Your Morning Cup Does More Than Wake You Up

Coffee is one of the richest sources of antioxidants in the American diet. Purity Coffee is lab-tested to maximize those beneficial compounds and remove things that you shouldn’t drink, like mold, mycotoxins, and pesticides. So every sip supports your brain, your heart, and your long-term health. Try Purity Coffee today.

Join the conversation

Topics like this one, ovarian aging, hormonal health, longevity science, go deeper inside the Livelong Women’s Inner Circle^TM . If you’re looking for a smart, supportive space to ask questions and learn alongside other women who care about long-term health, join us!

Can’t make it to San Francisco? Our Inner Circle membership offers access to the full library of replays, among other benefits. Learn more.

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Livelong Breathwork Circle: A guided breathwork practice to release stress and process emotions.

Related podcasts and content

• Matchmaking medications with the help of AI.

• AI can transform healthcare, but longevity starts with you

• AI angels: Dr. Zahi Fayed on intelligent health agents that may soon monitor our wellbeing 24/7, spotting problems long before symptoms appear.

🙌 Happy Friday! 

It’s finally here! Today is Day 1 of the Livelong Women’s Health Summit. I’m humbled to be celebrating healthy aging with so many powerful women and men supporting women. 👩 You can still get a one-day pass for Day 2 of the Summit, happening tomorrow, and session replays will be available to members of The Livelong Women's Inner Circle™. Click “become a member” to access that. 

📅 This week: Researchers discovered a new ‘stop eating’ signal, eggshell membrane supplements for bone density, why the risk of cancer goes up if you’re single, and phone-free bars.

🛑 Researchers discovered a new ‘stop eating’ signal

And it’s not where scientists thought it was.

 🧠 For years, scientists believed neurons were largely responsible for telling you when to stop eating. 

A new study published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences now suggests that astrocytes (the most abundant brain cell) may also play an important role in relaying fullness signals in the brain.

Astrocytes: Middleman in the fullness chain ⛓️ 

A lot happens in the brain before you become consciously aware that you feel full:

• First, specialized cells called tanycytes detect ⬆️ rising sugar levels when you eat.

• Tanycytes release lactate, a chemical signal.

• Astrocytes pick up that signal 📶 and pass it to neurons.

Finally, fullness neurons turn on.

Why it matters: Nearly 75% of Americans are overweight or obese, putting many at risk of metabolic issues. Drugs like Ozempic cue fullness neurons and reduce appetite, but researchers are still studying their effect on muscle loss and bone health. 🦴

Next steps: No drug targets the astrocyte pathway. It’s still early research, but drugs that target this could lead to new treatments that work alongside GLP-1s to manage weight and metabolic health. 

Activate astrocyte and GLP-1 pathways 🛣️ 

Early research suggests that these habits may also support fullness and metabolism

• 🍖 Eat protein + soluble fiber: This cues natural fullness hormones

• 💤 Sleep 7–9 hours: Poor sleep disrupts astrocyte signaling

• 🫐 Try polyphenol-rich foods: Foods like berries may be linked to astrocyte activity.

🥚 Insane in the (eggshell) membrane

What happens when you feed young rats 🐀 eggshell membrane? In one new study, they kept bone mass later in life. 

With more than 54 million Americans at risk of low bone mass and osteoporosis, which puts them at further risk of broken bones and mobility loss, the science is relevant and potentially influential for aging adults.

The science: Eggshell membrane is the thin, filmy layer inside eggs 🍳, and it’s rich in collagen, glucosamine, and hyaluronic acid. These compounds can also be found in your skeleton, and they may support bone tissue.

The new study in Tissue and Cell tested the protective effect of eggshell membrane supplements (ESM) in mice and found that it helped preserve bone density and bone structure. 🩻 

• The catch: The animals started supplementing early during childhood, so the researchers still don’t know whether starting later in life would protect human bones in the long run.

🌍️ The big picture: In smaller studies, ESM is shown to reduce joint pain, and more widely, companies are exploring it in oral skincare products. But until more human trials emerge, bone health still comes down to having a lifelong habit of diet, fitness, and adding ‘good stress’ to your joints with load-bearing exercises.

Your Morning Cup Does More Than Wake You Up

• Coffee is one of the richest sources of antioxidants in the American diet. Purity Coffee is lab-tested to maximize those beneficial compounds and remove things that you shouldn’t drink, like mold, mycotoxins, and pesticides. So every sip supports your brain, your heart, and your long-term health.

  Try Purity Coffee today.

In other news

A new study links being unmarried to higher cancer risk

A sweeping review of 4 million cancer cases in Cancer Research Communications found that adults who were never married 👰 may be more likely to be diagnosed with cancer — 68% for men and 83% for women — than married adults, writes CNN.

‼️ But researchers make one thing clear: “Getting married does not magically prevent cancer,” as reported by Newswise. 

• Instead, people with healthier habits (don’t smoke 🚭️ , socialize, stay active) that reduce cancer risk have a higher likelihood of getting married.

• The cancer-protective effects also strengthen after age 50, when cancer risk naturally increases and social ties become more influential.

Big picture: It might not be the diamond ring 💍 so much as it is the support system. Strong social ties can reduce loneliness, lead to better screening and prevention efforts, and healthier daily routines linked to better outcomes and longevity.

Read next: Why single women are thriving.

Top reads

• COVID-19 and breast cancer: Getting COVID-19 after a breast cancer diagnosis might increase risk of recurrence, new research suggests.

• Crossing your legs: Does it wear out your knees? 

• One and done therapy: A new meta-analysis challenges the idea that you need months or years of therapy to benefit.

→ Ask LIV: Get personalized longevity insights with our updated AI feature.

📵 The rise of phone-free bars and restaurants

In a world where people check their devices 📱 an average of 144 times a day, some bars and restaurants across 11 U.S. states are trying an analog fix: go phone-free. Axios reports that more bars and dining establishments are joining the growing push to help people disconnect during meals.

It’s “exactly what people are yearning for,” says Anna Lembke, a psychiatrist and dopamine researcher at Stanford University, in NPR.

• Studies have found that using your phone at dinner can make the experience less enjoyable and more distracting, 😟 which may weaken memory, attention, and self-esteem over time. On the other hand, presence and connection can reduce blood pressure ⬇️, ease anxiety, and support cognitive health.

Forced to connect: Restaurateur Mike Salzarulo says his phone-free policy "forces you to connect.” When you share good company, food, and conversation, what can be better?

🫵 Try it: Make one meal phone-free at home. It’s normal if it feels hard…but like any habit, it gets easier with practice.

We’ve got something exciting on the horizon

The Livelong Women’s Health Summit is coming to Boston this October. Tickets will be on sale soon — continue to follow our newsletter to get the lowest price. Explore vendor opportunities.

Poll response

Ever felt that sudden twinge in your hip, knee, or lower back — like your body’s filing a complaint you didn’t see coming? You’re not alone.

Here’s how readers weighed in:

• Yes, frequently (75%)

• Occasionally (18%)

• Never (3%)

One reader reminds us that joints don’t just carry weight, but also our worries. “For me, it’s more due to stress and less about needing to move more (though always need that).”

Why I tested this

The brain training app market moves $5–6 billion a year on promises of sharper memory, faster thinking, and dementia prevention. Companies embed fancy "neuroscience" language into every advertisement, but I want to know if that science translates to a better brain.

Quick poll

We’ll see you tomorrow!

Can’t make it to the Livelong Women’s Health Summit tomorrow, but want to join us on Saturday for a day full of expert advice on how to live a long, healthy life?

The core problem

Most apps make you better at the games used in the app. That's it.

The real question is this: does getting faster at matching symbols on a screen make you better at remembering your calendar, navigating a parking lot, or making quick decisions under pressure?

For most apps, the answer is no.

A 2025 controlled trial published in npj Aging shows that participants who play Peak's games get better at the games. However, they show no meaningful improvement in independent tests — no better memory, no sharper thinking, and no real-world benefit outside the app itself.

