How the Gut-Brain Axis Impacts Menopause Sleep Problems, Anxiety, and Hot Flashes

Are you struggling with menopause sleep problems, brain fog symptoms, or stubborn weight gain—and wondering why nothing seems to work anymore? The missing piece may not just be your hormones. It may be your gut health.

In this episode of The Joyful Menopause Podcast, I dive into the fascinating gut-brain axis—the two-way connection between your digestion and your brain—and how it impacts everything from mood and sleep to weight loss during menopause.

Here’s what you’ll learn:
 ✨ How estrogen affects weight loss and why gut health plays a key role
 ✨ Why brain fog in perimenopause and post menopause isn’t just in your head
 ✨ The surprising link between gut health and menopause insomnia, hot flashes at night, and anxiety
 ✨ Simple, gut-friendly foods and habits that can improve your digestion, mood, and energy

Plus, I’ll share a powerful client story about how one woman reduced her brain fog, improved her sleep, and finally started losing weight by focusing on her gut health.

If you’ve been looking for answers to your menopause struggles, this episode will give you practical, science-backed tools you can start using today.

👉🏻 Don’t forget to like, subscribe, and share this video with a friend who’s also navigating perimenopause or menopause.

When you're ready, here are 3 ways I can help you to feel your best during perimenopause and menopause:

1. Want more science-backed health tips? Click here to sign up for my free weekly newsletter for practical advice on navigating menopause with confidence:

2. Click here to get the free guide: 5 Natural Ways To Reduce Menopause Symptoms.

2. For more information about Lynda and how she supports women on their health journey, click here to learn more.

3. Interested in seeing if nutrition coaching with Lynda is right for you? Click here to book a free discovery call with Lynda.

Episode Transcript

(00:00):
Welcome back to the JoyfulMenopause Podcast.
I want to start today by askingyou a question.
Have you ever noticed that ondays when your digestion feels
off, maybe bloating,constipation, just kind of
stomach upset, your mood, maybetakes a dive to, or maybe you've
had nights where you'reexhausted, but hot flashes at

(00:20):
night racing thoughts or stomachdiscomfort keeps you awake.
If you've ever wondered whymenopause sleep problems, brain
fog symptoms or stubborn weightgain seem to show up no matter
what you try.
Today's episode might just giveyou the missing piece.
We're talking about the gutbrain axis.
The powerful two-waycommunication system between

(00:42):
your digestion and your brain.
And if you're a woman inperimenopause, menopause, or
even post menopause, thisconnection matters more than
ever.
Stay with me because in thisepisode, you'll discover how
estrogen affects weight loss andwhy the gut plays a surprising
role, why brain fog andperimenopause isn't just in your
head, how your gut healthimpacts menopause, insomnia,

(01:04):
anxiety, and even hot flashes.
And simple, doable strategies tosupport your gut brain axis
starting today.
So let's get started.
Menopause doesn't have to feellike you are living in someone
else's body.
Your host, Lynda Enright, hasspent the last 25 years helping
women to thrive in midlife.
Here you'll find science-basedpractical advice that you can

(01:25):
start using today to get realresults for your health.
Welcome to Joyful Medicine.
So first, what is the gut brainaxis?
It is a communication networkbetween your digestive system
and your central nervous system.
Think of it as this two-waystreet or messages are
constantly going back and forth.

(01:45):
So here's what's reallyinteresting about it Your gut
has its own nervous system.
It's called the enteric nervoussystem.
It's even called often in thesecond brain.
And these signals don't justcontrol your digestion, they
influence your immune system,your stress response, and even
your mood.
And here's the kicker for womenin midlife.

(02:06):
As estrogen levels change, thistwo-way street can get a little
bit bumpy.
Estrogen is protective.
It keeps inflammation down andhelps maintain the diversity of
your gut microbiome.
So when estrogen declines, yourgut bacteria can start a shift
around in ways that may make youmore prone to digestive
discomfort, inflammation, andagain, mood swings.

