.

Because of my follicle count, I was told it would probably take two or three retrieval cycles to freeze enough eggs to give myself the strongest chance of success in the future.

Then came the advice. It wasn't delivered dramatically or with any hint that something was wrong, but it was there: if I thought I might want children, I should freeze my eggs now.

If I thought I wanted more than one child, I definitely should.

Not because I was infertile or because there was cause for alarm. No, the answer was both simpler and somehow crueller: I should freeze my eggs because I am 35.

I hadn't expected to be so floored by that. Of course, I know that I'm 35, but like so many women my age, forced into a state of prolonged adolescence because of myriad reasons outside our control—graduating into a recession, stagnating wages, a housing crisis—I don't feel 35.

But I am. And that reminder stung.

Regardless of my results, regardless of how many follicles had appeared on the scan, regardless of the blood test I was still waiting for, the recommendation would almost certainly have been exactly the same.

Freeze now.

I felt that I was supposed to feel empowered, equipped with new information about my body. But although I understood my physiology better than I had 90 minutes earlier, I felt no closer to understanding myself.

The fear that time was running out had become more acute. The reassurance I'd hoped to find felt more elusive than ever, slippery like the jelly that had been squirted onto my stomach for the scan.

While I waited for my AMH blood test, another couple argued with a nurse in the waiting room about transporting frozen eggs overseas for a surrogate. The woman became increasingly frustrated. Her husband tried to calm her down.

It struck me then that every conversation taking place inside this Harley Street clinic was, in one way or another, about money. The consultation. The medication. The retrievals. The freezing. The storage. The possibility of IVF years from now. Even uncertainty, it seemed, came with a price tag.

I know that AMH tests don't do what they're so often marketed as doing. They can't tell you how long you've "got left", predict whether you'll conceive naturally or tell you if you'll ever become a mother.

I'd written an entire investigation into this myth that women are sold in pursuit of motherhood, and yet I still found myself desperately waiting for that number. I guess I hoped the results would show a surprisingly high egg reserve in defiance of my low follicle count, even though I knew it was the quality, not the quantity, that mattered.

I wanted something that could buy me more time.

The irony wasn't lost on me that I couldn't afford the one thing that, in some ways, could buy me more time—egg freezing—even though that, too, came with no guarantee.

Freezing my eggs would likely cost somewhere between £15,000 and £20,000. Money my partner and I are currently trying to save for a house deposit. Spending it on eggs that may never be used would almost certainly delay buying a home. Delaying buying a home would almost certainly delay having children. Delaying having children would only make those frozen eggs feel more necessary.

It felt like a perfect chicken-and-egg situation. Again, the irony did not escape me.

Without stable housing, I can't imagine bringing a child into the world. But waiting until I have that stability means my fertility continues to decline.

I already knew, walking into that clinic, that the biggest obstacle between me and motherhood wouldn't be biological. I walked out steadfast in the knowledge that it was financial.

The Price of Possibility

It's now been six months since the assessment. Largely, I feel the same as before I went: unsure whether I want children, but increasingly aware that time continues to move whether I've made my mind up or not.

The only real difference is that uncertainty has infiltrated my everyday life. Boozy summer nights, stressful weeks at work and my incessantly poor sleep all make me wonder whether I'm damaging eggs I haven't even decided I want to use.

I knew it was naïve to hope the assessment would give me answers. I knew I was simply trying to absolve myself of making my own decision and defer it for a little longer.

Everyone is asking why fertility rates are in decline, why "women aren't having babies". But not enough people are asking how exactly anyone is supposed to make this decision in a world where the timeline of our biology no longer matches the timeline of our lives.

That's the question that angrily flitted around my head as I left IVI London. And, unlike my follicle count, it's one no fertility test can answer.

For years, I’ve been the woman who never knew when her period was due without consulting an app. My phone knew where I was in my cycle long before I did. It knew when my period was expected, when I’d probably start craving crisps, and when I should lock in for the next three to five working days. My menstrual cycle wasn’t just something I experienced; it was something I outsourced.

Like many good obsessions, it began innocently enough. I downloaded Flo so I wouldn’t be caught out wearing white trousers. Before long, I was logging cramps, moods, sleeps, libido and breakouts with the diligence of someone conducting a long-term clinical trial. If you’ve ever wondered whether you’re genuinely furious with your partner or simply two days from your period, you’ll understand the appeal.

I was far from alone. We’re living in the age of the quantified woman, and our menstrual cycles have become another stream of data to analyse. The world’s three largest period-tracking apps have now been downloaded more than 250 million times. Need I say more?

The irony? Despite years of meticulously collecting information about my cycle, I wasn’t convinced I actually understood it - and that didn’t sit right with me. Believe it or not, we have more information about our menstrual cycles than any generation before us, yet a 2026 study of more than 383,000 UK women found that over one in five still couldn’t say how long their cycle actually was.

Then it dawned on me: the women before us managed to understand their bodies long before smartphones arrived to narrate them. Perhaps what I was missing wasn’t more data, but a different way of making sense of it.

Which is what led me to Traditional Chinese Medicine, which interprets the menstrual cycle through patterns across the whole body: sleep, digestion, stress, emotions and energy. I took years of my cycle history to Maddy McCarthy, founder of Yin Space and TCM practitioner, and asked her to read it back to me. Would she see something my app hadn’t? Could the monthly symptoms I tick off tell an entirely different story?

Let it be known that my quest for more answers isn't driven by the belief that we need to track less. More so by a different question: in our pursuit of understanding our bodies, have we become fluent in data but forgotten how to listen?

What I Learnt About My Cycle From a Chinese Medicine Practitioner

The Rise Of The Cycle Tracking Era

So what drove me to swap graphs for a body-first approach? Curiosity, mostly. Even with all the data I’d collected, I still had the nagging feeling that I was missing the point. And if we’re honest with each other (welcome to your safe space), most of us didn’t download a period-tracking app because we suddenly developed a passion for endocrinology. And as we’re constantly flooded with ways to optimise our wellbeing best, it was perhaps inevitable that our menstrual cycles would become another stream of data to analyse.

​I was no different. The more I logged, the more I convinced myself that I was getting closer to understanding my body and the series of unfortunate events my period would bring. After all, that’s what we’re sold, isn’t it? That enough information eventually brings insight.

​The data suggests many of us have bought into exactly that. A UCL study of predominantly UK users found that almost two-thirds had been using a tracking app for more than a year, while 43% said logging had become part of their everyday routine. And we’re no longer just tracking periods. We’re recording everything else, hoping that if we collect enough dots, they’ll eventually connect on their own.

​And sometimes they do. Tracking can be genuinely empowering, helping spot patterns, prepare for symptoms and advocate in medical appointments. For many, tracking is the thing that starts the conversation. I know first-hand that seeing patterns written down can be the first time symptoms that once felt random begin to make sense. But I also couldn’t shake the feeling that I’d become incredibly good at collecting information, while getting no closer to understanding what it was trying to tell me.

What Happened When A Traditional Chinese Medicine Practitioner Read My Cycle

Before McCarthy even attempted to interpret my cycle, she did something that felt almost radical: she listened.

​Our initial consultation lasted 90 minutes, and it was probably the closest thing to therapy I’ve experienced outside an actual therapist’s office. There was no racing through a checklist or trying to squeeze years of symptoms into a ten-minute appointment. Instead, she asked about everything. My period’s patterns, yes, but also my digestion, my cervical mucus, whether I experienced clotting, whether my pain travelled, and even how I’d describe myself emotionally. I volunteered details I’d never thought to mention to my GP, not because they’d never asked, but because I’d never considered them relevant.

​Then, in our follow-up appointment, she started connecting the dots. From a TCM perspective, she said the strongest pattern running through my symptoms was what practitioners call Blood Stagnation, a TCM term used to describe when the body’s circulation is thought to have become obstructed. The dark blood, sharp travelling pain and 50p-sized clots all pointed towards stagnation, while the fact that I ran hot and felt overwhelmed by the slightest bit of heat suggested a second, overlapping pattern: “Heat sitting alongside the stagnation.” Together they explain why the pain is as severe as it is.

​What surprised me most was how she intercepted my PMDD. I’d described the familiar pattern: seven to ten days of what can only be described as a black cloud, followed by an almost eerie emotional flatness once my period arrived. The health anxiety that seems to settle in my chest for no obvious reason. In my mind, these had always sat in a separate box labelled mental health - or, more dismissively, just hormones. McCarthy didn’t see separate boxes; she saw the same pattern showing up somewhere else.

She explained that, in TCM, my system appeared to be running low on the resources it needed at exactly the point in my cycle they were most in demand, while the stagnation prevented things from moving as they should. The endometriosis, digestive flare-ups, anxiety and PMDD weren't four unrelated conditions competing for attention; they are one story being told in different ways.”

Whether or not you subscribe to that interpretation, I found that after my first two sessions of decoding my cycle’s data, the shift in perspective was fascinating. For the first time, nobody was treating my emotional symptoms as an inconvenient side note to my physical ones - or vice versa. My period wasn’t the problem to solve; it was part of the conversation my body had been trying to have with me all along.

What Science Can (And Can’t) Tell Us About Our Cycles

Walking out of my appointment with McCarthy, I couldn’t stop thinking about one question: was she describing something medicine hadn’t explained to me yet - or was she using different language to describe the same thing?

According to consultant gynaecologist and Medical content creator Dr Brooke Vandermolen, it may be less of a contradiction than it first appears.

“Both are asking why symptoms don’t track hormone levels in a simple, linear way, and both treat the menstrual cycle as a marker of wider health rather than an isolated event,” she explains. “That’s why modern gynaecology increasingly talks about the menstrual cycle as a ‘vital sign’, alongside blood pressure and heart rate.”

I’d naively assumed Western medicine and Traditional Chinese Medicine were having entirely different conversations. In reality, they’re often looking at the same person through different lenses. Where TCM describes patterns of Blood Stagnation, heat and energy, Western medicine looks at hormones, inflammation and physiology. The language differs, but the observation is increasingly shared: sleep, stress, digestion and emotional wellbeing all influence menstrual health.

As Vandermolen explains, “the clearest overlap is the mind-body link: chronic stress and poor sleep measurably suppress the hormone signal that drives ovulation, which is the same territory TCM describes through emotion and energy.”

That doesn’t mean the two systems are interchangeable. Modern medicine remains essential for diagnosing conditions like endometriosis, ruling out serious pathology and providing evidence-based treatments. But as Vandermolen notes, “science still has unanswered questions. We don’t fully understand why two women with similar hormone levels can have completely different experiences of PMS or PMDD, or why severe symptoms don’t always neatly match what appears on a scan.”