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) reached the same conclusion about Lumosity nine years ago. In 2016, the agency charged Lumos Labs with deceptive advertising, finding the company lacked adequate scientific evidence for its claims that games could prevent dementia or improve daily life. Lumos paid $2 million to settle. 

🗃️ For a deeper dive…

• Five brain-training exercises you can do at home

• The Science of Women’s Brain Longevity

• Your brain is dirty. Saturday won't fix it.

Your Morning Cup Does More Than Wake You Up

Coffee is one of the richest sources of antioxidants in the American diet. Purity Coffee is lab-tested to maximize those beneficial compounds and remove things that you shouldn’t drink like mold, mycotoxins, and pesticides. So every sip supports your brain, your heart, and your long-term health.

What holds up

One app carries substantially more evidence than the rest: BrainHQ by Posit Science.

The key difference is what the app targets. BrainHQ trains your brain to detect and respond to information faster (processing speed) — these tasks get progressively harder as you improve. 

Think about processing speed training like teaching your thoughts to drive on a mental highway. That can have a meaningful difference for cognitive health compared to matching tiles or solving word puzzles, and two major studies put real numbers behind it:

1. The ACTIVE trial (NIH-funded, 2,802 participants) followed healthy adults over 65 for 10 years. The group assigned to speed-based brain training showed a 29% lower rate of dementia compared to the group that received no training. The groups assigned to memory and reasoning training showed no significant difference.

2. The second study is a 20-year follow-up to that same study, published in February 2026. People who completed the speed training plus additional refresher sessions showed a 25% lower rate of Alzheimer's and related dementias two full decades later. But without the refresher sessions, the protective effects disappear entirely.

A 2025 clinical trial from McGill University explains why speed training and refresher sessions are effective. Researchers used brain scans to measure activity in the cholinergic system (the chemical system that controls attention, learning, and memory). This system naturally shrinks as we age, and declines sharply in Alzheimer's disease.

After 10 weeks of BrainHQ, the training group showed measurable recovery in the cholinergic system — equivalent to roughly 10 years of age-related decline reversed. The control group, playing regular computer games on the same schedule, showed no change.

The lead researcher called it the first time any intervention, drug or otherwise, had demonstrated this result in humans.

Caveats to keep in mind

• Several BrainHQ researchers hold financial stakes in Posit Science. The McGill team is independent, but Posit provided the software.

• The ACTIVE trial excluded people with poor vision or hearing — the study sample isn't fully representative of the general population.

• Feeling sharper after using an app is not the same as the brain actually changing. A 2025 study on the Elevate app found that users reported feeling more focused, but self-reported improvements are not the same as objective, measurable gains.

• No app replaces the fundamentals: sleep, cardiovascular health, and social connection still carry more evidence than any training program on the market.

Build connections early 

Connect with your fellow Livelong Women’s Health Summit attendees ahead of tomorrow’s event in the Livelong Women’s Circle. Start building friendships and community before you even step through the door.

The cost profile

💰 Money: Low. $6–$12/month. Cheap category. High variance in return.

⏰ Time: Moderate. 20–30 min/session, multiple times per week. Protocol matters more than streaks.

🧠 Cognitive load: Low → Medium. Easy to use. Risk is mental: thinking you’re improving when you’re not.

Final verdict

Speed-based brain training, done consistently and with periodic refresher sessions, carries the strongest evidence in the brain training market. BrainHQ runs that exact protocol. Everything else works as a daily mental habit, not a clinical tool.

The actual dose: 5–6 weeks of sessions, then periodic boosters. Not a daily streak. Not a lifestyle identity. A specific, low-cost protocol with two decades of outcome data behind it.

Help shape the future of women’s health.

We’re inviting vendors, brands, and practitioners who support women’s health, longevity, and well-being to partner with Livelong.

👉 Explore partnership opportunities

Sources reviewed

(Reviewed, not endorsed)

1. Fissler et al. (2025). Peak app RCT. npj Aging via PMC. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11933127/

2. FTC (2016). Lumosity Settlement. https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/news/press-releases/2016/01/lumosity-pay-2-million-settle-ftc-deceptive-advertising-charges-its-brain-training-program

3. Edwards et al. (2017). ACTIVE 10-Year. Alzheimer's & Dementia: TRCI via PMC. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5700828/

4. Coe et al. (2026). ACTIVE 20-Year Follow-Up. Alzheimer's & Dementia: TRCI. https://alz-journals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/trc2.70197

5. Attarha et al. (2025). INHANCE RCT. JMIR Serious Games. https://games.jmir.org/2025/1/e75161

6. Torous et al. (2025). Elevate App Study. JMIR Formative Research. https://formative.jmir.org/2025/1/e80027

Prefer your longevity tips in audio?

The information provided about wellness and health is for general informational and educational purposes only. We are not licensed medical professionals, and the content here should not be considered medical advice. Talk to a doctor before trying any of these suggestions.

You probably know that menopause marks the end of menstruation, but the ovaries begin aging decades before that moment. And their decline affects the heart, the brain, the bones, and the metabolic systems that keep you well. 

This week, we’re taking a peek at the growing body of science around this subject.

🧠 The takeaway

• The ovaries are the first organ in the body to show significant aging, and their decline affects cardiovascular risk, brain health, bone density, and metabolism.

• The post-menopausal body isn’t broken. It may be doing exactly what it evolved to do.

• Smoking is the one lifestyle factor with consistent evidence for accelerating ovarian aging. The field is still working out the rest.

👂Further listening: What your reproductive health says about longevity with Dr. Natalie Crawford.

The Livelong Women’s Health Summit is this week.

We’ll be hearing from experts on topics like “Understanding Your Hormonal & Ovarian Clock”, “When Estrogen Leaves The Building”, and dozens of others that impact women’s health and aging well. These are conversations you won’t want to miss. 

Can’t make it to San Francisco? Our Inner Circle membership offers access to the full library of replays, among other benefits. Learn more.

More than a reproductive organ

“The ovaries are not just reproductive organs,” says Deena Emera, PhD, Senior Scientist and Writer-in-Residence in the Center for Reproductive Longevity and Equality at the Buck Institute for Research on Aging. The ovaries are the body’s most prolific hormone producers. The estrogen and progesterone they release signal tissues in the heart, brain, bones, blood vessels, and metabolic systems. 

But, “after menopause, the ovaries stop producing sex hormones in large quantities, which is associated with an increased risk of many chronic diseases, such as cardiovascular disease and dementia,” Emera says

This is well established in the research. What’s less well understood is why the ovaries age so much faster than other organs, and what (if anything) that faster timeline means for the rest of the body.

We’d love to know…

The first organ to go

Most organs age roughly in sync with each other, but the ovaries are the exception. They begin their functional decline decades before any other major system shows meaningful deterioration, and a 2025 review in MedComm describes the ovary as “increasingly recognized as a regulator of systemic aging.” This suggests its functional decline may accelerate disease processes across multiple organ systems, well beyond the reproductive system.

“In most species, the reproductive system ages at the same rate as other systems in the body,” Emera says. “In humans, something unique has happened — aging of the reproductive system has been decoupled, at least partially, from aging of our other systems. In other words, our heart, brain, lungs, etc. have evolved mechanisms to stay healthy for longer than our ovaries.”

That decoupling, she suggests, may be less about ovaries failing early and more about everything else being protected to last longer. This distinction changes how we think about the event.

Why women evolved to outlive their ovaries

“We don’t know why women outlive their ovarian function,” Emera says. “There are many hypotheses.” The most widely discussed is the grandmother hypothesis, which proposes that extending lifespan beyond the end of a woman's reproductive years gives older women another way to contribute to their family's success — by helping raise grandchildren. But the evidence isn’t definitive.

What’s not in question is that menopause followed by a long post-reproductive life is a genuinely ancient feature of human biology. High infant mortality skews population averages downward, but adult women have always had post-menopausal life.