(02:28):
So if you've been wondering whybrain fog in perimenopause shows
up, just as your digestion seemsto be more sensitive, this gut
brain connection can really behelpful to explain it.
Let's dig a little bit into someof the most common menopause
complaints and how they connectback to the gut.
So first of all, mood andanxiety.

(02:49):
When your gut bacteria are inbalance, they produce
neurotransmitters, serotonin,dopamine, and GABA, chemicals
that regulate mood.
They help to calm your nervoussystem, and they help you to
handle stress.
But when the gut is out ofbalance, production of these
mood boosting chemicalsdeclines.
So that's when we start seeinganxiety and just overall

(03:10):
challenges with mood start tobecome more intense.
Number two, sleep and insomnia.
About 90% of serotonin is madein your gut.
And serotonin is the buildingblock for melatonin, your sleep
hormone.
So if your gut health iscompromised, then melatonin
production might be too.
That means more sleep problems,menopause, perimenopause, or

(03:33):
even post menopause.
Weight and digestion.
Number three, gut bacteria helpsto regulate metabolism, blood
sugar, and even how your bodyprocesses estrogen.
Again, estrogen's declining andchanges in the microbiome can
make weight loss harder duringthis time of life.
So this is one big reason whythis eat less exercise more idea

(03:56):
does not work the way it usedto.
And lastly, hot flashes andstress.
Chronic stress impacts both thegut and your hormones.
A gut that is stressed can drivemore inflammation, and
inflammation has been linked tomore intense night sweats in
perimenopause and hot flashes atnight.
So your symptoms might feel likethey're random, but there

(04:20):
actually is this web ofcommunication that's tying it
all together.
So now I want to talk about oneof the biggest levers you can
pull, one of the biggest factorsthat's playing a role,
nutrition.
So let's jump into that.
So the good news is what you eatevery day can powerfully support
this gut brain connection.

(04:40):
So let's talk about thenutrients that are particularly
important.
Fiber.
Fiber, hugely underratednutrient in menopause.
Fiber feeds the good bacteria inyour gut.
It helps your body to detoxexcess estrogen.
So when your estrogen is brokendown, we want it to get excreted
from your body.
Fiber helps that to happen, sothat helps support weight

(05:03):
balance.
It helps to reduce bloating.
So we're talking about thingslike whole grains, lots of
vegetables, leafy greens,legumes, things like that.
Omega threes.
Omega-3 fats.
These fatty acids reduceinflammation which can calm hot
flashes and joint pain.
You find omega threes in salmonin tuna, flax seeds, chia seeds,

(05:25):
walnuts.
All really good sources ofOmega-3 fats.
Probiotics.
Fermented foods like yogurt,kefir, sauerkraut, kimchi, these
add good bugs, add healthybacteria to your gut, so these
can really ease your digestivediscomfort and even improve
mood.
And then lastly, polyphenols.

(05:46):
So polyphenols are found inthings like berries, tea, uh,
dark chocolate, dark, darkchocolate, 70% or more cocoa.
These feed healthy gut bacteriaand they can help with brain
fog, perimenopause symptoms byprotecting your brain from
oxidative stress.
So imagine this, instead ofskipping breakfast or grabbing a

(06:08):
muffin, you start your day withchia pudding, topped with
berries.
Not only are you fueling yourgut microbes, you're also
setting yourself up for morestable energy, fewer cravings,
and better focus.
And that brings me to a storyabout one of my clients who made
some of these shifts and sawsome really big results.

(06:29):
So Tina, she came to me.
She was in her fifties, earlyfifties.
She was feeling defeated.
Frustrated for sure.
She told me I'm exhausted.
I wake up every night at 2:00 AMsoaking wet.
I can't lose weight.
I've done everything.
Brain fog is driving me crazy.
I'm, I'm just like not pullingup information at work like I

(06:50):
would like to.
or like I used to not that longago.
So we looked at her diet.
And what we found, she waseating a lot of processed foods,
uh, diet sodas, things that werequick and easy'cause she was
super busy.
So convenience things, kind of afair amount of these ultra
processed foods, which I'vetalked about in other podcasts.
So with that comes very littlefiber.