Perhaps that’s why my appointment with McCarthy resonated so deeply. My app had collected the data. My GP had helped me understand the medical picture. McCarthy offered another way of interpreting the patterns I’d been noticing. Understanding my body, I realised, required all three.

Acupuncture for My Cycle: What I Learned

The next part of my treatment with McCarthy was acupuncture to address the patterns she believed were contributing to my symptoms. The idea was to encourage movement where blood was thought to be stagnant, helping to ease pain and clotting around my period, while supporting my body through different phases of my cycle.

Unexpectant of what I was going to feel, lying on the treatment couch, I felt almost unnervingly aware of my body. Every sensation felt sharper. My breathing slowed. My nervous system actually seemed to exhale. It felt, oddly, like giving my body a huge glass of water.

According to McCarthy, “acupuncture isn’t designed to chase individual symptoms. Within TCM, treatment focuses on the underlying pattern beneath them.” Around my period, McCarthy encourages movement where blood is thought to be trapped, helping to ease pain and clotting. Afterwards, the focus shifts towards rebuilding and nourishing the body for the next cycle. Before my period, treatment changes again, with greater attention paid to supporting the nervous system and the symptoms associated with PMS and PMDD.

TLDR: the treatment evolves with the cycle itself, adapting to what the body needs, meeting you exactly where you are.

Beyond The App: What Tuning Back into My Cycle taught me

Here’s where I’ve landed: I don’t think the problem is that we’re tracking our cycles too much. I think we’ve started relying on the tracking a little too heavily, mistaking data for interpretation.

I haven’t deleted my app. In fact, I still use it. But the relationship is different. Working with McCarthy gave me something my app could never: a framework for understanding my symptoms, and acupuncture gave me space to respond to them rather than simply record them. It wasn’t a cure, and it didn’t make promises about eliminating my pain. Over time, it helped my body feel calmer, my symptoms less overwhelming, and my cycle like something I could work with rather than brace myself against.

Whether this explanation has resonated with you or not, I left with something I’d been missing: trust in my own body. The app still helps me predict my cycle. Acupuncture helped me respond to it.

Shop MC’s approved cycle care essentials

Right, gather round - I think it’s time we had a summer intervention. Because while everyone else appears to be floating through the warmer months with a golden glow, a linen dress and Aperol permanently in hand, some of us are quietly wondering why we’re waking up puffy, sleeping badly, and feeling like our bodies are constantly backchatting.

​I do have a rather controversial confession to make as a Brit: I don’t always love summer. There, I said it. Yes, I enjoy the longer evenings and, quite frankly, any excuse to occupy a pub garden, but sometimes it feels less “hot girl summer” and more “why are my rings suddenly tight and why am I exhausted after doing absolutely nothing?”

​Somewhere between the sticky nights, spontaneous pub gardens, holiday routines and the completely unrealistic belief that exercising in a heatwave is a good idea, I reach the point where my body starts quietly protesting. Judging by the annual chorus of “why do I feel so puffy?” and “why am I exhausted?”, it’s clearly not just me.

​Naturally, my brain goes to the explanation we’re more often than not reaching for right now: inflammation. The well-being world's shorthand for almost any symptom we can’t explain. So, before we pin all of our complaints on one biological process, I thought it was worth getting a little curious.

​I wasn’t convinced the heat deserved all the blame. So I spoke to exercise physiologists, doctors and nutritionists to figure out what was actually going on: from what inflammation really means, the everyday summer habits that could be adding fuel to the fire, and which wellness myths don’t quite stand up to scrutiny.

5 Summer Habits That Could Be Causing Inflammation

First up - why do so many of us feel “off” in summer - and what inflammation has to do with it

I was blessed with a mother who, every summer, had the same response whenever I complained that I felt bloated, tired or generally a bit “meh”: “It’s the heat. Nothing to do with you. Years later, I’m starting to think she might have been onto something.

​Because when temperatures rise, it’s not just our wardrobes that change. Sleep gets disrupted, routines loosen, hydration becomes an afterthought, and suddenly everything from workouts to energy levels can feel a little harder.

​But before we start blaming inflammation for all our summer ailments, it helps to understand what the word actually means. “Inflammation isn’t the enemy, and it isn’t always the reason you feel off,” explains Dr Hussain Al-Zubaidi. “It’s your immune system's protective response to injury, infection, heat, toxins or other threats. It is essential for healing and defence.”

​TDLR: Inflammation is your body’s repair system switching on. It’s what sends help to damaged areas, which is why sunburn becomes red and sore, or why muscles can feel tender after a tough workout.

​The important distinction, says exercise physiologist and sports scientist Charlotte Gowers, is that inflammation isn’t one single process: "Short-term inflammation is a normal part of recovery and adaptation. Chronic inflammation is different. The word 'inflammation' is doing two completely different jobs."

​What that doesn’t mean is that your body is suddenly in some kind of “inflammation crisis” (despite what your FYP might have you believe), but it’s worth remembering this: whilst it can absolutely be part of the reason you feel sore after certain stressors, it isn’t a catch-all explanation for feeling bloated, tired or sluggish. More often, that familiar summer “meh” feeling comes down to the things our bodies are quietly juggling in the background: disrupted sleep, dehydration, alcohol, changes to our routines.

And that’s where the story gets interesting: not whether we need to fight “inflammation, but which summer habits might be quietly making our bodies work harder than they need to.

5 summer habits that could be fuelling inflammation

Let’s separate summer suspects from the innocent bystanders - it's time to fact-check the things we've all been blaming.

1. The summer sleep debt nobody thinks is a big deal

If you had to guess which summer habit was most likely to leave your body feeling a little worse for wear, sleep probably wouldn’t be top of the list. But according to Gowers, it should be.

The myth? That one late night doesn’t matter. And it’s true - one restless night spent tossing, turning and searching for the cool side of the pillow isn’t going to send your inflammation levels into chaos. It's down to how consistent that late night becomes.

Before you panic about that 1 am pub garden finish, there’s some reassurance: a single bad night isn’t the problem, as Gowers notes, “it’s the accumulation that catches up with you.” A recent meta-analysis has found that several nights of short sleep (we’re talking around four and a half hours for three nights or more) can push up inflammatory markers like IL-6 and CRP.

"The issue wasn't one rough night," explains Gowers, "it was several in a row, with around four and a half hours of sleep for three nights or more being enough to shift those markers."

So, in other words: it’s not the odd summer night out that’s the problem here; it’s when “I’ll catch up later” becomes your sleep schedule.

2. The “it’s only a few summer drinks” trap

As a Brit, you say the words “pub garden”, and there’s an unspoken agreement that you’re not leaving for at least five hours. One drink turns into another, the sun is still out, someone orders chips for the table, and suddenly you’re convinced this is what summer was made for. And honestly? I’m not here to argue with that. But while the pub might be peak summer happiness, the experts are here to say it could also be where the inflammation starts to creep in.

“Alcohol has a pretty clear route into inflammation. Drinking can make the gut wall more permeable and shift the balance of bacteria living there. When fragments of those bacteria enter the bloodstream, the immune system can recognise them as a threat and respond by releasing inflammatory signals.”

Science is on hand to back her up: a 2025 study shows that regular or heavier alcohol intake can affect the gut barrier, change the balance of gut bacteria and trigger immune responses linked directly with inflammation.

The good news is this isn’t about panicking over one glass of wine in the sun. Feeling rough after a summer evening of drinks is usually far less mysterious: “dehydration, disrupted sleep and your body working harder to recover are often the bigger players.”

3. The sunburn you’re pretending “isn’t that bad”

There’s a very British summer ritual that probably needs retiring: looking at your slightly pink shoulders after a day outside and saying, “It’ll turn into a tan.”

Spoiler: your skin disagrees. Because, unlike some of the other summer habits on this list, this is one where inflammation really gets involved. As Dr Al-Zubaidi explains, inflammation is the body’s protective response to damage, and sunburn is basically the clearest example of that repair system switching on.

“When UV rays damage skin cells, the body sends inflammatory signals to the area to start repairing the injury. That’s what creates the heat, redness, soreness and swelling.” A 2021 review in the International Journal of Molecular Sciences shows UV exposure triggers the release of inflammatory molecules that help coordinate the skin’s defence and recovery process. So yes, whilst your sunburn is technically inflammation, it’s also “a local, acute repair response”, not the vague inflammation often blamed for everything from tiredness to bloating. This is why it can leave you feeling a bit rough: your body is dealing with a genuine stressor.

4.The skipped meals nobody thinks twice about

Somehow, summer treats have ended up taking the blame every time we feel a bit rubbish. But Natasha Draycott, lead nutritionist at Rheal, is here to turn that idea on its head (and thank god).

Because let’s be honest, summer has a funny way of making routines disappear. The occasional ice cream isn’t the problem; it's the skipping meals because it’s too hot, grabbing whatever’s convenient while travelling, or accidentally surviving on iced coffee. Draycott explains that these disrupted routines are actually the real reason behind why we may be feeling sluggish: “If you're skipping meals, grabbing lots of convenient foods while travelling or eating much later than usual, it's common to notice your energy dipping or your digestion feeling a bit off."

The reason she says is simple: "Your body relies on consistent fuel to support recovery, gut health and energy regulation. When meals become irregular and fibre-rich foods get pushed aside, it can affect the gut environment, which plays a role in regulating immune and inflammatory responses."

5. Exercise in the heat

We’re often led to believe that a good workout is one where we leave nothing but our dignity on the gym floor, and summer seems to turn that mindset up a notch. The sun is out, motivation is high, and suddenly a 28-degree run feels like a brilliant idea.

But let’s separate fact from fiction: your body does not perform the same way in heat. As Gowers explains: “When temperatures rise, your body has to work harder to cool itself down, meaning the same workout can place a much bigger demand on your system. In hot conditions, people have to drop their work rate by around a third over 40 minutes just to hold their normal heart rate.”

Translation: chasing your usual pace in July isn’t necessarily proof you’re fitter; it may just mean your body is working overtime.

That extra stress isn’t automatically a bad thing. “Exercise creates a normal inflammatory response that helps muscles repair and adapt. The problem comes when you stack intense training on top of heat, dehydration and poor recovery, leaving your body with more to manage.”

Our takeaway? Adjusting your workout isn’t “giving up”. Take the leap and allow yourself to slow down - it might just be the smartest thing you do for your body this summer.