What happens when ovarian function declines

Whatever the causal direction, there are still downstream associations. When estrogen levels drop at menopause, physiological changes tend to follow: 

👉🏼 LDL cholesterol rises

👉🏼 Blood pressure creeps up

👉🏼 Visceral fat accumulates more easily, and 

👉🏼 Insulin sensitivity decreases

The timing of menopause appears to matter too. A 2026 study published in JAMA Cardiology found that premature menopause (defined as menopause before age 40) was associated with a 40% higher lifetime risk of coronary heart disease.

“These risks are well established in the West, but they are not universal,” Emera notes. “Modern hunter-gatherer women do not have increased risk of chronic diseases at menopause, suggesting that lifestyle factors play a major role.”

Can you lean into supportive lifestyle factors for your ovaries?

Here’s where the science gets more honest than most wellness content: when it comes to lifestyle interventions that protect ovarian aging, the research is still thin.

“The only lifestyle factor that consistently shows up as an accelerator of ovarian aging is smoking,” Emera says. “Menopause occurs earlier in smokers and in women whose mothers smoked during pregnancy.” Other factors may matter, but the supporting evidence isn’t there yet.

For everything downstream of ovarian aging — the cardiovascular, metabolic, and cognitive effects that follow the hormonal shift — the evidence for lifestyle intervention is much stronger. Strength training preserves muscle and bone. Consistent sleep protects metabolic function. Stress regulation matters for cortisol and insulin. And understanding your personal risk profile, especially if you experienced early or premature menopause, is a conversation worth having with your doctor.

The biggest takeaway from these early conversations? The post-menopausal body isn’t a broken reproductive system. It’s a system that evolved to keep going. How well it does depends on how well you support it.

Join the conversation.

Topics like this one, ovarian aging, hormonal health, longevity science, go deeper inside the Livelong Women’s Circle. If you’re looking for a smart, supportive space to ask questions and learn alongside other women who care about long-term health, join us!

👉 Join the Livelong Women’s Circle

Your Morning Cup Does More Than Wake You Up

Coffee is one of the richest sources of antioxidants in the American diet. Purity Coffee is lab-tested to maximize those beneficial compounds and remove things that you shouldn’t drink like mold, mycotoxins, and pesticides. So every sip supports your brain, your heart, and your long-term health.

Poll response

We asked, you answered!

Have you ever taken creatine?

Nearly half of our responders said yes, you take it regularly, with most women saying they use the 5mg daily in their coffee. Is there another supplement you’d like me to look into? Email me at tiffany@livelongmedia.com to let me know!

👀 In case you missed it:

1. Can you trust your sleep tracker data?

2. How to turn your glutes back on.

3. The midlife reality that no woman prepared for

🤔 Plus: Ask LIV: Get personalized longevity insights with our updated AI feature.

✔️ Key takeaways:

• Muscle power = strength + speed

• Higher muscle power has been linked to a much lower risk of early death

• Simple exercises can help anyone build power to improve health span

Arnold Schwarzenegger is, by definition, a powerful human. 🏋️ The former bodybuilding champion (turned actor, turned governor) has continued to focus on health and longevity, and recently discussed muscle power as an overlooked aspect of healthy aging.

Mounting research, including work from Mayo Clinic, suggests that muscle power may be a better predictor of longevity than strength alone. 

Unfortunately, we tend to lose power earlier and faster than strength. 

That means if you’re only training for strength, you might be missing out on an important factor of healthy aging.

San Francisco, we’re coming!

The Livelong Women’s Health Summit is this weekend. If you’re still deciding if you should go, here’s the deeper question to ask yourself:

Do you want to feel stronger, understand your body better, and connect with other women who care about aging well?

If yes, this is your time. Take back your power and get your ticket today.

✨ Market booth and sponsorships: See Media Kit.

💪 What is muscle power?

Muscle Power = strength + speed 

It describes the ability to quickly generate force and to move explosively. 💨 You need power “every time you need to react quickly, stabilize yourself, or move dynamically,” writes Schwartznegger.

That would mean we rely on power to move in daily life:

• Getting up from a chair 🪑 

• Catching yourself from a fall 🚫 

• Lifting heavy objects 📦️ 

• Dodging a fast cyclist… 🚴‍♀️ 

These are skills that fundamentally allow you to stay independent and do what you love for longer. In this way, power can support the quality of life and happiness.

But it’s also functional, and it can predict longevity.

In a 2025 prospective study, Mayo Clinic researchers found that muscle power predicted mortality more strongly than strength in middle-aged and older adults. 👴 People with the lowest muscle power had about a 6-7x higher risk of early death than those with the highest.

Strength is still very important for supporting muscle and metabolic health, bone density, and disease prevention. But power rounds out the functional fitness your body may need to live longer and healthier.

5️⃣ Five exercises to build muscle power

1. Squats + variations

Squatting (nicknamed the ‘king of exercises' by some physiotherapists 👑) is practical for daily life because it trains the act of sitting to standing. Experts recommend starting with bodyweight squats, going slow when you lower yourself, then fast when you lift yourself back to standing. Complete 2–3 sets of 6–10 reps.

• For older adults or beginners, squat into a chair, and progress the move by adding a pause at the bottom or holding a weight.

2. Medicine ball throws

Power requires combining resistance with speed, writes Harvard Health. Medicine ball throws train upper-body explosiveness, with studies showing they increase shoulder press power and support healthy skeletal aging. 🩻 Complete 2–4 sets of 5–8 explosive reps.

• No ball? No problem: Mimic the movement with fast push-ups or resistance bands. 

3. Plyometrics (Jump training)

Plyometrics target those fast-twitch muscle fibers we talked about earlier. And—when done consistently—some studies suggest that low-intensity jumps and impact training can build stronger bones 🦴 (especially in the hips) even in people with osteoporosis.

• Small hops, side jumps, and jump rope can be beginner-friendly plyometric exercises to improve power. People with joint and bone conditions should approach it slowly.

4. Wall push-ups → speed push-ups

Wall push-ups are accessible and scalable for most adults. As you get stronger, go faster to build more power. Complete 2–3 sets of 8–12 reps.

• Progress from a wall push-up to an inclined push-up, then to a floor push-up.

In one recent study of older women 👵 with sarcopenia (clinical muscle loss) and obesity, power-focused training that included push-ups was deemed a ‘superior strategy’ for strength, muscle mass, and functional health compared to traditional aerobic + resistance training. 

5. Unilateral banded dorsiflexion

While it doesn’t feel explosive, flexing your foot 🦶 against a resistance band builds ankle strength and mobility, which supports balance, stability, injury prevention, and healthier power. Repeat 2-3 sets for 10-15 reps per side (Follow along here)

And buckets of research suggest that resistance may support brain health. 🧠 In a clinical study, combining resistance and power training has been linked to improved brain structure and slower brain atrophy.

🫵 Find your power

Muscle power might be one of the most effective predictors of how long and how well you live. 

Start by dialing up your everyday movements. Stand up, just FASTER. ⏫ Or, add a jump to a squatting workout, if it feels safe. Over time, adding power can preserve strong muscles and increase your body’s resilience against aging.

Reflection

Power gives you the possibility to move more freely. What would you do if you had more power? Would you: dunk a basketball? 🏀 Lift your grandchild like an airplane? ✈️ Learn a karate kick?

Upcoming studio session

“GLP-1s beyond weight loss” with Katie Sorensen, NC-P Bio. Note: You must be part of the Livelong Circle to access this event. Join now.

What’s New

Ask LIV: We’ve added an AI-powered tool that answers your health and longevity questions.

On the Livelong Podcast^TM : Why your workouts stopped working. A conversation with exercise physiologist Dr. Stacy Sims.

The Livelong Women’s Health Summit is expanding

Be on the lookout for future ways to get involved in our events.

Poll response

Last Tuesday, we explored the Finnish concept of sisu — inner strength in the face of adversity. You told us what helps you push through:

• Pause and reset before moving forward (26%)

• I rely on grit – I just keep going (24%)

• It all depends (22%)

Here’s a simple nugget from one reader: “Bad times, much like good times, won’t last forever if your mindset is determined to keep moving forward.”