(07:13):
So together I helped her toshift her nutrition, adding more
gut friendly foods, uh, thingslike overnight oats, um, with
some protein, and it was helpfulfor her.
Things with flax seeds andberries, fermented foods.
We were adding fermentedvegetables with her dinner and
really cutting back on theprocessed foods, processed sugar
in particular.

(07:34):
Within just a little bit oftime, Tina started sleeping
better.
She said she slept through thenight for the first time in
years.
It sounds like an infant.
We're so excited when they sleepthrough the night and we're just
as excited in these years ofmenopause.
Her energy started to feelbetter.
Her brain fog improved, and thenshe started to lose some weight
too.
Finally, she felt like she hadsome momentum, for the first

(07:57):
time during these years ofperimenopause and menopause.
So her story is just anexplanation of, again, this gut
brain axis by improving thehealth of her gut and getting
some good fiber and some goodbacteria in there.
She started to feel better andshe started to navigate
menopause symptoms better.
So let's get practical and talkabout some other steps here.

(08:17):
So here are some small things.
But really impactful that youcan start doing right away.
So the first thing you can do isadd more fiber.
Think about just one extrathing.
If you could add one moreserving of vegetables to your
lunch or dinner than you didyesterday, or then that's normal
for you, you're going to getsome good fiber to help build a

(08:38):
healthy gut.
Including some probiotics.
You could swap out a sugarysnack maybe for something like
yogurt or kefir.
Again, kimchi sauerkraut.
You could put in, um, somethingelse that you're having with
your meals.
Good quality of all thesethings.
So we don't want a lot of addedsugars.
I like a plain Greek yogurt noartificial sweeteners, very

(08:59):
little sugar if it has any atall.
Any and all added sugars.
The key is we don't want addedsugars then number three, cut
back on just sugar processedfoods.
They feed the bad bugs, theyfeed the bad bacteria, they make
cravings worse, anxiety worse,hot flashes worse.
So getting rid of those.

(09:20):
Maybe a little at a time, butjust starting to make a shift to
cut back on these foods in yourdiet.
Number four, staying hydrated,getting a lot of water
throughout the day to keep thatdigestion moving.
We want our bowels to moveregularly throughout the day.
Water is needed for that.
Number five, move your bodyevery day.
Even a brisk 20 minute walk canreally help your microbiome help

(09:43):
just get everything movingaround the way that it's
supposed to.
Helps reduce constipation, givesyou energy, also helps hot
flashes, also.
So many reasons to move yourbody, manage stress, yoga,
meditation, even thinking aboutevery time you sit down to a
meal, if you can just take somedeep breaths.
Three to five deep breathsbefore you begin eating.

(10:06):
That can really help to calmyour gut, calm your hormones, so
it really can make a bigdifference.
The key here is consistency.
We are not aiming for perfectionthat is not achievable.
We just want consistently tostart making some shifts that's
going to help fuel your gut.
So the most surprising changessometimes, like fewer hot

(10:27):
flashes or clearer thinking comenot just from hormone therapy.
I mean, there's a time and placefor that.
But really it can also come fromgiving your gut the care that it
needs.
So today's big takeaway, yourgut and your brain are always
talking to each other.
In menopause, when estrogen isshifting, your gut health could

(10:48):
be the missing link to easinganxiety, calming brain fog,
improving sleep, and makingweight loss possible again.
So.
What is one gut friendly shiftthat you can commit to this
week?
Maybe it's a fiber richbreakfast, adding probiotics, or
just taking a walk after dinner.
If this episode resonated withyou, I'd love for you to share

(11:08):
with a friend who's alsonavigating menopause, and don't
forget to subscribe to mymenopause podcast so you never
miss an episode.
Together we can make menopause atime that can be joyful, a time
of strength, clarity, and joy.
So thanks for listening.
Have a great day.