I'm an exercise physiologist - here are the things I'd do to help my body cope with summer

Rather than chasing wellness hacks or expensive supplements, Gowers says these are the simple habits that make the biggest difference when summer starts taking its toll.

1. Stop chasing your spring fitness

In hot conditions, people have to drop their work rate by around a third over 40 minutes just to hold their normal heart rate. Chasing your spring paces in July means far more strain for less reward. Slow down; it’s not weakness, it's arithmetic.

2. Treat sleep as part of training

Pair a cool, dark room with a consistent bedtime. The inflammation link is with disturbed sleep and with several short nights in a row, so consistency beats trying to catch up at the weekend.

3. Drink to thirst, and replace salt if you're sweating hard. 

Hydration isn’t about “flushing” anything out. Losing fluid reduces blood volume, which makes your heart work harder and exercise feel tougher. Drink to support performance; if you’re sweating heavily, replace the salts you’ve lost too.

4. Keep it simple: eat well and set a ceiling on alcohol

Throw the summer detox out the window. Your body is not waiting for a three-day green juice punishment plan to finally start functioning again. A Mediterranean-style diet packed with colourful plants, fibre, healthy fats and omega-3s is linked with lower inflammatory markers. Pair that with sensible alcohol habits, and you’re already doing the things that matter - no “inflammation-fighting” hacks required.

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Writing about women’s health has never felt like just a job to me. It’s something I feel incredibly lucky to do: asking the questions women have been asking for generations, sitting down with leading experts and sharing stories that help women better understand and trust their bodies. I've interviewed countless doctors, read the research papers and written the stories that remind women their symptoms matter.

So, in the spirit of being honest (and probably oversharing slightly), here’s the part I'm finding uncomfortable to admit: after spending years encouraging women to trust their bodies, I'm quietly struggling to trust my own.

Health anxiety isn’t new to me. It grew from spending almost a decade fighting to be diagnosed with the chronic condition I now live with after repeatedly being told nothing was wrong. Once you’ve learnt that lesson, it’s incredibly difficult to unlearn it. You see, I’m not just carrying a diagnosis I’d fought hard for. I’m carrying the fear that one day I’ll have to fight that hard again.

The more I’ve tried to understand my anxiety, the more I’ve realised it isn’t mine alone. The Government’s Landmark Women’s Health Strategy from 2022 found that more than four in five women (84%) have felt unheard by healthcare professionals. Nearly three-quarters (72%) said it happened when discussing their symptoms, while more than half (56%) had to push for a referral to a specialist.

As women, we were right to learn to question. But what happens when those two truths collide? Taught to trust your instincts, but also that being heard often means questioning everything? What if that symptom means something more? It whispers. What if you've missed something? Add to that a constant stream of symptom checkers, social media, podcasts and health information, and perhaps it’s no surprise that more than one in four women in the UK now report experiencing high levels of anxiety.

We've never been more empowered to fight for answers, and rightly so. What nobody really talks about is what happens when the searching doesn't stop. For a long time, I thought my health anxiety meant I was somehow failing at the very thing I'd spent my career championing, a fraud even. Surely someone so immersed in women’s health should feel more reassured by knowledge, not less.

Then my therapist changed my perspective entirely. He said I wasn’t the first person who worked in healthcare or medical journalism he’d treated, and I certainly wouldn't be the last. Anxiety doesn’t care how informed you are. If anything, it’ll happily use that information against you.

His words have stayed with me ever since. This isn't a story about getting the balance wrong. It's about finding our way back to trust. Because health anxiety can feel incredibly lonely, but it doesn't have to be something we carry silently. If sharing my experience helps one person feel less alone, then it's worth telling.

After years of learning how to fight to be heard, perhaps the next step is learning that we are also allowed to feel safe.

I Have Health Anxiety—How I Learnt To Trust My Body Again

Living between awareness and anxiety: when does vigilance become too much?

The funny thing about health anxiety, although it really doesn’t feel funny at the time, is that knowledge can become both your greatest comfort and your biggest trigger. Somewhere in the middle, listening to my body looked a lot like constant monitoring.

​And it was this part I wanted to understand. Not how to stop caring about my health, because women have fought far too hard for the right to be taken seriously, but how to recognise when self-awareness quietly becomes hypervigilance.

​Health psychologist Dr Sula Windgassen tells me this is exactly where many people with healthy anxiety find themselves: “When we've spent years being told to advocate for ourselves, the belief that 'it's all on me' can quickly develop," she explains. "Along with this belief, the mental habit of vigilance can accelerate, which means your brain is reinforced to check your body and sensations, and to follow up on thoughts about your health and what you should act on. It is really hard for us psychologically and biologically to find a balance between appropriate vigilance that doesn’t tip over into hypervigilance.”

​The difference, she says, is subtle but important: “Self-advocacy is productive because it moves you towards answers. Hypervigilance is generally about generating fearful questions and 'what ifs.’”

​Her words reminded me of one of the exercises I’d been working on in CBT. The task in question: I wasn’t to stop consuming the health information that matched up with what anxiety I was fixated on that week, altogether - it was to notice what happened when I did. The result: I realised my problem wasn’t that every charity advert or health story made me believe I had the disease being discussed. It was that I knew it would plant a seed. Suddenly I’d be carrying around another possibility. Another thing to keep an eye on. Another what if.

Windgassen explains that this is because more information doesn't always create more certainty. Often, it creates more contradictions, more overwhelm and more uncertainty. Much of the health information we consume isn't processed deliberately, she says. We absorb snippets while scrolling, half-listening to podcasts or watching videos, and our brains quietly file them away as something we might need to remember.

I was lucky enough to study psychology in college alongside the now behavioural scientist India Lesser, so naturally I asked her why our brains seem so willing to do this. Her explanation really stayed with me. "We're not emotionless spreadsheets objectively processing information," she says. "We feel things: worry, fear, uncertainty, and those emotions shape how we interpret what we read."

Which suddenly made my own brain make a lot more sense. Maybe the answer is in learning that certainty doesn’t come from collecting information, but from trusting ourselves to know when we have enough.

The real reason being told “you’re fine” doesn’t always make you feel fine

In what feels like one of my most vulnerable pieces yet, I'm going to let you in on a slightly embarrassing secret. It doesn’t matter how many medical professionals, friends, or my partner tell me “You’re fine” - there’s almost a 99/100 chance I'll be asking again in three to five working days.

Except, naturally, it probably won’t be about the same thing. There’ll usually be something new to send me back into the familiar spiral of what if? But the thing I wanted to understand wasn’t whether I was medically fine. More often than not, I had already been told I was. The question I couldn’t answer was: why couldn’t my brain accept that reassurance?

To Windgassen, it’s one of the most common patterns with health anxiety. “Reassurance can help us feel safer, but when it becomes the only thing we rely on to calm anxiety, the relief is often short-lived. Anxiety builds, and the brain reaches for an immediate reduction through reassurance, and that does the job to a degree,” she explains. “However, it is not fundamentally changing beliefs or an internal sense of safety or relationship with your body.”

Maybe this explains why I keep coming back for more. I’m not necessarily searching for new information - I’m searching for a feeling of certainty that never quite arrives.

But there’s another layer to this. We’re living in a time where health information is everywhere, yet knowing who to trust can feel like a minefield. And this isn’t just my anxiety talking. We are all navigating a completely different healthcare landscape from previous generations. A 2023 YouGov survey found that while doctors remain one of the most trusted sources of medical information, Google has become a major part of how people search for answers, with 71% of Brits saying they use online searches when looking into medicines or medical treatments.

GP Dr Raj Arora says she sees this shift every day: “Patients often tell me they don’t know which source to trust anymore. They’ve heard conflicting opinions from doctors, influencers, podcasts and online communities. Rather than feeling empowered, they often feel paralysed by information overload.”

And here lies the uncomfortable contradiction of modern women’s health: we fought for the right to be heard and to have our symptoms taken seriously. But now we’re having to learn how to navigate the noise that came with them.

Finding the middle ground: learning to trust ourselves again

My question to the experts is this: surely there’s a middle ground in all of this? Their response was clear: the answer to easing health anxiety isn’t caring less about your health. It’s learning to recognise when care starts becoming fear.

For Windgasse, one of the first steps comes with understanding whether your behaviour is helping you make decisions or simply helping you temporarily escape uncertainty. “If you do have health anxiety, it’s a good idea to get some baseline research about the diagnostic criteria and see if you fit,” she explains. “If you do, explore options for getting support with a therapist, as it can be hard to change on your own and you deserve support.”

She suggests paying attention to the moments when you find yourself checking, searching or ruminating: “Try to find alternative things that can tether you in moments of checking, rumination or searching. Things that root you in your day and give you a sense of grounding.”

For me, that distinction has been a hard one to accept - hence why I dipped my toe into the CBT world; I started to equate being a “good” advocate with never letting my guard down. But Dr Raj reminds me that self-advocacy was never meant to mean living in a state of constant alarm: “Advocating for yourself isn’t measured by how many investigations you have or how long you continue searching. Sometimes the bravest thing is continuing to ask questions. Other times, it’s accepting that you’ve had a thorough assessment, trusting the evidence in front of you and allowing yourself to move forward.”

In the midst of some final soul-searching, Lesser gave me a question I’ll add to my toolkit for times when I need to ground myself: Am I trying to make a decision, or am I trying to escape uncertainty? Why this question is so profound is because apparently both behaviours can look identical: “Seeking information to understand your options is self-advocacy. Searching repeatedly because you’re trying to quiet anxiety for another few hours is something else entirely.”

My Final Take

As it stands, I have three sessions of CBT left, and if there’s one thing I’ve learnt thus far (my therapist was probably hoping for much more), it's that “getting rid of my anxiety probably isn’t the goal.

The biggest lesson has been realising this was never simply about knowing more; it was about what happens when years of uncertainty, experiences of not being believed, and an endless stream of health information collide - and our brains try to make sense of it all.

I don’t think I’ll wake up one day and never question a symptom again. But maybe I don’t have to. I’m learning that the goal isn’t to eliminate the anxiety; it’s to stop letting it run my show.

A middle ground exists. One where I can listen to my body without constantly interrogating it. Where I can advocate for myself without feeling like I have to prove something is wrong. Because after spending so long fighting to be heard, perhaps the next step is learning that I’m also allowed to trust. The experts who have listened. The evidence in front of me. And, most importantly, myself. Not just to know my body - but to finally live in it.