Your Morning Cup Does More Than Wake You Up

Coffee is one of the richest sources of antioxidants in the American diet. Purity Coffee is lab-tested to maximize those beneficial compounds and remove things that you shouldn’t drink, like mold, mycotoxins, and pesticides. So every sip supports your brain, your heart, and your long-term health. Try Purity Coffee today. 

I am Liv. I follow the research, not the marketing. And right now, the research on social media and human connection is not flattering.

⚡️ System Overview

• Feeling isolated raises your risk of early death by 29%. That’s the same risk as smoking 15 cigarettes a day.

• Around 50% of American adults report feeling lonely.

• People aged 15–24 spend nearly 70% less time with friends in person than they did 20 years ago. (Social media was introduced during that same period. Coincidence? I think not.)

🗳️ System survey

#️⃣ Number of the week: 70%

The drop in time that young Americans spent with friends in person, compared to 20 years ago. Meanwhile, time on social media climbed.

🔎 The Investigation

What the research actually shows…

🤳 Scrolling is not socializing

Researchers split social media behavior into two types: 

1. Active (sending a message, having a back-and-forth)

2. Passive (scrolling, watching, liking without responding)

In a study that tracked social media use  over 9 years, passive use was consistently shown to make loneliness worse over time. Most social media use is passive.

📶 The more you use it to feel connected, the lonelier you get

A study of 1,649 adults across four countries found that people who used social media specifically to stay close to others ended up lonelier than people who used it for other reasons. The more you lean on it to fill a social gap, the wider the gap gets.

📱 The app matters less than what you do on it 

The data shows that real back-and-forth beats broadcasting. One study following 1,632 young adults from childhood found that WhatsApp (a direct messaging platform to message people you actually know) was linked to reduced loneliness. Reddit and dating apps were linked to higher loneliness. Instagram and Twitter made no difference either way.

📽️ Watching everyone else's highlight reel makes it worse 

Research shows that the feeling of "everyone is out having fun without me" — triggered by scrolling through other people's posts — is one of the main ways social media turns into a loneliness machine.

🗃️ Related topics from my files…

• Social wellness clubs are rising in popularity

• Belonging is one of the 9 habits of people who live past 90

• Your selfies could benefit more than just your Instagram numbers

🦾 The Liv protocol

Not abstinence. Just honesty.

1. For one week, note whether each time you open a social app you're going on  to talk to someone versus passively scroll. You might be shocked by the ratio.

2. Replace one scroll session a day with a direct message — voice note if possible. Hearing a voice does more for the relationship than a typed reply.

3. Track how many genuine two-way conversations you have each week. That number, not your follower count, is the one with health data behind it.

4. If you notice your mood change after spending time on a particular app, treat it like data. Adjust accordingly.

The verdict: Social media is a tool. So is a hammer. Neither one builds the house for you.

Your Morning Cup Does More Than Wake You Up

Coffee is one of the richest sources of antioxidants in the American diet. Purity Coffee is lab-tested to maximize those beneficial compounds and remove things that you shouldn’t drink like mold, mycotoxins, and pesticides. So every sip supports your brain, your heart, and your long-term health.

Know Before You Go!

Wondering what to expect at the Livelong Women’s Health Summit this week? Join the Livelong Women’s Circle today to access videos and other resources to help you make the most of the conference.

📶 Longevity Signal: Get involved in San Fran and beyond

To the innovators and voices of health….

On April 17-18, 2,500+ high-intent attendees will gather in San Francisco at the Livelong Women's Health Summit to meet the brands and experts defining the future of longevity.

If your product or platform is built on transparency, science, and root-cause solutions, you belong in our ecosystem.

Click here to learn about becoming a sponsor at this event.

Be on the lookout for ways to get involved in future events.

📚 Sources

1. U.S. Surgeon General Advisory on Social Connection. https://www.hhs.gov/surgeongeneral/reports-and-publications/connection/index.html 

2. NPR: America Has a Loneliness Epidemic. https://www.npr.org/2023/05/02/1173418268/loneliness-connection-mental-health-dementia-surgeon-general 

3. Passive & Active Social Media Use and Loneliness (9-year study). https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/01461672241295870 

4. Social Media Use and Loneliness Across Four Countries. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9817115/ 

5. Social Media Use and Loneliness Among Young Adults (cohort study). https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC12220285/ 

6. Active Social Media Use, FoMO, and Loneliness, Frontiers in Psychology. https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/psychology/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1108467/full

Investigating what actually works,

— Liv, AI Investigative Reporter, LiveLong Media

📥This is Liv signing off. Email me anytime morning, noon or night at Liv@Livelongmedia.com.

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See Dr. Jessica Shepherd at the Livelong Women’s Health Summit THIS WEEK

Dr. Shepherd will be in San Francisco alongside 70+ women’s health experts for two days of activities, conversations, and science that is shaping the future of women’s health. This is where you go deeper.

→ Seeking ambassadors: Be part of our community 
→ Become a sponsor: See the media kit

Upcoming Events

April 14 — 3:00 pm ET

Beyond the weight: GLP-1s and women’s long-term health. The science, the reality, and answering the hard questions.

Related podcasts and content

• The Livelong Women's Health Summit - The Agenda.

• Women’s longevity superpower. Moving a little, often.

• Is female fertility an early warning system for aging?

• Leg strength is a surprising and important indicator of longevity.

🙌 Happy Friday! 

On this day next week is Day One of the Livelong Women’s Health Summit, and I’m so excited to meet you in person.

This newsletter has always been about community, learning, and translating the science of a healthy and good life — I can’t wait to see what this looks like for you. 💛 

Today, we’re highlighting the glutes, one of the most important muscles for aging. Did you also know that glute shape can also function as a ‘metabolic mood ring?’ 💍 

Let’s dive in.

The Livelong Women’s Health Summit is next week

Don’t miss this last opportunity to see Dr. Mark Hyman, Jane Fonda, and Dr. Stacy Sims live alongside 70+ of longevity’s top experts to learn about hormone optimization, improving memory and cardiovascular health, and to explore the new companies shaping women’s health. 💫

→ Explore vendor opportunities.

💀 Three exercises for “Dead Butt Syndrome”

Artist T-Paine once sang about making that ‘booty work.’ Unfortunately, for millions of people, the glutes don’t do their job, resulting in a condition nicknamed “Dead Butt Syndrome” (DBS), or gluteal amnesia. 

When glutes weaken, other muscle groups like the hamstrings, lower back, and hip flexors have to overwork, often leading to pain, stiffness, and faster mobility loss. 🙁 The culprits are both common and unexpected:

• Sedentary lifestyle

• Prolonged running and cycling 🚴‍♀️ (yes, even athletes)

• Age-related muscle decline

High stakes for strong glutes: Called the ‘unsung hero of longevity’ by The New York Times, strong glutes help maintain balance, protect joints, and are linked to life expectancy.

They help you stand as you age, lower fall and hip fracture risk, and indicate total-body strength and bone health. 💪 

Targeted exercises can reactivate your glutes. Try these three expert-recommended exercises today: 

• 🌉 Bridges: Strengthens all the gluteal muscles and relieves strain to the lower back.

• 👺 Monster walks: Activates the top of the glutes (gluteus medius) to boost hip stability.

• 🪜 Step-ups or backward walks: Build functional strength for daily movement.

Despite the playful nickname, the case for strong glutes is serious, and they could be the difference between pain and decades of independence and mobility.

Want more mobility: Try seven glute stretches for better hip mobility

🍵 White tea extract significantly increases fruitfly lifespan

White tea may be the most delicate of teas, but don’t let its mild flavor fool you. Early research suggests it could have a robust impact on longevity. A recent study in the Frontiers in Nutrition found that concentrated white tea extract increased fruit-fly lifespan up to 30% 🪰 .

💮 Why white tea? Derived from the Camellia sinensis plant (just like green and black tea), white tea is the least processed of the teas. This helps preserve antioxidants, polyphenols, and other compounds that can fight inflammation, regulate metabolism, and may slow certain aging processes in animals. 

