Jane Hutchens

25/10/2025

https://www.facebook.com/reel/803668722416384

22/10/2025

Ithard when there's incorrect information swirling around - here's correct information on testosterone levels and testing.

Testosterone is widely promoted as an essential part of menopausal hormone therapy to treat low mood, brain fog and low energy. But new research challenges this.

19/10/2025

Hormones + pressure cooker life = nervous system on high alert.

Tomorrow night I’m running a bonus Cultivating Calm workshop—free when you enrol in the course.

In the workshop we’ll:

🧠 Map your stress patterns across the day (so you can see when and why they spike)
🧺 Clear your plate of the things quietly draining your energy
💆‍♀️ Practice simple tools to downregulate your nervous system and reset your calm

👉 Enrol: www.janehutchens.co/cultivating_calm

19/10/2025

😅

19/10/2025

World Menopause Day - let's not over-cook and overcomplicate this dish!

Go for a walk
In the sunshine
With a friend
And have a laugh (working that pelvic floor)
Stretch, relax
Share a meal with lots of plants
Move a little
Rest
And sleep

😊☀️🚶‍♀️

17/10/2025

Polycystic O***y Syndrome (PCOS) is often described as a reproductive or metabolic disorder, but that leaves out the brain!

PCOS is a neuroendocrine condition, characterised by altered hypothalamic–pituitary signalling that drives excess androgen production and ovulatory dysfunction. These neuroendocrine patterns don’t necessarily resolve after menopause. Instead, they can shape how women experience the menopausal transition - potentially influencing mood, cognition, and metabolic function.

For women with a history of PCOS, the post-menopause years *may* bring ongoing challenges with insulin sensitivity, cholesterol, and stress reactivity, even after oestrogen and progesterone levels fall.

The good news is that the brain remains adaptable, flexible. In perimenopause the brain adapts to the changes in oestrogen and progesterone, and the subsequent effects on brain metabolism, resulting in more efficiency and better networking - perimenopause is where the adapting peaks and that's part of why you might have brain fog, forget your dentist appointment etc. Things get better.

Helpfully, strategies supporting your brain/neuroplasticity and metabolic resilience overlap >
>> regular physical activity
>> balanced nutrition, stable blood glucose
>> nervous system regulation and stress support
>> restorative sleep

These do-able, evidence-based steps can promote metabolic health, cognitive clarity and overall long-term health and wellbeing.

Menopause doesn’t erase PCOS — it reframes it.

(Note - as with many things, remember that some changes may be age-related rather than menopause-related)
Understanding the brain–hormone–metabolism connection allows more targeted support for women in midlife and beyond.

Save/share this with someone who has PCOS and is approaching menopause.

Jane

A few references
PMID: 31576184
PMID: 37353908
McKay S. The Women’s Brain Book: The Neuroscience of Health, Hormones and Happiness https://www.instagram.com/drsarahmckay/

11/10/2025

Haikus for Menopause Awareness Month

Perimenopause has a way of getting your attention. First she whispers - you’re more tired than usual, your focus dips, sleep gets patchy, anxiety sneaks up, overwhelm says "hi!". If you ignore it, the whispers become shouts: "Rest now, or I’ll make you".

It can feel frustrating when your body slows you down, but here’s the truth: rest isn’t failure.

It’s how your body restores, repairs, and resets.

So listen and surrender (which is not the same as give up).

👉 Has perimenopause ever “forced” you to stop and rest? What happened when you did?

Peri absolutely made me rest, and I'm ever grateful for that.

Jane

10/10/2025

This year’s World Menopause Awareness theme is Lifestyle Medicine with these 6 topics.

🥗 Nutrition: It’s not only about protein - it’s about colour, plants, variety and fibre. And enjoying sharing meals and the food you eat.

🏃‍♀️ Movement: Move for your heart, your bones, and your mood. Don't get hung up on how many push-ups or chin-ups or triple backward somersaults with pike you "should" be able to do, but find movement and strength practices that you enjoy and that make you feel awesome.

😴 Restorative Sleep: It’s not optional, but can be damned tricky to get. Sleep repairs your body and brain, so it is important to be intentional in your sleep habits and get support when you need.