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At this stage, you’re probably well aware of the exercise-longevity pipeline - that well-established connection between regular movement and living longer. You probably also know that strength training plays a key part in that relationship, helping not just to extend our life, but to improve the quality of it, too.

What you might not know, however, is that lifting weights isn’t just about building up your muscles; it’s about protecting your bones, too. And that’s essential, because our bone health, despite being less visible than our muscle tone, is one of the leading contributors to longevity, especially amongst women.

In fact, new research shows that women with osteoporosis - a condition where bones become weaker, less dense and more fragile - may be at a 47% higher risk of death than women with normal bone density. And given that half of women over 50 will experience an osteoporosis-related fracture in their lifetime, that warrants investigation.

Because the truth is, strength training isn’t the only way to protect our bones. There’s a wealth of other simple, daily habits that together can help us live healthier, for longer.

Ahead, two leading NHS doctors share everything you need to know about protecting your bone health. And if you’re looking for more longevity advice, we’ve also got guides to the healthiest habits for brain function, healthy ageing through midlife and the longevity trends doctors say you can avoid.

8 Simple Habits Every Woman Should Do To Protect Her Bone Health—Chosen By NHS Doctors

What is bone health?

Most of us could probably guess that having ‘healthy’ bones is important, but knowing what a healthy bone looks or feels like is, to me at least, less obvious. We tend to assume our bones are innately strong because they’re hard to the touch, but as Dr Jessica Little MBBS Bsc (hons) GPST explains, there’s a little more to it than that.

“Bones are living tissue, which means they are constantly being broken down and rebuilt throughout our lives,” she explains. “They need the right nutrients, regular movement and healthy hormone levels to stay strong.”

So far, so good. But what does ‘strong’ look like? Well, as Dr Little tells us, “healthy bones are those that have good density, a strong internal structure and a good ability to repair themselves.”

NHS doctor, Dr Amber Savary-Trathen, who specialises in women’s health, agrees, adding that whilst some of our bone density is genetic, a large part is also determined by lifestyle. “Smoking, exercise and diet all impact the strength and quality of our bones,” she explains.

As for whether it’s too early (or late) to start working on our bone health, Dr Little is clear. “Bone health isn't something we should only think about when we're older. The foundations for healthy bones are built in childhood and early adulthood, but the habits we have in our 30s, 40s and beyond still make a huge difference.”

Why is protecting our bone health important?

Bone health sits alongside cardiovascular health as one of the leading predictors of longevity in women. So, why does it have such an impact on our lifespan?

“Strong bones help us to stay active, independent and confident as we age,” says Dr Little when I put the question to her. “They allow us to keep walking the dog, lifting grandchildren, travelling with friends and exercising to maintain our cardiovascular health.”

Crucially, she also points out that stronger bones have a lower risk of fracture, which is one of the leading causes of hospitalisation and death in older adults. “Hip fractures in particular can be life-changing,” says Dr Little. “They're associated with loss of independence, longer hospital stays and an increased risk of complications in older adults.”

For women, this matters even more. Because oestrogen, which plays an essential role in bone health, rapidly declines when we go through menopause. “Oestrogen helps to protect our bones by slowing the rate at which they’re broken down,” explains Dr Little. “When oestrogen levels fall after menopause, bone loss can speed up dramatically.”

She’s right, of course. Studies show that women can lose up to 20% of their bone density in the five to seven years after menopause. “Women also tend to have smaller bones to begin with,” says Dr Little. “Couple that with the fact that we generally live longer, and there’s more time for bone loss to accumulate. It’s why osteoporosis disproportionately affects women.”

So far, this has all sounded pretty daunting, and I wouldn’t blame you for wanting to stop reading. But Dr Little has good news, too. “Bone health is one of those things where small, consistent habits really do add up,” she says. “The exercise you do today and the nutrition you prioritise now are investments in your future mobility and independence. These habits are also good for your cardiovascular health and overall ageing.”

So, without further ado, the habits Dr Little and Dr Savary-Trathen recommend you do to protect your bone health now, and in the future.

Doctors recommend—8 weekly habits to protect your bone health as you age

1. Regular strength training

“Bones respond to load,” says Dr Little, who explains that “resistance training tells your body that your skeleton needs to stay strong.”

That doesn’t mean you need to become a power lifter if that’s not your thing. “Even bodyweight exercises, resistance bands or dumbbells can make a real difference when done consistently,” says Dr Little.

2. Eat plenty of protein

“Protein makes up half the volume of bone,” says Dr Little. “This makes it easy to understand how important eating enough protein is for your bone health.”

And despite the good publicity protein has had in recent years, Dr Little says many women still don’t eat enough. “Prioritising protein at each meal will support both your muscle and bone health, which only becomes more important as we age,” she says.

If you’re unsure of how much protein you should be eating, this NHS fact sheet can help you to estimate your daily needs.

3. Incorporate high impact exercise

High-impact exercise has become a bit controversial in recent years, with some arguing that too much of it can be disruptive to women’s hormones.

But Dr Little is clear that doesn’t mean we should stop doing it altogether. “Bones love impact,” she says. “Things like stair climbing, dancing, tennis, jogging or hopping exercises stimulate bone-building.”

4. Eat calcium

“Calcium is essential for bone health, but most people can meet their daily needs through the food they eat,” says Dr Little, who recommends that we aim for around 700 mg per day. “Supplements are only recommended if you’re unable to meet this through your diet, or if you have a diagnosed deficiency,” she says.

When asked for some calcium-rich food inspiration, Dr Savary-Trathen has an extensive list. “Dairy, fortified plant milks, beans, tofu, green veg such as broccoli and nuts are all good sources,” she says.

5. Take Vitamin D

“Vitamin D actually helps your body absorb calcium,” explains Dr Savary-Trathen, who says that low vitamin D levels can lead to low calcium, which in turn can harm our bone health.

And whilst we’ll never encourage you to overload on supplements, both doctors say that Vitamin D is one that’s useful for most of us. “In the UK, where sunlight is at times pretty scarce, the NHS recommends that everyone consider a 10 microgram vitamin D supplement during autumn and winter,” says Dr Little, who adds that some people who get little sun exposure may benefit from it all year round. “This is one of the simplest things you can do for your long-term bone health, and you can buy it at your local chemist.”

6. Protect your muscles as much as your bones

“This is probably the most underrated tip,” says Dr Little, who uses the analogy of a tent to explain why she thinks so. “Think of your skeleton as the tent frame and your muscles as the guy ropes. The stronger and more balanced these ropes are, the more stable the whole structure becomes.”

It’s why she recommends yoga, Pilates and even standing on one leg, alongside standard strength training. “These activities challenge your balance and coordination, which reduces the chance of falls and protects your skeleton,” she says.

7. Be mindful of salt intake

This one might sound surprising, but Dr Savary-Trathen says it’s more important than we think. “Most people know too much salt is a threat to blood pressure, but it also makes your body lose more calcium through your urine,” she says. “Keeping your salt intake down will protect your bones as well as your heart.”

8. Minimise smoking and alcohol

In an ideal world, we’d avoid smoking and drinking altogether for a whole host of health reasons. But if nothing else, Dr Savary-Trathen says it’s important to cut down.

“Stopping smoking is one of the best things you can do for your skeleton,” she makes clear. “Smoking weakens the bones, with an effect that becomes higher the longer you have smoked. Alcohol, too, increases the risk of osteoporosis and fractures.”

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Let’s start with a number: one in eight.

That’s how many women in the UK are living with anaemia - a condition that can leave you chronically exhausted, unforgivingly forgetful, and running on mere fumes. The kind of exhaustion that makes getting through the day feel like wading through wet cement. The kind that coffee certainly can’t fix and an early night doesn’t touch.

Like most of us, you’d probably file it away under “classic burnout”. Society probably would too. But what if burnout isn’t the whole story here?

If iron deficiency isn’t already on your radar, it should be. According to the WHO, it’s the world’s most common nutritional deficiency, affecting around two billion people worldwide. Women shoulder the overwhelming burden: nearly one in three women in a recent UK study had an iron deficiency. Yet routine screening remains worryingly uncommon. Meaning too many women could be living with symptoms they’ve come to accept as “normal.”

The impact stretches far beyond feeling tired. Toby Richards, a world-leading expert in the treatment of Iron Deficiency at The Iron Clinic, says, "Iron deficiency is now considered more disabling than diabetes."

Physical symptoms aside, the effects can extend to your mental health, too. A 2020 population study found adults with iron deficiency had a 52% higher risk of psychiatric disorders, including anxiety, depression, and sleep disorders, than those without it. It’s yet another reminder that low iron doesn’t just leave women feeling tired; it can shape everything from their mood to their memory.

Perhaps this isn’t just a story about iron. It’s a story about the way women’s symptoms are so often explained away. Because when brain fog, exhaustion and low mood are dismissed as “just life,” we risk overlooking something that’s not only incredibly common - but, in many cases, entirely treatable.

So before we chalk another woman’s exhaustion up to burnout, maybe it’s worth asking a different question: what if we’re calling it the wrong thing?

First - Why iron deficiency is being mistaken for burnout

Let’s play a game of symptom bingo. You’re tired all the time. You can’t concentrate. Snapping at everyone. You feel flat, overwhelmed, and you’ve forgotten what “well rested” even feels like. The obvious diagnosis? Life. Or if you’ve spent more than five minutes on social media lately - burnout.

But according to Richards, there are two reasons iron deficiency is so often mistaken for burnout.

"The first is that the symptoms are incredibly generic," he explains. "'I'm tired' could mean almost anything, so iron deficiency is often overlooked." The latest Lancet guidance agrees, warning that symptoms such as fatigue and cognitive impairment are often non-specific, meaning iron deficiency remains routinely under-diagnosed. “Crucially,” he warns, “these symptoms can develop before someone becomes anaemic, leaving many women feeling dreadful while being told their blood tests are "normal".”

The second reason is that it creeps up on you. “Normally you have enough iron stores for 3-5 years, so if you develop iron deficiency, it can take 3 years or more to notice”. By the time you notice something is wrong, he says, it's often because a cold, a bout of flu or another illness tips you over the edge. "That's the crisis that finally brings it to the surface."

Which perhaps explains why so many of us don’t spot it sooner.

GP Dr Philippa Kaye sees the same pattern in her consulting room. “For too long women have been told that pain, mood changes or fatigue are simply part of being a woman," she says. "That means some women never come to the doctor - and others aren't always heard when they do."