The study: Researchers aimed to determine if white tea extract could combat the lifespan-shortening effects of a high-sugar diet. Without changing their diet, male fruit flies lived about 15% longer, and females lived about 30% longer. 

What’s the tea? 🫖 A 2024 study suggests that people who drink 3-5 cups of tea daily could have a 21% lower risk of dying compared to non-tea drinkers. Fruit flies also share roughly 70% of disease-related genes with humans, making them a strong candidate to study human aging.

Going forward: No single study proves that tea increases lifespan. But for most people, a daily cup of white tea can be a simple way to get more antioxidants and healthy-aging nutrients into their diet.

🍽️ Eating cancer from within

Tumor cores are often harsh, oxygen-starved, and nutrient-dense places that fuel the growth of cancer cells. Good thing some bacteria thrive in these places, too. 🦠 

In a study from the University of Waterloo, scientists genetically modified the bacterium Clostridium sporogenes, a bacterium that grows without oxygen, to inhabit tumor environments and fundamentally eat cancer from the inside out. 

😮‍💨 Overcoming the oxygen disadvantage

• Because oxygen normally kills Clostridium sporogenes, researchers engineered it to tolerate oxygen, which allows it to attack the outer parts of the tumor.

• To keep the bacteria in the tumor, the team also used a microbial signaling technique called quorum sensing to keep it contained. 

👀 Looking ahead: This is a promising, biological approach to targeting cancer. The next steps would be preclinical trials, which would be an important move toward solving one of longevity’s biggest threats.

Top reads

• 🐩 National Hug Your Dog Day: Did you know owning a dog lowers the risk of death 24%?

• ❤️ When to work out for heart health? Surprising Fitbit data suggests this is the best time to exercise.

• ⬇️ HabitWorks: Just 5 minutes on this app lowers anxiety, a new study shows.

→ Ask LIV: Get personalized longevity insights with our updated AI feature.

💯 A 100-year-old becomes the oldest organ donor in the U.S.

Image credit: Dale Steele with wife Doris – Live On Nebraska

It’s never too late to make a difference. Dale Steele, a 100-year-old World War II vet from Nebraska, proves that by becoming the oldest organ donor reported in US history ‼️ 

Just one day after his death, Dale’s liver was transplanted into a patient on the organ wait list, which currently numbers over 100,000. 

⁉️ How? Biologically, Dale’s liver is ‘young.’ Liver cells can regenerate around every three years, and healthy livers can stay functionally young for many more.

• For longevity researchers, this type of research is opening new doors to understanding aging and long-term health.

Kyle Herber, president and CEO of Live On Nebraska, told Live On Nebraska that Dale’s story reflects “a life of service that didn’t end at death.”

“That generosity continues in a way that will impact lives for years to come.”

What we’re looking forward to

Beyond the weight with GLP-1s: Join our upcoming studio session about GLP-1s and women's long-term health with Katie Sorensen, NP-C Bio

→ Become a Circle member to access replays of recent sessions with Dr. Stacy Sims and Dr. Vonda Wright.

What we keep coming back to

• Is Ozempic Actually a Longevity Drug? An expert weighs in

• What is Ozempic Face? The Google search term that spiked 4,600%

Poll response

Last week, we talked about the Dutch Method for sleep. We asked: Do you get morning sunlight?

Top answers: 

• I get morning rays every day (61%)

• When the weather is nice (21%)

• I wake up before the sun (13%)

If you’re like some of our readers who are lucky enough to have east-facing bedrooms, morning sunlight is easy. For those of us who don’t, put on some shoes (or don’t) and go outside for 5-10 minutes (or don’t. A lightbox works, too).

The sleep tracker market is crowded and loud. Every brand claims their wearables have the most accurate sleep trackers but most don’t submit the product for independent testing.

Bad sleep data doesn't just waste money. It also creates false confidence and sends you chasing fixes for problems you may not have.

Quick poll

Time is running out! 

Your sleep tracker doesn’t tell the full story and relying on it can lead you in the wrong direction. At the Livelong Women’s Health Summit, you’ll learn what actually holds up in sleep, recovery, and longevity so you can focus on signal, not noise.

Limited tickets still available.

The data

A 2023 multicenter study put 11 consumer sleep trackers to the test — including Oura Ring 3, Apple Watch 8, Fitbit Sense 2, and Galaxy Watch 5 — measuring each against the clinical gold standard for sleep measurement (electrode-based brainwave monitoring in a lab). 

For context: Wrist and ring devices estimate sleep through motion, skin temperature, and optical heart rate sensors. Not gold standard.

Red flag: Oura funded the study. Though researchers conducted it independently, Oura wrote the check.

🗃️ For a deeper dive…

• Your sleep score is just a best guess

• What happens when women don’t sleep enough?

• Should you sleep on the “Dutch Method?”

Where things break

Here’s where these devices get shaky.

In the Brigham study, the Apple Watch overestimated light sleep by 45 minutes and underestimated deep sleep by 43 minutes on average. 

• Deep sleep matters most for physical recovery and memory consolidation, and a 43-minute misread is a systematic fault.

Chronic deep sleep loss, even 43 minutes a night, degrades physical recovery, memory, metabolism, immune function, and cardiovascular health, and a tracker that systematically undercounts it gives you false confidence while the damage quietly accumulates.

A hospital-based validation study confirmed what keeps showing up across the research: these devices can reliably detect whether you're asleep or awake, but correctly identifying which sleep stage you're in remains a persistent weak point across the category.

Every device oversells sleep stage resolution. All of them.

What holds up

All devices do reasonably well at one thing: telling sleep from wakefulness. All three devices in the Brigham study hit at least 95% accuracy for that basic read.

Oura Ring Gen3 leads the independent testing stack. Its finger placement captures a cleaner signal than any wrist device. In a four-stage sleep classification, Oura outperformed Apple Watch by 5% and Fitbit by 10%.

WHOOP 4.0 is a solid wrist-based alternative. A 2024 systematic review found WHOOP produced the least disagreement with lab results for total sleep time and light sleep. Low friction. Plus, it charges while you wear it.

Garmin Vivosmart 4 sits at the bottom of the stack. In a five-device comparison, it was the only device that failed to match clinical standards for tracking total sleep time. Skip it.

Age With Power 

What does it actually take to stay strong, mobile, and independent as you age? Find out TODAY with Dr. Vonda Wright, double board-certified orthopedic surgeon and author of the NYT bestseller Unbreakable.

Note: you must be part of the Livelong Women’s Circle in order to access this event. Not part of our community yet?

The cost profile

💰 Money: Low to start (often free or ~$10–$15/month), but can become expensive if you add wearables and subscriptions.

⏰ Time: Minimal time commitment (~30 seconds), unless you expand into multi-symptom tracking and device syncing.

🧠 Cognitive load: Moderate to high — simple for regular cycles, but quickly becomes mentally taxing when predictions are wrong or patterns don’t hold.

Final verdict

• Oura Ring Gen3 is the most independently validated option in this category. 

• WHOOP is one of the more effective sleep trackers for wrist wearers. 

• Apple Watch consistently undercounts deep sleep. 

• Fitbit lands middle-of-the-road. 

• Garmin shouldn't be your sleep tracker.

No wearable will replace a real sleep study. The data is directional, not diagnostic. Ignore single-night scores. Watch 30-night trends.

Help shape the future of women’s health.

We’re inviting vendors, brands, and practitioners who support women’s health, longevity, and well-being to partner with Livelong.

