How to Navigate Menopause & Perimenopause for Maximum Health & Vitality | Dr. Mary Claire Haver

**Andrew Huberman** (0:00)
Welcome to the Huberman Lab podcast, where we discuss science and science-based tools for everyday life.
I'm Andrew Huberman, and I'm a professor of neurobiology and ophthalmology at Stanford School of Medicine. My guest today is Dr. Mary Claire Haver. Dr. Mary Claire Haver is a board-certified OBGYN and an expert in perimenopause, menopause, and all aspects of female-specific health. During today's episode, Dr. Haver explains exactly what perimenopause and menopause represent in terms of their underlying psychology and biology and the specific actions that all women can and should take in order to navigate these stages in optimal health. She also describes the things that all women should know and do long before perimenopause arrives in order to best navigate perimenopause and menopause once they arrive. We discuss specific nutritional practices, supplementation practices, as well as conversations that you should have with your mother and with your physician, in particular, your OBGYN, not just as perimenopause and menopause approach, but at every developmental stage. A fair amount of our discussion centers around hormone replacement therapy, not just for estrogen, but for testosterone in women as well, and the many misconceptions and controversies that exist around hormone replacement therapy for menopause. Dr. Haver explains how the specific timing in which hormone therapy is initiated plays a key role in whether or not the hormone therapy is beneficial for women or not. And of course, today's discussion gets into ways to offset some of the more common difficulties associated with menopause, including sleep issues, hot flashes, inflammation, and more. By the end of today's episode, you will have a clear picture from Dr. Marie Claire Haver about what perimenopause and menopause actually represent, the best way to approach perimenopause and menopause, and the various considerations around hormone therapy and lifestyle choices that can allow any woman to approach the years of perimenopause and menopause and beyond with the utmost vitality and wellness. Before we begin, I'd like to emphasize that this podcast is separate from my teaching and research roles at Stanford. It is however, part of my desire and effort to bring zero cost to consumer information about science and science related tools to the general public. In keeping with that theme, I'd like to thank the sponsors of today's podcast. Our first sponsor is AeroPress. AeroPress is like a French press, but a French press that always brews the perfect cup of coffee, meaning no bitterness and excellent taste. AeroPress achieves the perfect cup of coffee because it uses a very short contact time between the hot water and the coffee. The entire thing takes only about three minutes. I started using an AeroPress over 10 years ago. I first learned about it from a guy named Alan Adler. He's a former Stanford engineer and inventor. He developed the Arobi Frisbee, which I believe still holds the Guinness Book of World Records for the furthest thrown object. In any event, I'm a big fan of Adler's inventions. So when I heard he developed a coffee maker, the AeroPress, I tried it and I found that indeed it makes the best possible tasting cup of coffee. And I'm not alone in my love of the AeroPress coffee maker. With over 55,000 five-star reviews, AeroPress is the best reviewed coffee press in the world. AeroPress also just released a new AeroPress Tumbler that makes brewing coffee when traveling or anywhere incredibly easy. This new AeroPress Go Plus is incredible. It's super compact, easy to clean, and you can use it anywhere. All you need is hot water and some coffee. And again, it's very easy to clean up. Also with Father's Day coming up, it makes for a terrific Father's Day gift. If you'd like to try AeroPress, you can go to aeropress.com/huberman, get 20% off. AeroPress currently ships in the USA, Canada, and to over 60 other countries around the world. Again, that's aeropress.com/huberman.
Today's episode is also brought to us by Eight Sleep. Eight Sleep makes smart mattress covers with cooling, heating and sleep tracking capacity. Now I've spoken many times before on this podcast about the critical need for us to get adequate amounts of quality sleep each night. One of the best ways to ensure a great night's sleep is to control the temperature of your sleeping environment. And that's because in order to fall and stay deeply asleep, your body temperature actually has to drop by about one to three degrees. And in order to wake up feeling refreshed and energized, your body temperature actually has to increase by about one to three degrees. Eight Sleep makes it incredibly easy to control the temperature of your sleeping environment by allowing you to program the temperature of your mattress cover at the beginning, middle, and end of the night. Eight Sleep also tracks your sleep with very high precision. It will tell you how much slow wave sleep you're getting, how much rapid eye movement sleep you're getting, each of which is critical for different aspects of physical and emotional recovery during sleep. And that allows you to dial in the exact temperature parameters to really ensure that you get the best possible night's sleep. I've been sleeping on an Eight Sleep mattress cover for well over three years now, and it has completely transformed my sleep for the better. Eight Sleep recently launched their newest generation pod cover, the Pod 4 Ultra. The Pod 4 Ultra has improved cooling and heating capacity, higher fidelity sleep tracking technology, and it also has snoring detection that remarkably will automatically lift your head a few degrees to improve your airflow and stop your snoring. If you'd like to try an Eight Sleep mattress cover, you can go to eightsleep.com/huberman to save $350 off their Pod 4 Ultra. Eight Sleep currently ships to the USA, Canada, UK, select countries in the EU and Australia. Again, that's eightsleep.com/huberman. Today's episode is also brought to us by BetterHelp. BetterHelp offers professional therapy with a licensed therapist carried out completely online. I've been going to therapy for over 30 years. Initially, I didn't have a choice. It was a condition of being allowed back in high school. But soon I realized that quality therapy can be extremely valuable. And I now consider doing therapy as important as getting regular exercise, including cardiovascular exercise and resistance training, which of course I also do every week. Therapy provided it's with a therapist with whom you have excellent rapport and feel supported by and from whom you can gain valuable insights can be immensely valuable because it leads to healthier thought patterns and actions related to your personal and professional life. In fact, I see doing quality therapy as a powerful way to direct your focus and attention toward what really matters. If you'd like to try better help, you can go to betterhelp.com/huberman to get 10% off your first month. Again, that's betterhelp.com/huberman. And now for my discussion with Dr. Mary Claire Haver. Dr. Mary Claire Haver, welcome.