The hidden reasons women develop low iron

Confession: as a retired vegetarian, my understanding was that being "iron deficient " meant you needed to eat more red meat. Turns out, what you’re eating isn’t always the issue.

For Richards, the answer is simple: there are two main reasons women become iron deficient.

The first is pregnancy. "During pregnancy, your blood volume increases by almost 50% to support both you and your baby, dramatically increasing your body's iron requirements. If your iron stores were already running low before pregnancy, as many women's are, it doesn't take long for the tank to empty. Most women are iron deficient by the time they give birth."

The second is something hiding in our handbags alongside spare tampons and painkillers. "Heavy menstrual bleeding affects around one in three women. The problem is that most women don't realise their periods are heavy because they've never known anything different."

And that’s the catch: none of us gets to trial someone else’s period for comparison. If you’ve always packed spare underwear “just in case,” and instinctively know where every public toilet is, it’s hardly surprising you think that’s just how periods are supposed to work. Spoiler alert: they’re not.

In fact, Richards says the average woman with heavy periods can lose around "a litre of blood over the course of a year." A litre. That’s not just a number - it’s a reminder that, month after month, many women are unknowingly losing far more iron than they ever replace.

Naturally, that’s only part of the story. Pregnancy and heavy periods might explain why many women become iron deficient, but what we eat still plays an important role in whether our iron stores recover.

"People often think spinach is enough," says specialist registered dietitian Nichola Ludlam-Raine. "While it contains iron, it's a form that's much harder for the body to absorb than the haem iron found in meat and fish."

The answer, she says, isn’t necessarily eating more meat. “Pairing plant-based sources such as lentils, beans, tofu and fortified cereals with vitamin C-rich foods, including peppers, berries, kiwi or citrus fruit, can significantly improve absorption. One habit worth breaking? Drinking tea or coffee with meals, both of which can reduce how much iron your body absorbs.”

Now, before you read on, there’s one final plot twist - one that Richards says could explain why so many women slip through the cracks. "Women are often told their iron is 'normal', but that's usually based on a laboratory reference range, not the clinical definition of iron deficiency."

It’s an important distinction. The ‘normal’ range printed on a blood test isn’t always the same threshold clinicians use when assessing whether iron deficiency could be contributing to symptoms. Updates to NICE guidance, for example, use a ferritin level below 30 ug/L as a marker of iron deficiency in many clinical settings.

The takeaway isn’t to distrust your blood test or your doctor. It’s that if you’re experiencing persistent symptoms, it’s worth having a conversation about what your results actually mean in the context of how you’re feeling, not just whether they’re flagged as ‘normal’. Knowing the difference could be the key to reaching the right diagnosis and, ultimately, feeling like yourself again.

The symptoms to look out for

More often than not, when someone asks how we’re feeling, we default to the most British response imaginable: “Fine.” Or, if we’re being particularly honest, “Fine-ish.”

​Rather than asking yourself if you’re “fine”, Richards suggests paying attention to what your body is trying to tell you. These are the clues he looks for:

• Two flights of stairs check: If walking up two flights regularly leaves you puffing, with a racing heart or palpitations, it’s worth paying attention. Low iron means your body has to work harder to transport oxygen, making everyday tasks feel far more demanding than they should.
• Your legs won't keep still: An overwhelming urge to move your legs at night - known as restless legs syndrome - is one of the most common signs of iron deficiency, particularly during pregnancy.
• You're craving things that aren't food: One of the biggest red flags Richard sees, strongly associated with low iron, is pica: the craving for non-food items. For some women, it’s chewing ice cubes (Pagophagia). Others find themselves chewing on paper, chalk, or even the smell of laundry detergent. While it might sound bizarre, a 2023 review of 20 studies found that these cravings consistently disappeared once iron deficiency was treated, suggesting they can be one of the body's clearest cries for help.
• Brain fog that won't lift: Struggling to concentrate? Forgetting words? Feeling more anxious than usual? Low iron can affect the brain long before anaemia develops, as iron plays a vital role in energy production and neurotransmitter function. The result? Symptoms that are easily mistaken for stress, burnout, or the mental load of everyday life.

How do you know if your period is heavier than it should be?

The problem: if you’ve ever had heavy periods since your teens, they’re probably your normal. Which means it’s surprisingly easy to miss the signs that your bleeding is heavier than it should be. According to Dr Anisha Patel, a GP specialising in women’s health, these are the clues to look out for:

• It lasts longer than seven days.
• You're changing a tampon or pad every one to two hours, or doubling up on protection.
• You regularly bleed through onto your clothes or bedsheets.
• You're passing blood clots larger than a 50p coin.
• You plan your life around your period, or avoid work, exercise or seeing friends because of it.
• You feel unusually tired, breathless or lightheaded during or after your period.

The important bit: a heavy period isn’t something you simply have to put up with.

"If your periods are affecting your quality of life, or you think they could be contributing to fatigue or iron deficiency, it's worth speaking to your GP," says Dr Patel. "There are effective treatments available to reduce bleeding and, where needed, restore iron levels."

Here’s what I’ll leave you with. Life is exhausting. Burnout is real. Stress isn’t a myth. But somewhere along the way, we’ve become so used to explaining away our symptoms that we’ve stopped asking why they’re there in the first place.

Maybe the answer is burnout. Maybe it’s the mental load. Or maybe it’s something as common and as treatable as low iron.

The point isn’t to assume the worst. It’s to stay curious. To ask questions. To trust that your symptoms are worth investigating. Because feeling like yourself shouldn’t be a luxury; it’s the baseline.

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You sleep for eight hours. You haven’t pulled an all-nighter since your university days. Your blood tests are fine. And yet, by mid-afternoon, you’re staring into the fridge hoping a Babybel might somehow change your life.

​If that feels uncomfortably specific, the problem may not be what you’re missing; it’s what you’re unknowingly spending.​

You see, I’ve reached the point in adulthood where I assess my social plans less by whether I want to go and more by whether my battery can handle it. Drinks after work? Depends. Dinner on a Thursday? Ambitious. A weekend with back-to-back plans? Let’s not get carried away.

​For a long time, I blamed persistent fatigue on the usual suspects: poor sleep, stress, not enough water, too much coffee. I recently started wondering whether the issue wasn’t what I was lacking, but what I was repeatedly giving away.

​When you really think about it, many of us spend our days in a constant state of low-level output. Before we’ve even got out of bed, we’ve checked WhatsApp, scanned our emails and caught up on the latest headlines. We fill commutes with podcasts, lunch breaks with life admin and evenings with scrolling.

​I hear you - none of these habits seems particularly exhausting in isolation, and I think that’s what makes them so easy to miss. But together, they create what some experts describe as an “invisible energy tax” - a steady stream of micro-demands on our attention, decision-making and nervous system that can leave us feeling surprisingly shattered.

​Thankfully, this isn’t an invitation to optimise every corner of your life. With the help of psychologists, behavioural scientists, medical experts and burnout specialists, below, I'm uncovering seven everyday habits that could be quietly draining our energy. Chances are you’ll recognise a few, and that’s exactly the point. Don't miss our expert-backed guide to how to boost energy, the tell-tale exhaustion symptoms to watch out for, and how to beat fatigue, here.

The 7 Modern Habits Quietly Preventing True Rest

Habit 1 - Checking Your Phone Before You’ve Even Got Out of Bed

A habit I can safely admit - and I suspect most of us can - is reaching for our phone first thing. Harmless enough in the moment, but according to behavioural scientist India Lesser, the reason it becomes so automatic comes down to a simple behavioural design.

​As she explains, for many of us, the phone is also our alarm clock, meaning we physically start the day by picking it up. “From there, the next step requires almost no effort: notifications, messages and emails are already waiting. That lack of friction makes the behaviour almost inevitable, especially when the brain is still half-asleep.”

​There’s also the reward factor.“When checking our phone first thing, we get information coming in that we often then need to respond to,” says Lesser. “It can lead to information overload,” particularly when some of those inputs feel urgent or emotionally charged. “Add in variable rewards: messages, updates, surprises - and the urge to check becomes even harder to resist.”

​But it’s not just behavioural. According to Psychologist Dr Tara Quinn-Cirillo, there’s a psychological cost. “When we check our phones first thing, we wake up more abruptly - It’s all more data to process. Meaning, this action can trigger a mild stress response rather than a gradual waking state.”

Another reason that first-thing scroll is leaving you feeling sluggish: light. It's one of the strongest signals for our body clock, and emerging research continues to show that the quality and timing of light exposure after waking can influence how alert you feel. That’s why sleep experts recommend prioritising natural daylight in the first hour of the day, rather than immediately staring at a screen.

TLDR? You’re already responding to everyone else’s demands before you’ve even decided what you need from the day.

Habit 2. Treating Every Notification as Urgent

A familiar habit for many of us: being a little too available. The problem isn’t necessarily the notifications themselves; it’s what they do to our attention. As Ciriloo puts it, “constantly responding to phone pings disrupts our ‘present moment awareness’, repeatedly pulling us away from whatever we're doing.” Before you know it, it can start to feel like your phone has your attention on retainer.

​From a cognitive perspective, switching between tasks relies on working memory, and this could be where the energy leak starts: “When we constantly jump from message to email to app, the brain has to hold onto previous information while processing new inputs, increasing the risk of cognitive overload and fatigue. This doesn’t just reduce efficiency, it can also impair our ability to process, weigh up and retain information accurately.”

On their own, these costs are almost imperceptible. Together, they pile up into a quiet, ongoing disruption - like your mind being gently knocked off course all day long. Cirillo warns the result isn’t panic, but a slow build of friction that leaves us more irritable, less steady, and quietly drained.

Research on task-switching suggests that every time we switch, the brain incurs a small “switching cost” as it resets attention. On their own, these costs are almost unnoticeable. Together, they accumulate into a quiet, ongoing disruption - like your mind being gently knocked off course all day long. Cirillo warns the result isn’t panic, but a gradual buildup of friction that leaves us feeling irritable, less steady, and yep, you guessed it, quietly drained.

Habit 3. Filling Every Quiet Moment With Content

I am, admittedly, guilty of all the habits thus far. As for this one, well, this is my personal kryptonite.

The issue, according to Cirillo, is that this kind of constant stimulation doesn't really support "rest and digest" mode - the nervous system's calmer counterpart to fight-or-flight. Instead, we stay busy enough to never fully downshift.

"It also quietly keeps us from being fully present in the moment. And that includes the less comfortable parts: thoughts, emotions, or sensations we might otherwise notice.”

Could this habit be a very elegant form of avoidance? I think so. One packaged up like productivity, but often delays proper processing.