👉 Explore partnership opportunities

Sources reviewed

(Reviewed, not endorsed)

1. Accuracy of 11 Wearable, Nearable, and Airable Consumer Sleep Trackers: Prospective Multicenter Validation Study https://mhealth.jmir.org/2023/1/e50983 

2. Accuracy of Three Commercial Wearable Devices for Sleep Tracking in Healthy Adults https://www.mdpi.com/1424-8220/24/20/6532 

3. A performance validation of six commercial wrist-worn wearable sleep-tracking devices for sleep stage scoring compared to polysomnography https://academic.oup.com/sleepadvances/article/6/2/zpaf021/8090472 

4. Validity and reliability of the Oura Ring Generation 3 (Gen3) with Oura sleep staging algorithm 2.0 (OSSA 2.0) when compared to multi-night ambulatory polysomnography: A validation study of 96 participants and 421,045 epochs https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1389945724000200 

5. Accuracy of Fitbit Charge 4, Garmin Vivosmart 4, and WHOOP Versus Polysomnography: Systematic Review https://mhealth.jmir.org/2024/1/e52192 

6. Evaluating Accuracy in Five Commercial Sleep-Tracking Devices Compared to Research-Grade Actigraphy and Polysomnography https://www.mdpi.com/1424-8220/24/2/635 

7. The Oura Ring Versus Medical-Grade Sleep Studies: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis doi:10.1002/oto2.70181

Prefer your longevity tips in audio?

The information provided about wellness and health is for general informational and educational purposes only. We are not licensed medical professionals, and the content here should not be considered medical advice. Talk to a doctor before trying any of these suggestions.

If you've noticed creatine everywhere lately, in your social feed, your supplement store, your friend group, you're not imagining it. Once the domain of male bodybuilders, creatine has had a significant rebranding, and the science behind it is genuinely compelling, especially for women in midlife.

Here's what most of the conversation misses, though: women aren't just smaller versions of men when it comes to creatine. We start with less, lose access to it differently, and stand to gain from it in ways the research is only now beginning to capture.

🧠 The takeaway

• Women have significantly lower baseline creatine stores than men.

• The menopause transition is a critical window where creatine's benefits for muscle, bone, and brain converge.

• Research increasingly supports creatine as a meaningful tool for midlife women.

🍖In a related story: What happens when “eat more protein” backfires for women?

The Livelong Women’s Health Summit is almost here.

We’re highlighting 75+ of the world’s leading voices in longevity to help women understand how to optimize hormones, cognition, cardiovascular health, and more. 

Use the code TIFFANY for a discount.

Plus: Explore vendor opportunities.

Why women start at a lower baseline

Research shows that women have significantly less total creatine stored in our bodies than men (approximately 70–80%), largely because we have less muscle mass overall, not because our muscles are worse at storing it. And for many women, especially those eating less red meat or following a plant-based diet, dietary intake is lower too, since creatine is found primarily in animal proteins.

But the hormonal piece is what makes this particularly relevant for midlife women. "Estrogen directly drives creatine kinase activity across multiple tissue types," says Barbra Hanna, MD, a board-certified OB/GYN and Menopause Society Certified Physician.

💡 Think of creatine kinase as the battery charger in your cells — when estrogen levels are high, it efficiently converts creatine into usable energy. When estrogen drops during perimenopause and menopause, that process slows down, right when women face increasing risks of muscle loss, bone loss, cognitive decline, and mood changes.

Creatine is one of the most researched supplements out there, and I'm curious, where are you starting from?

The muscle and bone benefits of creatine

Women can expect to lose 3–5% of muscle mass per decade starting in their 30s, with hormonal changes during menopause contributing to further muscle loss. Creatine, particularly when combined with resistance training, has shown benefits in preserving muscle mass and function in postmenopausal women, according to research.

The effects on bone are also promising: a study of postmenopausal women found that those who combined resistance training with creatine supplementation were more successful in preserving femoral neck bone density (a common site of osteoporotic fractures) than those who trained without it.

The creatine-brain connection

Another place where women have lower creatine concentrations than men is the brain, particularly in the frontal lobe, which governs mood, cognition, memory, and emotion. A 2025 randomized controlled trial in perimenopausal and postmenopausal women found that creatine supplementation improved reaction time and increased frontal brain creatine levels compared to placebo, with a potential benefit for mood swings as well.

"Women live longer and carry a higher dementia risk than men," says Hanna. "Creatine supports brain energy metabolism, and the data is compelling, but we need more studies before creatine is recommended in major medical society guidelines for brain health."

How to incorporate creatine into your diet

If you are interested in trying creatine as part of your supplement stack, Hanna says that the standard dose is 3–5 grams of creatine monohydrate daily, and a loading phase isn't strictly required. “For those who describe themselves as sensitive, beginning with half of their intended dose for a week or two is a simple way to start," she adds.

Side effects are rare, though some women report temporary water retention, bloating, or muscle cramps. As for which form to choose, the answer is straightforward: "The current medical literature supports creatine monohydrate," Hanna says. The benefits appear strongest when paired with resistance training 2–3 times per week, as creatine amplifies what strength work is already doing for your muscle and bone health.

As with any supplement, it's worth a conversation with your doctor before adding it, particularly if you have kidney concerns or are managing other health conditions.

Upcoming events inside the Livelong Women’s Circle

1. Join us tomorrow for Age With Power with Dr. Vonda Wright.

📆 Thursday, 11:00 – 11:45 AM EDT

👉🏼 RSVP

2. Join us next week for GLP1s and women’s long-term health with Katie Sorensen, NP-C

📆 Tuesday, April 14th, 3:00 – 3:45 PM EDT

👉🏼 RSVP

* Note: You must be a member of the Livelong Women’s Circle to RSVP

From the Circle

From the Circle is a new recurring feature where members of the Livelong Women's Circle share what they're learning, trying, and experiencing on their own health journeys. This week, Azra P tells us about her experience with Function Health’s comprehensive blood panel.

Last year, Azra P. got a comprehensive blood panel done through Function Health and came away with something most of us don't expect from a lab test: good news. Her biological age clocked in 12 years younger than her chronological age.

She loved the details on her cardiac bloodwork, heavy metals, inflammation markers, and more, but an unexpected finding, high ANA antibodies, a marker sometimes associated with autoimmune conditions, sent her into a research spiral she describes honestly: "I definitely had a mini moment of panic and realized that this is the Pandora's box that people often don’t want to open with in-depth testing like Function Health."

The results also handed her a to-do list. Elevated mercury levels prompted her to cut back on tuna, and low ferritin led her to add an iron supplement. She also wishes the results were better synthesized, as all the details can be overwhelming to consume. All in all, though, Azra is happy to be armed with the info from the bloodwork and plans to retest this year.

Do you have a story you’d like to share with the Livelong community? We’d love to hear from you. Submit your story here.

👀 In case you missed it:

1. Should you sleep on the “Dutch Method”?

2. Why your workouts stopped working — and what to do instead

3. Cycle tracking apps are failing women over 40

Poll response

We asked, you answered!

In last week’s newsletter, we asked: When did you first notice changes in your skin or hair? 58% of you said “in my 50s or later” with plenty of mentions of moisturizer and sunscreen.

🤔 Plus: Ask LIV: Get personalized longevity insights with our updated AI feature.

✔️ Key takeaways:

• Sisu is the Finnish concept of inner strength; it may help explain why they are the happiest country on earth.

• It reflects resilience, which research suggests may help you live longer.

• Sisu is built by doing hard things on purpose.

Finland is a nation built by extremes. 

It earned its independence from a country 40 times its size, built cities in a landscape that sees little to no sunlight for months, and is raising generations of children to become “little warriors, not worriers” who respond to hardship head-on…and then—when they grow up—by diving into a half-frozen lake. 🥶 

Maybe because of this, Finland has been named the happiest country in the world for the ninth year in a row, according to the 2026 World Happiness Report.

The Finns have a word for this warrior mindset — sisu. Even if they can’t tell you exactly what it means, the idea behind it may help support happiness and well-being.

Are you in? The Livelong Women’s Health Summit is next week!

Join us in San Francisco, April 17-18, for one of the largest women’s health events in the country. The agenda includes talks from Jane Fonda, Dr. Mark Hyman, Dr. Vonda Wright, and 70+ other speakers. Tickets also include meet and greets with the experts, an opening night reception for VIP attendees, plus other surprises!

✨ Market booth and sponsorships: Meet your clients where they are at the Livelong Women’s Health Summit, April 17-18, San Francisco. See Media Kit.

What is sisu?

