What if the first sign that perimenopause is shifting hormones is not a hot flash, but broken sleep? For many women, the earliest clues are more subtle: waking at 2 a.m., feeling wired but tired, noticing more palpitations, or realizing that brain fog and irritability are showing up alongside restless nights.

In this episode, Dr. Jolene Brighten sits down with Cynthia Thurlow, nurse practitioner, author, podcast host, and intermittent fasting expert, to unpack why sleep often becomes the first visible sign that the body needs more support in midlife. The conversation does not reduce perimenopause to sleep hygiene tips or blame women for not doing enough. It connects sleep disruption to progesterone, estradiol, testosterone, stress physiology, muscle loss, fasting, and recovery capacity.

Women are often told these changes are random or simply part of getting older. This episode takes a different approach: it treats symptoms as information and asks what the body is signaling. If perimenopause has brought brain fog, palpitations, joint pain, itchiness, recurrent infections, or overnight waking, this conversation offers a clearer framework for what may be happening. Here’s what the science says.

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Meet Cynthia Thurlow

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cynthia_thurlow_/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@CynthiaThurlow

Website: https://www.cynthiathurlow.com/

Cynthia Thurlow’s Book: https://amzn.to/48hoY78

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