The problem? Biologically, our brains aren't designed for uninterrupted input all day. "We need natural pauses and intentional downtime to process what's going on." With that being said, Cirillo warns that “decompression time” is essential to help regulate emotions, memories, and stop everything from feeling like it's happening on a loop. Without it, we stay in a kind of low-grade mental buffering state, one where the wheel doesn't stop spinning, and nothing loads.

Habit 4. Working Through Lunch Without Really Stopping

Now for a break in theory, and a lesson in practice. I’m a firm advocate for taking a lunch break - and no, I don’t mean unhaling a sandwich while replying to “urgent” emails and convincing yourself that counts as rest. I’m talking about actually stepping away. Radical, I know.

Without real pauses, your system never properly resets across the day. There are no recovery gaps - just one long, unforgiving stretch of output.

Which is where Burnout Specialist Dr Claire Ashley’s concept of “working with your biology, rather than against it” comes in. “Our energy naturally rises and falls in roughly 90-minute cycles known as ultradian rhythms. When we push through those dips, we’re effectively overriding the body’s built-in signal to recover before the next cycle begins.”

Breaks matter physically, too. Ashley notes that without them, stress hormones like cortisol can build up across the day - a pattern linked to poorer sleep, reduced immunity and burnout. And crucially, stepping away isn’t inefficiency; it’s performance support. “Proper breaks improve focus, reduce errors, and often mean you actually get more done, not less.”

Habit 5 - Overcommitting Your Calendar (Even to Things You Enjoy)

I dedicate this habit to my people pleasers in the room. We all know the background hum of pressure that a packed schedule creates - and what this translates to is that there’s always something to prepare for or recover from. Even the “nice” things don’t quite land as rest when there’s no space between them.

Ashley explains this through the concept of ‘allostatic load,’ “the cumulative physiological wear that builds when the body is under sustained demand without enough recovery. Crucially, even positive experiences contribute to this load, because your system still has to mobilise energy, even for things you enjoy.”

​The picture is clear: when that builds without relief, you stay subtly switched on in the background, and over time, it quietly becomes your baseline.

Which brings us to the part that people pleasers won’t enjoy hearing. The antidote: "learning to say no - and permitting yourself to mean it."

Habit 6. Turning Downtime Into Productivity

Ah, optimisation - our new favourite personality trait we’ve invited in under the guise of “getting our lives together.” For the overachievers, especially, this one is simple: rest starts to look like performance. Hobbies become goals, workouts become metrics, weekends become projects.

​As Ashley puts it, “Overcommitting your calendar fills your time with external demands. Turning downtime into productivity does the same thing internally, and the effect on your nervous system is the same.”

Researcher Sabine Sonnentag has spent decades studying recovery, and her 2024 findings are consistent with this: real rest only happens when we psychologically detach - when we mentally step away from doing, improving and achieving.

​Otherwise, we stay in “pursuit mode”, and the nervous system stays firmly on. The key to recognising this habit, understanding the difference between restorative and simply busy, usually comes down to feeling. As Ashley gently reminds us, “restorative activities absorb you rather than evaluate you, often creating flow - where stress responses actually switch off, and you emerge feeling lighter than you expected.” The irony, of course, is that the moment you try to optimise that feeling… you’ve kind of lost it.

Habit 7. Mistaking Distraction for Actual Rest

Personally, I think this habit is all six rolled into one. We’ve become so used to filling every spare moment that we’ve started confusing distraction with recovery. If we’re not working, we’re scrolling. If we’re not scrolling, we’re streaming. If we’re not streaming, we’re online shopping, listening to a podcast or half-watching TV just because. All feel restful because they're “helping” us switch off from something. But often, they're simply helping us avoid something else.

As psychotherapist David Cornwell points out, many of us now find it increasingly difficult to sit with uncomfortable thoughts or emotions. “Instead, we gravitate towards activities that either make us feel productive or numb us to our experience. The problem is that while these distractions may provide temporary relief, they don't necessarily leave us feeling restored.”

In Cornwell’s view, genuinely restorative activities tend to bring us back into the present moment and leave us feeling more connected, grounded and energised afterwards. Distractions, on the other hand, can keep us disconnected from what we actually need - whether that’s rest, movement, reflection, connection or simply a break from stimulation.

If writing this piece has taught me anything, and in hopes of leaving you with something, it’s that exhaustion isn’t always the result of doing too much. Something is the result of never quite stopping. Of filling every quiet moment, answering every ping, treating rest as something we should be justifying.

So, if you’ll excuse me, I have some absolutely nothing to do.

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There’s a fine line between awareness and anxiety, and in the past six years, that line has been closely trodden, especially when it comes to our health. The booming post-COVID longevity conversation, combined with the proliferation of AI and social media, has made medical information (and misinformation) more accessible than ever. The result? A whole new world of knowledge and, simultaneously, confusion about what ‘healthy’ really looks like.

Women’s health, and particularly our reproductive health, has undeniably been impacted. Thanks to a combined effort by researchers, government select committees, femtech brands and health influencers, we’ve seen a huge growth in awareness about the gaps in research and care for women’s bodies. At the same time, advertising for fertility services and solutions, from egg freezing to at-home hormone tests, has ramped up, with a report by the advertising regulator finding at least 9,340 ads for fertility services posted on Google and Meta between 2024 and 2025.

In one way, the conversation has been vital and enlightening. On the other, it’s contributed to a rise in cyberchondria - the phrase coined for internet-fuelled health anxiety. In fact, The Independent reported in 2024 that 22% of young adults felt pressure from social media to freeze their eggs or sperm.

It’s why I was initially cautious about covering the connection between ovarian health and longevity. As research increasingly explores the role our ovaries may play in healthy ageing, it's a difficult topic to ignore, but one that could easily create more anxiety than understanding. After years of worrying about the sharpness of your fertility cliff, the endless array of reproductive health conditions, the risks of miscarriage and many challenges of menopause, the last thing you want to hear is that the rate at which your ovaries age may influence your lifespan.

The evidence suggests, however, that the two are connected, and it doesn’t need to be bad news. In fact, as Dr Natalie Getreu, global expert in ovarian biology and co-founder of Hertility, explains, ovarian ageing isn’t something to worry about. Instead, it’s about getting curious. “The narrative that women should be anxious about egg loss, racing against a biological clock, or treating their fertility as something fragile and finite is both scientifically oversimplified and genuinely unhelpful,” she explains. “There is a meaningful connection between ovarian health and long-term wellbeing, but it’s part of a much bigger picture.”

The best news? Many of the factors linked to healthy ovarian ageing are the same habits that support overall long-term health, and the chances are you're already doing some of them. Ahead, Dr Getreu and gynaecologist Dr Charis Chambers, chief medical officer at Clue, share the daily habits they practice to protect their ovarian health and promote healthy ageing.

If you’re interested in learning more about the intricacies of your health in simple, science-backed ways, be sure to check out our guides to cycle tracking, how to tackle persistent fatigue, and what the renaming of PCOS to PMOS means for women’s health. We’ve also got investigations into medical trauma and endometriosis and the issue of misdiagnosis amongst women with PMDD.

I'm a gynaecologist - these are the daily habits I prioritise for healthy ovarian ageing

What is ovarian ageing?

A completely normal and natural part of the ageing process, ovarian ageing is the “decline in the number and quality of eggs that ultimately ends with menopause,” says Dr Chambers.

Though most of us become aware of this decline during mid-life, the process actually begins whilst we’re still in our mother’s uterus. “We’re born with our lifetime supply of eggs, which typically sits between one and two million,” says Dr Getreu.

Dr Getreu explains that the ageing process does typically speed up in our mid to late thirties so that by the time we reach menopause, only a few hundred eggs remain. But the rate at which this happens is highly individual, based on a mix of genetic, lifestyle and environmental factors. “Whilst ovarian ageing is universal, its pace is deeply personal, which is exactly why a one-size-fits-all timeline doesn't really exist,” she says.

How does ovarian ageing impact longevity?

The important thing to note here is that, whilst ovarian ageing has close links to our overall longevity, it’s not a cause-and-effect relationship. Going through menopause earlier doesn’t guarantee a shorter life, whilst later menopause doesn’t determine that you’ll live to be 100.

That said, it is an important relationship to be aware of and understand because research consistently shows links between later menopause and longer lifespan.

“Women who reach menopause later tend, on average, to live longer and have lower rates of cardiovascular disease, osteoporosis, and cognitive decline,” confirms Dr Getreu, who explains that much of this comes down to the loss of oestrogen that occurs during perimenopause and menopause. “Oestrogen is profoundly protective for our heart, skin, brain and bone health,” she says. “The longer the body is exposed to its own natural oestrogen, the longer those protective effects appear to last.”

What this means, Dr Getreu concludes, is that our ovaries are a useful window into our wider health. “The same factors that protect your cardiovascular and metabolic health tend to support your ovaries too, and vice versa,” she says. “Think of it less as a separate concern and more as one thread in a much larger picture of wellbeing.”

How much control do we have over ovarian ageing?

It’s really important not to panic about ovarian ageing, especially because half of it is determined by your genetics. “Family history is a strong predictor of age at menopause,” explains Dr Chambers. “Many women destined for early menopause have increased ovarian reserve depletion due to a change in their DNA response pathways. This means that they don’t repair damage to their DNA as well, which results in earlier ovarian ageing.”

There are, however, things we can do to slow ovarian ageing. “About half of our ovarian ageing is influenced by modifiable lifestyle, environmental and medical factors,” says Dr Chambers, who, along with Dr Getreu, shares the things she does to protect against ovarian decline.

9 gynaecologist-approved habits for healthy ovarian ageing:

1. Avoid smoking

“Smoking is one of the most impactful modifiable risk factors in ovarian ageing,” says Dr Chambers, who explains that the degree of impact depends on the amount and duration of smoking.

“Menopause occurs up to four years earlier in smokers,” she says, explaining that this is due to a faster decline in anti-müllerian hormone (AMH), which provides “an important marker of ovarian function and reserve.”

2. Exercise regularly, without overtraining

The magic of exercise is in the balance, says Dr Getreu. “Moderate, consistent exercise supports insulin sensitivity, reduces inflammation and helps to regulate the hormones that govern ovarian function,” she explains, pointing to walking, swimming, cycling and strength training all as great protective forms of movement for ovarian health.

But, she caveats, “very high-intensity exercise without adequate recovery can suppress reproductive hormones. The sweet spot is regular, enjoyable movement rather than unmanaged extremes.”