🤝 Connection: Menopause is easier when you don’t go it alone. Laughter, friendship, and support are powerful medicine too.

🧠 Mind & Mood: Checking and not pushing through on auto-pilot, mindfulness and stress management, building in calm, doing something creative, resting, getting support.

🚭 Limiting harm: Aim to keep within the guidelines of no more than 4 standard drinks a day and no more than 10 standard drinks a week. None is ideal. And not smoking is ideal. Less alcohol, less smoking, more energy and calm, better sleep and more cash!

There's nothing here that you haven't seen or heard, and these strategies are relevant for everyone, not just women in perimenopause and postmenopause. But in the flux of perimenopause, they matter even more.

It’s a time of change, and with that change comes opportunity: to reset habits, influence your long-term health, set some boundaries and priorities and shape your future how you want it to look and how you want to feel and function.

It’s also a time to cultivate calm — to steady your nervous system, manage stress differently, and create space for rest and recovery. Because how you move through change matters just as much as the change itself.

If that’s something you need right now, join me for the introductory bonus workshop (22 October) with Cultivating Calm — we’ll explore simple, practical evidence-based ways to reduce stress and find a sense of ease - link in bio.

Jane

09/10/2025

wonderful

06/10/2025

Haikus for Menopause Awareness Month

It’s tempting to scroll for quick fixes, but menopause isn’t a quick-fix kinda gal. She likes some attention!

It's not just oestrogen and progesterone. It isn't only hormone therapy, or only nutrition, or only lifting heavy, or only about nervous system regulation.

This is where seeing a qualified professional makes a real difference. We look at the whole picture - your symptoms, history (is this peri or thyroid? or gut microbiome? or burnout? how was your pregnancy and postpartum?....), family history, lifestyle, and goals - and find what’s right for you, practice to the evidence and understand the complexities.

Because menopause awareness isn’t just about managing symptoms, it’s about protecting and building your long-term health.

Finding connection and some information and support on social media is great, and it can really help fill a gap. However, information is often over-simplified (I do it too - it's impossible to do full detail and nuance - but I mean stuff that takes it to another level of over-simplification), often not based in the research (no, there's not unlimited research but there is some), can tend to all-or-nothing approaches, and there's a lot of fear-based posts which is not great.

Your whole self deserves more. 💙

Jane

06/10/2025

Your health before menopause sets the stage for your health after it.

Menopause doesn't just crash a perfectly civilised party and start trashing the joint.

Your personal health history (blood pressure, cholesterol, stress, fitness, sleep, pregnancies and any complications, repro conditions like PMDD, PCOS and endo), your family history and your whole-of-life circumstances all shape how you move through the hormonal transition.

Menopause doesn’t create health issues overnight, but it can amplify them.
If your blood pressure or blood sugar was already edging up, they might climb faster now. If your lifestyle habits were protective, they’ll work even harder for you.

So rather than seeing menopause as the beginning of decline, think of it as a spotlight — revealing what’s been quietly (or not-so-quietly) happening beneath the surface.

That means your late 30s and 40s is also a perfect window to reset, re-strengthen, and protect your health, wellbeing and quality of life for decades ahead. 💓

For me, one thing I absolutely had to incorporate was intentional rest, (oh, and more fibre).

👉 What’s one habit your future self will thank you for starting now?

Jane

04/10/2025

What Don’t We Know About Women’s Heart Health?
Quite a lot — and your story can help change that.

Women’s voices are often missing from research about living with a heart condition. We want to change that by listening to the real-life experiences of women.

💜 This online survey explores:
• Day-to-day challenges of living with a heart condition
• Heart health alongside periods, menopause, and hormones
• Relationships, work, and support
• Experiences with healthcare systems
• Digital health tech (like apps or smart watches)

Your insights could help shape better care and support for women in the future.

✅ 20–30 minutes (you can pause and return)
✅ Anonymous & confidential
✅ For women aged 18+ with any diagnosed heart condition
📌 Survey link https://utsau.au1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_1AqyxbUZbqa8lfM

Please share with other women who might like to take part. Together, we can make women’s heart health research stronger.

The study is run by the University of Technology Sydney and approved by the UTS Human Research Ethics Committee (ETH25-10763).
If you would like further information, please contact us at: jane.hutchens@uts.edu.au