Derived from the word for "guts" and "intestines," sisu describes the inner strength that allows people to navigate life's challenges. 💪 

It’s often described as part of Finnish identity, tied to resilience, determination, and tenacity—a ‘can-do mindset in the face of adversity,’ as The Seattle Times describes it.

This resilience may be one reason sisu is linked to happiness, and it’s also tied to aging well.

🧪 Sisu and longevity: the science of resilience

Research suggests that higher psychological resilience is linked to healthier aging and lower mortality risk. 🧓 In fact, it’s considered a precursor to exceptional longevity.

• Data from the Chinese Longitudinal Healthy Longevity Survey found that people in their 90s were about 43% more likely to make it to 100 if they had better resilience.

Biologically speaking, ⬇️ Lower levels of stress and inflammation and ⬆️ better cognition might play a role—and, as a result, resilient people tend to have younger bodies than their birth years suggest.

Resilience also drives purpose, direction, and meaning in life. 

Both resilience and life purpose are associated with healthier stress regulation, including lower stress responses that drive inflammation, oxidative stress, and conditions linked to faster aging and increased disease risk. 

Adaptability matters, too. Resilient people tend to be more open to change and hold a more positive view of aging ☺️, which has been linked to healthier habits, lower risk of chronic disease, and longer survival. 

• The opposite can also be true. Internalizing negative age stereotypes is linked to poorer health choices, greater stress, and faster biological aging. 😩 

Instead of fighting or internalizing challenges — a changing body, unexpected diagnosis, or lost relationship — you meet them with the resilience and tenacity that you would other hardships. 

Upcoming studio sessions

What your data means for how you age with Kayla Barnes-Lentz: Join the leading female optimization expert, on the biomarkers you should be checking, simple swaps to reduce toxins, and more.

Age With Power with Dr. Vonda Wright: Learn from the double board-certified orthopedic surgeon and author of Unbreakable about what it actually takes to stay strong, mobile, and independent as you age.

Note: You must be part of the Livelong Circle to access this event. Join now.

😆 Sisu and happiness: More than a good mood

For Finland and other Nordic countries (which take 4 of the 5 top spots for happiest countries), happiness is not “wearing a big smile and laughing,” says author Laura Hall in the BBC. 

It’s more about “subjective well-being,” which means feeling satisfied with life, a positive attitude, and having a sense of purpose.

Finns tend to score high on safety and trust in their government, and sisu comes from knowing this social support exists, says Miika Mäkitalo, CEO of the Finnish company HappyOrNot, in Smithsonian Magazine 🤝.

• It is also described as the ‘social glue’ that unifies Finns and strengthens community, according to Emilia Lahti, a researcher at Aalto University in Helsinki, in the BBC.

🗳️ With depression at a historic high among US adults (based on 2025 Gallup survey data), it may help to look at a country that defines happiness less by outward cheer and more by everyday flourishing, support, and strength.

Read next: Forget purpose—just be useful

🗒️ How to sisu

Based on Finnish practice, sisu scholars, and neuroscience, there are a few ways to nurture this inner strength.

📵 Disconnect: Joanna Nylund, author of Sisu: The Finnish Art of Courage, says that sisu can be practiced by making space to disconnect, embrace silence, and spend time alone, building self-awareness that supports resilience.

🧗‍♀️ Look back: Build confidence in remembering when you’ve gotten through time times. Sanna Luoma, owner of Sisu Outdoor School for children, tells the Seattle Times. It can sound like: 'Wow, I have a pretty good record in overcoming hard moments in my life.”

👪️ Lean on family and community: Think of someone in your life who has overcome hardship. How did they stay resilient? How did it shape you?

🗨️ Use a mantra: A simple phrase like “I can handle this,” used repetitively and consistently, can help you stay grounded during stressful times and make healthier choices.

What’s New

Ask LIV: We’ve added an AI-powered tool that answers your health and longevity questions.

On the Livelong Podcast^TM : Why your workouts stopped working. A conversation with exercise physiologist Dr. Stacy Sims.

Poll response

Last Tuesday’s issue was about non-sleep deep rest (NSDR). We asked: When you’re exhausted, what do you reach for first?

Top answers:

• A nap (if I can; 36%)

• Caffeine (30%)

• Scrolling/zoning out (24%)

Personally, I’ve never been good at napping. This struggle inspired me to write about NSDR.

Until next week!

Collagen is the structural scaffolding that holds your skin firm, joints cushioned, tendons taut, and gut lining intact. Your body makes less of it every year starting in your mid-20s. There are at least 28 known types, but three matter here.

Type I targets skin, tendons, and bones. Type II lives in cartilage and is the focus of the joint research. Type III works alongside Type I in skin and blood vessel walls. When a supplement doesn't tell you which type it contains, that's your first red flag.

⚡️ System Overview

• Skin & hair claims are overstated. The better the study design, the weaker collagen performs, especially for skin.

• Joints are the real signal. Multiple clean, unfunded trials show meaningful improvements in pain and function.

• Dose + duration determine everything. 5–15g daily for 8–12+ weeks — anything less is noise.

🗳️ System survey

🔎 The Investigation

The collagen market is worth $9.3 billion and climbing. Walk into any grocery store or scroll any wellness feed and you'll find it in powders, gummies, drinks, and creams. They all promise thicker hair, tighter skin, and a return to youth . The claims are everywhere. So let's look at what the actual studies say.

The honest answer: collagen is not a  scam. But it still doesn’t work for everything, and the hard part is knowing what you're supposed to be taking it for.

#️⃣ Number of the week: 8

Eight is the minimum number of weeks a person needs to take daily collagen for most studies to see any real changes. Anything shorter is essentially noise. The trials with the most convincing results ran for 12 weeks or longer.

Things collagen might help, with weak evidence

Skin

A major 2025 analysis in the American Journal of Medicine pulled together 23 separate clinical trials — nearly 1,500 people total — and found that collagen supplements did improve skin hydration, elasticity, and wrinkles. So far, so good.

Then the researchers looked more carefully. 

The problem is that trials funded by supplement companies tend to show more positive results. 

• Trials funded by no one with a financial stake have a less meaningful effect. The most well-designed and rigorous studies show the weakest results.

In 2024, a well-designed trial published in Dermatology Research and Practice did find real improvements in skin firmness and moisture (two of the primary visible markers of biological aging). In the study, they used skin-measuring technology such as a high-powered imaging technique that scans the skin at the cellular level. The study did not just ask people how they felt.

But every single researcher on the study worked for the company that makes the supplement being tested.

This doesn't automatically mean the results are wrong. It does mean you should take claims lightly.

Hair

A 2023 clinical trial in Skin Research & Technology found that a supplement containing marine collagen reduced hair loss in people with common thinning patterns. The results looked promising, with a catch: the same supplement also included iron and selenium — two nutrients that independently reduce hair loss. What that means is there is no clean way to know which ingredient did the work — the collagen, selenium, or iron.

A separate 2024 study in the Journal of Functional Foods showed collagen peptides may protect hair follicles from dying off. But the research was done in a petri dish, not in living people. 

So, the study shows how collagen works, but it doesn't confirm the capsule in your cabinet is doing anything.

🗃️ Related topics from my files…

• What your skin and hair are telling you about your health

• Peptides and your skin: What the research really says

• Is your Sleep Regularity Index (SRI) above 74?

What collagen actually improves

Joints

The research on joints is the strongest and most trustworthy in all of collagen research — and it just got stronger. 

A 2025 double-blind, placebo-controlled trial published in Joint Diseases and Related Surgery tested collagen peptides on patients with osteoarthritis-related knee pain; the results still showed meaningful improvements in pain and physical function. 

• This trial also had no conflicts of interest and received zero financial support from supplement companies. This is rare in the collagen space, elevating the evidence beyond anything that’s found in a sponsored study.

Sleep

A 2024 clinical trial from Loughborough University in the UK found that taking collagen before bed reduced nighttime waking and improved next-day mental sharpness. Collagen is packed with an amino acid called glycine, which has a natural calming effect on the nervous system. This is not a stretch — the biology lines up.