If you’re worried or unsure about your training load, it’s always best to consult a qualified doctor or PT who can advise you on programming.

3. Eat an antioxidant-rich diet

“Oxidative stress is a key driver of egg quality decline,” says Dr Getreu. “Foods high in antioxidants, such as berries, leafy greens, nuts, olive oil and oily fish, help to counteract this.”

She recommends the Mediterranean diet, known to be high in plant-based foods, healthy fats and antioxidants, as having the strongest evidence base for better reproductive health.

4. Prioritise sleep

We all know that sleep is a superpower, and it turns out that our ovaries love it too. “Seven to nine hours of good-quality sleep is genuinely one of the most powerful things you can do for hormonal health across the board,” emphasises Dr Getreu.

On the flip side, she explains that “chronic poor sleep elevates cortisol and affects the reproductive hormones that support ovarian health,” whilst Dr Chambers says that disruption to our circadian rhythm can advance AMH depletion by around one year.

5. Limit alcohol consumption

It will come as no surprise that alcohol doesn’t do our ovarian health any favours. And whilst neither expert says that we need to eliminate it entirely, they are clear that moderation is essential.

“Alcohol, in excess, disrupts hormonal signalling and is linked to elevated oestrogen metabolism,” says Dr Getreu, who explains that over time, this can impair ovarian function.

NHS guidance for alcohol consumption is no more than 14 units a week, though it’s important to note there are no completely safe levels of alcohol consumption.

6. Maintain a healthy body weight

BMI is far from a perfect measure of health, but both experts are confident in their assertion that body weight does play a role in ovarian health.

“Both excess and very low body fat affect oestrogen metabolism and ovarian function,” says Dr Getreu. “Our adipose (fat) tissue produces oestrogen so extremes in either direction can throw hormonal balance off.”

7. Keep an eye on chronic stress

Women’s health issues are very often pinned to stress, which Dr Getreu says can sometimes be misleading. “Stress alone does not explain most fertility issues,” she clarifies, “but chronic stress can affect sleep, inflammation, libido, cycle regularity and lifestyle behaviours.”

The goal, she explains, is not to eliminate stress (honestly, who could?), but to build moments of recovery into our daily life. “Recovery looks like movement, boundaries, therapy, breathwork, time outdoors and social connection - whatever is genuinely sustainable for you,” she says.

8. Don’t ignore menstrual cycle changes

How many times have you groaned at the sight of your period? Too many, probably.

Our menstrual cycle gets a bad rap, but it’s actually a vital indication of health, as Dr Getreu tells us.

“Irregular, absent, very heavy, very painful or suddenly changing periods can sometimes point to underlying health issues,” she explains. “Seeking help early doesn’t mean something is seriously wrong, but it gives you information and options.”

For help, it’s always best to speak to your GP or a registered healthcare provider before turning to the internet for answers.

9. Consider environmental exposures

There’s still some grey area on this one, as research is still evolving. But whilst it’s difficult to control everything we’re exposed to, reducing unnecessary exposure to endocrine-disrupting chemicals is likely to be beneficial to your hormones.

“EDC's are found in certain plastics, pesticides and personal care products,” says Dr Getreu, who suggests “making sensible precautions where practical, such as choosing glass or stainless steel over plastic for food storage or opting for fragrance-free products.”

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Modern womanhood involves an astonishing amount of clenching. We’re clenching through stressful meetings. Through traffic. Our jaws while we sleep. Our core. Clenching every muscle in our body while replying “no worries!” to an email that, in fact, is causing quite a lot of worries. But there is one place you probably haven't unclenched.

​In a classic “of course there is” fashion, there’s a name for it - part of a growing, long-overlooked conversation around pelvic health and how we hold stress in the body. Enter “stress holding” - what pelvic health experts are calling the way chronic stress shows up as unconscious, sustained muscle tension.

​For all our fluency in stress symptoms above the waist: the stiff neck, the familiar headache behind the eyes, a jaw set in permanent grit, the pelvic floor has largely been left out of the picture. And despite recent research suggesting pelvic floor dysfunction affects millions of women worldwide, with recent studies estimating symptoms affect around 40% of women, many of us still associate pelvic health entirely with pregnancy, childbirth or ageing.

The irony is that we’ve never had more information about our bodies. We know about cortisol spikes. We track our sleep. We buy supplements for our supplements. Yet mention pelvic floor and most of us are suddenly operating on GCSE Biology levels of knowledge.

Perhaps that’s why it's never occurred to me that stress might have something to do with it. Pelvic health was mentally filed away as “future me’s problem” - somewhere between pension planning and understanding how mortgages work, not something shaped by anxiety, exercise habits, or a nervous system permanently stuck on high alert.

Quick group-chat poll: when was the last time you thought about your pelvic floor? If the answer sits somewhere between “never” and “only after seeing this headline”, stick with me.

TLDR: The pelvic floor isn’t just a pregnancy concern - it reflects how we live today. Stress, constant “holding on,” and pelvic floor dysfunction are deeply connected, yet still under-recognised - particularly in younger women balancing desk work, pressure, and an always-on lifestyle.

If that resonates, consider yourself seen. Stress shows up in surprising ways, and at MC, we’re here to talk about it. Here are five signs to look out for.

Women are "stress holding" in their pelvic floors - your guide

First, What does it mean to be "stress holding" in your pelvic floor?

Have you ever been told that you’re “holding onto stress”? Well, it turns out your body may have taken that instruction rather literally.

​“Stress holding” is the term pelvic health experts are using to describe the unconscious habit of carrying tension in the pelvic floor muscles in response to physical, emotional or psychological stress. According to Anna Wooley, pelvic health specialist at Core LDN, this can lead to what’s known as “hypertonic pelvic floor - where the muscles become overly tight and remain switched on for prolonged periods of time.

​The reason it happens, she says, “comes down to the body’s stress response. When we’re stressed, the sympathetic nervous system - better known as fight-or-flight mode - kicks in, increasing muscle tension throughout the body as it prepares us to respond to a threat. While most of us notice this in our shoulders, jaw or neck, the pelvic floor is often recruited into the process, too.”

​Which might be less of an issue in modern life if it wasn’t one long exercise in being mildly stressed. As Wooley explains, “Over time, that heightened muscle tension can become the body's default setting, meaning the pelvic floor remains tight even when the original stressor has long disappeared.”

​The challenge here is that a hypertonic pelvic floor doesn't always make itself known in the way we’d expect. Instead, its effects can show up across multiple areas of health, contributing to everything from pelvic pain, bladder and bowel issues, painful sex, reduced sexual pleasure, constipation and persistent hip or lower back discomfort.

​The body, it seems, is an excellent note-taker - only its reminders tend to surface in the least obvious corners. The real mystery is why so many of us know exactly what stress feels like in our shoulders, yet have never been taught what it might be doing lower down.

Why are so many women holding tension in their pelvic floor without realising it?

At the crux of it is a curious contradiction: women are expected to know an awful lot about their bodies, yet the pelvic floor remains one of the least understood parts of women's health. In fact, RCOG polling found that 69% of UK women have never spoken to an NHS healthcare professional about their pelvic floor at all. For a muscle group involved in everything from bladder function to sexual wellbeing, that's a remarkable silence.

According to women's health expert Dr Nighat Arif, that's a big part of the problem. "Awareness stays low because pelvic floor problems are still framed as birth damage or a niche rehab issue," she explains. "Even though women can experience symptoms well outside pregnancy and the postnatal period."

As a result, many women simply aren't looking for pelvic floor dysfunction in the first place. Symptoms such as urinary urgency, constipation, pelvic discomfort or painful sex are often dismissed as stress, a sensitive bladder, getting older, or simply the unavoidable side effects of a busy life.

There's also a wider cultural issue at play. In many communities, conversations around pelvic health remain limited or non-existent. As Dr Nighat points out, "some women have never been given the language to describe their pelvic floor at all, while others have grown up believing discomfort is simply part of being a woman and something to be endured rather than treated." For something so fundamental to some very important functions, it’s still one of women’s health’s best-kept non-secrets.

Which perhaps explains why so many women are carrying tension there without ever realising it.

The Missing Link Between Pelvic Health and Pleasure

Hands up if you know more about your libido than the muscles that help make pleasure possible in the first place? Chances are, most of us probably just sat still for a second then - and that small moment of awareness says a lot. According to psychosexual therapist and author of The Science of Sex, Kate Moyle, “stress holding” in the pelvic area can affect sexual wellbeing in multiple ways.

"When there is chronic pelvic floor tension, often driven or exacerbated by stress, it can affect sex in multiple ways. Physically, penetration may become painful, uncomfortable or difficult, which interrupts pleasure and can gradually dampen desire."

Moyle notes that this is often where stress and sexual function begin to overlap. When the pelvic floor is already in a heightened state of tension, the body can start to associate sex with guarding and anticipating discomfort, rather than relaxation and pleasure.

“What this means is that symptoms can feel harder to work with in the moment, and people may find themselves being more in their heads, distracted, and less able to stay present,” she says. “That can then affect how someone feels about themselves sexually, as well as their confidence in relationships.”

Stress holding also matters when it comes to orgasm. The pelvic floor plays a key role in the rhythmic contractions involved in climax - but, Moyle explains, it isn’t just about strength. “A strong pelvic floor is important, but it’s equally important to be able to relax, release and respond flexibly,” she adds.

In the field, this is something that’s increasingly reflected in pelvic health research, including a 2024 review in The Journal of Sexual Medicine linking pelvic floor muscle function with sexual response and dysfunction, with wider evidence also connecting pelvic floor overactivity with sexual pain.

5 Signs You May Be Stress Holding In Your Pelvic Floor

If you're now very aware of your pelvic floor (my job is done), let us dive into what "stress holding" looks like in practice. Anna Wolley breaks down five of the most common signs so you're equipped with the right tools to take back control.

1. You’re going to the loo more often than your usual

If you feel like you’re constantly planning your day around bathroom access, your pelvic floor could be involved. Wooley explains that an overactive pelvic floor can irritate bladder signalling pathways, creating that persistent sense of urgency when the bladder isn’t full. If it’s persistent, affecting daily life, or involves pain, leakage or recurrent UTIs, it’s worth getting assessed.

2. Sex or tampon use feels uncomfortable or painful

This one is the most commonly missed sign of pelvic floor tension.

Wooley explains that tight pelvic floor muscles can struggle to relax, which may create resistance, discomfort, or pain with penetration.

