Okay—are you ready for the first episode of the new season of On Becoming?? This season, we’re diving into something deeply personal, often misunderstood, and wildly powerful: creativity for women in midlife.
The theme is inspired by my own observations and the testimonies of so many of the women I work with. That there’s a restless, narrative tension in this chapter of life. A deep, almost primal hunger to make, to express, to reinvent… right alongside a host of strange new physical symptoms like brain fog, a shorter emotional fuse, night sweats, anxious insomnia, and a creeping sense that you’re just not as with it as you used to be.
You find yourself wondering: What the heck is going on inside of me? What do I need to express, and why is it so hard to get it out of me?
Add to that internal nagging the cultural messaging that a woman’s midlife brain is on the decline, and you’ve got a powerful recipe for doubt, confusion, and disconnection from your own power.
So… I wanted to start this season with something grounding. Not just inspiration, but some scientific “under the hood” truth about how our brains evolve as we do.
To help us, I’m joined by Dr. Sarah McKay, the neuroscientist, author, speaker, and unapologetic brain nerd who has spent the last decade unpacking the wildly misunderstood world of women’s brain health.
About Dr. Sarah McKay:
Dr. McKay is an Oxford-educated neuroscientist and the director of Think Brain’s suite of professional training programs in applied neuroscience. She lives on Sydney’s Northern Beaches, where she writes, teaches, swims in the ocean year-round, and translates cutting-edge brain science into practical tools for clinicians, coaches, and health professionals around the world.
Her books include:The Women’s Brain Book (2018) with a second edition due September 2025; Baby Brain (2023), on how pregnancy and motherhood rewire the brain for the better; and the brand new Brain Health For Dummies (2025). In 2015, she also gave a TEDx talk on the power of naps (a woman after my own heart)
In her 2015 TedX talk “Indulge Your Neurobiology,” Dr. McKay reveals the brain hack that boosts memory, sparks creativity, and calms your emotions: the afternoon nap!
Sarah’s journey into women’s brains actually began with a blog post that went viral. After becoming a mother, she noticed how often women casually referenced “baby brain” as a kind of cognitive curse. But instead of brushing it off, she got curious. Was it real? What was really happening in a woman’s brain during and after pregnancy? That curiosity ignited a decade-long exploration that’s reshaped how we understand identity, resilience, and the female brain across the entire lifespan.
When Sarah first started writing and researching about menopause and the brain, it was a super niche topic, barely on the radar of mainstream science or media. But now? It’s exploded. From social media to scientific journals, the cognitive and neurological dimensions of menopause are finally getting the spotlight they deserve, and Sarah was one of the first to put them there.
In this conversation, we talk about what really happens to the brain during hormonal shifts like pregnancy, motherhood, and menopause—not the myths, but the messy, science-backed reality. We dive into “matrescence” as a neurological rite of passage, how social connection fuels cognitive growth, and why sleep might just be your brain’s creative secret weapon.
Here’s what we cover in this episode:
• Why midlife isn’t a crisis—it’s a creative recalibration
• The shocking truth about hormones (they’re not always the bad guys!)
• What neuroscience says about matrescence—the brain’s massive shift during motherhood
• The real reason sleep is your brain’s creative superpower
• Why social connection—not supplements—may be your best mental health strategy
• And how purpose and play keep the brain agile, alive, and deeply fulfilled
Whether you’re feeling foggy, fired up, or somewhere in between, this episode will reframe how you see your midlife mind. Not as a site of decline, but as fertile ground for reinvention, meaning, and creative energy.
Enjoy!
xxx
Zeva
PS. You can find the episode above or on Apple, Spotify, Deezer or on your favorite podcast player.
PPS. What part of this episode lit something up in you? Leave a comment or drop me a note.
💫 💫 Curious about your own midlife reinvention? Book a free discovery call with me and let’s explore.
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