Important: this is not something to normalise or push through, and it definitely warrants assessment by a healthcare professional.

3. You struggle with constipation

The pelvic floor has a direct role in bowel function, and it needs to relax and lengthen for things to work properly.

When it’s too tight, this process becomes harder, often leading to straining or ongoing difficulty. Wooley warns that persistent straining can increase the risk of pelvic floor dysfunction and should not be ignored. “If things don’t improve with diet and lifestyle changes, don’t ignore it - get assessed.”

4. You’re dealing with persistent pelvic, hip or lower back discomfort

Because the pelvic floor works closely with surrounding muscles and joints, tension doesn’t always stay local.

Wooley explains that it can contribute to pain in the pelvis, hips, lower back, and, in some cases, even discomfort further down the body. If pain is lasting more than a few weeks, worsening or affecting movement, it should be assessed.

5. You feel like you can’t fully switch off - even when resting

This is one of the most overlooked signs.

Wooley notes that many women with pelvic floor tension also report jaw clenching, shallow breathing, abdominal gripping or a general sense of being “switched on”.

She also points out that the pelvic floor often reflects what’s happening elsewhere in the nervous system, so if the pattern feels familiar, your body may be signalling that stress is being physically held, not just mentally experienced.

Final Thoughts

If there’s one quiet shift in all of this, it’s that the real story here isn’t that women are holding stress - it’s that we’re only just learning where to look for it.

Stress, as experts are now showing, doesn’t just disappear when the day ends. It shows up in the body in ways we’re only just beginning to name. And perhaps that’s the most useful part of “stress holding”: not that it tells us something is wrong, but that it finally helps us understand what’s been happening all along.

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​Picture the scene: it's 28°C outside, every window in your house is flung open in a futile attempt to summon a breeze, and you’re working from home in little more than your underwear, rotating between whichever surface feels remotely cool. The last thing you need is your period arriving uninvited.

Whether you’re someone who breezes through your cycle or someone who spends a week every month negotiating with a hot water bottle, having your period during a heatwave feels like an entirely different sport, requiring a different level of skill. The bloating somehow feels bigger. The fatigue hits harder. The headaches linger longer. You’re sweaty, irritable, struggling to sleep and questioning why your body suddenly feels incapable of functioning at a normal level.

If you’ve recently found yourself lying spread-eagled in front of a fan, clutching an electrolyte drink and wondering whether your period is genuinely worse this month or whether you’re simply being humbled by the weather, welcome to what appears to be a very crowded corner of womanhood.

Undoubtedly, there comes a point in this crossover where the questions start rolling in. Why do I feel so much more exhausted? Why am I suddenly so bloated? Why does PMS feel like it’s been dialled up several notches? And perhaps most importantly: is any of this actually in my head?

As it turns out - no. We know hormones can influence everything from our mood and energy levels to our sleep and appetite, but fewer of us stop to consider what happens when those shifts collide with extreme heat. Below, experts explain whether fluctuations in oestrogen and progesterone affect how we tolerate hot weather, plus why some phases of the menstrual cycle feel harder in a heatwave.

This isn’t just another guide on surviving summer while bleeding, bloated and battling PMS - it's an investigation into why our bodies seem to respond differently when temperatures soar, plus what experts say we can do about it.

Period feel worse during a heatwave? Here's why

First Things First: Why Does My Period Feel Worse During a Heatwave?

If it feels like your period symptoms have dialled up several notches the moment the temperature rises, that’s because they probably have. It’s not just one thing at play. It’s a multi-layered situation. Or, less politely: everything that can be involved is involved, all at once.

To make sense of that overlap, we spoke to Dr Nirusha Kumaran, a GP and Functional and Longevity Medicine Physician. “Hot weather places an additional physiological demand on the body at a time when many women are already navigating hormonal fluctuations, changes in fluid balance, and increased energy requirements," she explains. "When you add heat to the equation, the body must work harder to regulate temperature, maintain hydration, and support circulation. This can leave women feeling more fatigued, light-headed, bloated, or emotionally sensitive.

Which may explain the surge in struggle: your cycle and extreme heat are both drawing on the same internal systems at the same time, and neither is especially willing to cooperate.

And there’s evidence this overlap is doing more than simply making you feel a bit off. A 2026 study of nearly 20,000 people found chronic exposure to extreme heat was associated with lower levels of oestradiol, progesterone and testosterone. Given these hormones help regulate mood, energy, pain and fluid balance, it’s easy to see why period symptoms can suddenly feel dialled up.

Now for our second layer - inflammation. As Dr Charis Chambers, OB-GYN and gynaecologist at Clue, explains, “Menstruation is already an inflammatory process, and heat exposure independently activates similar pathways. Put together, the body isn’t simply responding twice - it’s responding louder.” Cue increased sensitivity. More fatigue. And a slightly reduced tolerance for absolutely everything.

And yes - bloating doesn’t escape the equation either. It’s one of several ways the body tends to feel a little more “off” when heat and hormones collide, which is why everything feels a little more… expanded than expected.

The Hormone-Heat Connection: Why Certain Phases of Your Cycle Feel Harder Than Others

The plot thickens when you factor in where you are in your cycle.

As Chambers explains, not all phases respond to heat in the same way, largely due to the opposing roles of oestrogen and progesterone in regulating your body’s temperature; one helping the body release heat, the other working against it.

“Oestrogen helps the body release heat more easily and lowers core body temperature, whereas progesterone increases body temperature and slows down the body’s cooling response.”

This becomes most noticeable in the luteal phase - the two weeks before your period (a collective shudder at the thought), when progesterone is at its highest. “It’s the point in the cycle where the body is already operating at a slightly elevated baseline temperature, with a less responsive cooling system.”

Ladies, you guessed it... in a heatwave, that matters. Your body is effectively layering heat on heat, working with an internal cooling system that’s not exactly firing on all cylinders.

No prizes for guessing what follows: fatigue, headaches, dizziness, and that familiar overheated, slightly irritable feeling that creeps in faster than usual.

From here, the picture widens. Even bloating has more going on beneath the surface. “It isn’t simply water retention misbehaving, but a mix of fluid redistribution and vascular changes influenced by shifting oestrogen and progesterone,” says Chambers.

Put simply, heat doesn’t just dehydrate - it changes how fluid is moved and managed in the body. “During menstruation, when inflammatory activity is already higher, these effects don’t just stack - they amplify.”

But of course, it's not just your body that gets dragged into the equation. No one needs convincing that this isn’t just a physical experience - it can also affect mood. Recent research suggests that heat stress can disrupt sleep and interact with stress and inflammatory pathways involved in mood regulation. Add poor sleep into the mix, and everything gets amplified.

Which brings us to a slightly inconvenient reality: some phases of your cycle are just less heat-compatible than others.

Why PMDD, Endometriosis and Migraines Can Feel Worse in Hot Weather

Managing PMDD, endometriosis or migraines during a heatwave can feel a bit like playing a game on hard mode. Not because the condition itself is changing, but because many of the systems that help keep symptoms in check suddenly have more to contend with.

As Dr Martin Hirsch, gynaecologist, explains: “While heatwaves do not appear to alter the underlying biology of conditions such as endometriosis or PMDD, they can amplify many of the factors that make these conditions challenging.” Less a flare-up out of nowhere (always my default thought), and more background systems becoming harder to keep in balance at once.

“Sleep, pain and migraine pathways are central to this. Hot nights disrupt sleep, and poor sleep is closely linked to increased pain sensitivity, lower mood and more frequent migraine attacks - enough on its own to tip things from manageable to not.”

For endometriosis specifically, there’s also the nervous system to consider. “A 2021 review suggests many people with chronic pelvic pain develop central sensitisation, where the nervous system becomes more responsive to pain signals. While heat doesn’t directly worsen the condition itself, factors commonly associated with heatwaves - disrupted sleep, physical stress and exhaustion - can make pain feel more intense and harder to regulate.”

And it doesn’t stop there. As Chambers explains, “heat stress activates many of the same inflammatory, hormonal and neurological pathways already involved in these conditions. In PMDD, it can further disrupt systems linked to mood regulation. In endometriosis, it adds to an already inflammatory environment. And for migraines, dehydration, physiological stress, and changes in blood flow can all lower the threshold for an attack.

The reassuring news is that small, practical changes can make a noticeable difference. Cue the practical bit.

How To Survive Your Period During a Heatwave: 5 Expert-Backed Strategies That Actually Help

Below, Dr Charis Chambers shares their top tips for getting through your period during a heatwave.

1. Cool the body, not just the room

Our first instinct in a heatwave is to head for the coolest room - and, if you’re lucky enough, the air conditioning. Don’t shoot the messenger, but that’s not always the most effective fix for your body itself. Chambers explains that active cooling tends to work better. Think cool showers, cold flannels on the neck or chest, or anything that brings your core temperature down directly, not just the air around you.

TDLR: fans alone can actually lose effectiveness in extreme heat and may even contribute to dehydration if humidity is high.

2. Protect your sleep like it’s part of your treatment plan

We only need a few bad nights’ sleep in the heat to understand how much of a driver it is in making PMS, PMDD, migraine and pain worse. As Dr Chambers suggests, one of the most effective starting points is simple: cooling the bedroom, cooling the body before bed (think showers or cold compresses), and keeping the room as dark as possible.

If it takes several cold showers to get you there, then consider it part of the process.

3. Move earlier, move smarter

A personal favourite of mine, as someone who becomes increasingly frustrated when her routine Pilates classes are met with a period-heatwave combo. This isn’t a “stop exercising” situation - it’s a “work with your body, not against it” situation. Shift movement to the cooler parts of the day (early mornings or evenings) and dial down the intensity when symptoms are heavier.

Think yoga, Pilates or lighter strength work - enough to feel the benefits, without layering on extra heat and stress.

4. Hydration, but make it strategic

Heat loves to drain you in the background - and that fluid loss on your period can show up as fatigue, dizziness and migraines. So, it’s not just about drinking water when you suddenly realise you feel awful - it’s about keeping hydration steady all day, with electrolytes in the mix if you’re feeling depleted, bloated or headachy.

5. Think about what’s quietly increasing heat load

As much as I love to blame the heat on my increased period symptoms, Dr Chambers points out that not everything comes down to hormones and heat - some medications can also play a role, including SSRIs, anticholinergic drugs and hormonal treatments, which may interfere with temperature regulation. If symptoms feel particularly bad in hot weather, she suggests it’s worth a quick check-in with a clinician.

MC’s Essentials for Surviving a Heatwave on Your Period