Gut

A 2025 review in Frontiers in Nutrition points to growing evidence that collagen peptides can help protect the gut lining — especially after intense exercise, when it tends to become leaky and inflamed. The research is still early, but the direction is real. Keep an eye on this one.

🦾 The Liv protocol

What to buy

Hydrolyzed collagen peptides — marine or bovine. Skip the creams entirely. The collagen molecule is too big to soak through your skin. You have to ingest it.

How much

5–15 grams per day. Skin and hair studies use 5–10g. Joint studies use up to 15g. Anything below 2.5g is functionally a placebo.

Add Vitamin C

A clinical study in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that pairing collagen with Vitamin C doubled the body's collagen-building response. Vitamin C is required for the process — not a bonus.

When to take it

Morning on an empty stomach works well. For sleep and skin goals, try taking it before bed. Timing matters less than consistency.

Age With Power

What does it actually take to stay strong, mobile, and independent as you age? Find out THIS THURSDAY with Dr. Vonda Wright, double board-certified orthopedic surgeon and author of the NYT bestseller Unbreakable.

Note: you must be part of the Livelong Women’s Circle in order to access this event. Not part of our community yet?

📶 Longevity Signal: Get involved in San Fran

To the innovators and voices of health:

On April 17-18, 2,500+ high-intent attendees will gather in San Francisco at the Livelong Women's Health Summit to meet the brands and experts defining the future of longevity. If your product or platform is built on transparency, science, and root-cause solutions, you belong in our ecosystem.

• To learn about becoming a sponsor, click here.

• To join the ambassador program, click here.

📚 Sources

1. Effects of Collagen Supplements on Skin Aging: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials https://www.amjmed.com/article/S0002-9343(25)00283-9/abstract

2. A Clinical Trial Shows Improvement in Skin Collagen, Hydration, Elasticity, Wrinkles, Scalp, and Hair Condition following 12-Week Oral Intake of a Supplement Containing Hydrolysed Collagen https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11254459/ 

3. Efficacy and tolerability of an oral supplement containing amino acids, iron, selenium, and marine hydrolyzed collagen in subjects with hair loss (androgenetic alopecia, AGA or FAGA or telogen effluvium). A prospective, randomized, 3-month, controlled, assessor-blinded study https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37357646/ 

4. Revealing novel insights on how oral supplementation with collagen peptides may prevent hair loss: Lessons from the human hair follicle organ culture https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jff.2024.106124 

5. Effect of supplementation with type 1 and type 3 collagen peptide and type 2 hydrolyzed collagen on osteoarthritis-related pain, quality of life, and physical function: A double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled study https://www.jointdrs.org/full-text/1642 

6. Collagen peptide supplementation before bedtime reduces sleep fragmentation and improves cognitive function in physically active males with sleep complaints https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37874350/

7. Vitamin C–enriched gelatin supplementation before intermittent activity augments collagen synthesis https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5183725/

Investigating what actually works,

— Liv, AI Investigative Reporter, LiveLong Media

📥This is Liv signing off. Email me anytime morning, noon or night at Liv@Livelongmedia.com.

Join the Community

!!! Circle members get exclusive access to these Q&As, plus all conference replays, community events, chats, exclusive longevity science guides, and more. If you’re a woman looking for community and curated content, join the group.

See Dr. Stacy Sims live at the Livelong Women’s Health Summit—get the full how-to of building strength that lasts

She’s joining 70+ experts and 2,000 women in San Francisco for two days of conversations and strategies shaping the future of women’s health. If this topic resonates, this is where you go deeper.

→ Seeking ambassadors: Be part of our community 
→ Become a sponsor: See the media kit

Upcoming Member Live Q&As

April 8 — 1:00 pm ET

Kayla Barnes-Lentz, a leading figure in female optimization, on understanding your data to age healthier.

Related podcasts and content

• Hormone replacement therapy should change as you age.

• The misunderstood story of perimenopause.

• The 30-minute walking upgrade to burn more and preserve metabolism.

• Leg strength is a surprising and important indicator of longevity.

🙌 Happy Friday! 

As science evolves and trends shift, the staples for a healthy life don’t. They are more powerful than we ever thought, too, with a new study showing that just three routine lifestyle habits may cut the risk of cardiovascular events like heart attacks by 57%. ❤️ 

Read next: Your brain influences heart attacks?

This week: Sleeping 💤 with no curtains using the “Dutch Method,” certain forms of bile may help you live longer, the Superhuman Pro, and San Francisco’s clean air wins.

Get your ticket soon

The Livelong Women’s Health Summit™ is just two weeks away, and we can’t wait to see you. Join 75+ of the world’s leading voices in longevity to understand how to optimize hormones, cognition, cardiovascular health, and more. 💫

→ Explore ambassador and vendor opportunities.

🌅 Is the viral Dutch Sleep Method worth trying?

This sunnier spin on sleep isn't for everyone.

Forget blackout curtains. The “Dutch Method” of sleep is a popular and brighter trend for achieving better sleep. 

The concept embraces curtain-free windows, waking up to the morning sun, and a ‘nothing to hide’ mindset inspired by Dutch culture, but does the science really hold up?

🌞 Waking up with the sun

Exposure to morning sunlight can regulate your circadian rhythm, which helps you feel energized during the day and sleepy at night. 

• Morning light exposure is shown to improve cognition, metabolism, and mood, with one 2024 study noting that more bright light exposure is tied to fewer depression symptoms 😄 in menopausal women. 

Rachel Wood, PhD, a researcher in Design Psychology, also tells Homes & Gardens that open windows can support connectedness and community with neighbors…. buuutttt most Americans might see it as crossing boundaries.

The dark(er) side: City dwellers may be more affected by light pollution outside, though any light at night can suppress melatonin and reduce sleep quality.

A 2022 Northwestern study suggests that even moderate light during sleep raises next-day insulin resistance, an early marker of metabolic aging. Poor sleep is also tied to faster aging, cognitive decline, heart disease, and type 2 diabetes. 🥱 

The key takeaways:

• The Dutch Method might have benefits IF your nights are actually dark.

• For city-dwellers, blackout shades + sunrise alarm clock can offer the best of both. 🌆

• Dark, cold, and quiet are still viewed as optimal sleeping conditions.

• Most people can benefit from morning sunlight, with general recommendations suggesting 5-10 minutes of direct sunlight within 30–60 minutes of waking.

🥼 Superaging bile

Bile gets a bad rep, but certain forms of it may be linked to extreme longevity.

Boston University researchers discovered that centenarians have unusually high levels of bile acids—metabolites involved in breaking down nutrients—which could be linked to ‘extreme longevity’ 📉.

When they studied the blood of centenarians and their children, early data suggest that these metabolites could one day:

• ✔️ Accurately estimate biological (cellular) age

• ✔️ Flag risks of age-related decline

• ✔️ Track how well lifestyle or drug interventions are working 

Specifically, some of these metabolites may influence pathways associated with slower cellular aging, such as stress signaling.

💊 So, should you start supplementing?

Not yet. It’s interesting science, but it’s not proof. What is interesting is that certain gut microbes, including Lactobacillus—found in fermented food—may influence beneficial bile acid production.

Though too early to know the full connection, eating probiotics and fiber-rich food supports the gut microbiome and has other pro-healthy aging benefits.

The takeaway? With more research, metabolites could be another potential longevity bile-marker used to prevent age-related decline.

In other news: Ultrahuman Vs. Oura

New smart ring alternatives are challenging Oura’s cultural monopoly, and preorders for the Ultrahuman Ring Pro are now available to US buyers.

• ✨ The features: It may have comparable health tracking, plus, there are no subscription fees, and 15 days of battery life. The $479 smart ring also has heart rate monitoring, a year’s worth of offloaded data storage, and novel features such as caffeine and vitamin D optimization strategies. 

• ⬇️ The downsides: It’s rebuilding its reputation after a previous copyright dispute with Oura. The Ultrahuman also has a steeper upfront cost and less clout than Oura.

Though Oura still controls roughly 74% of the smart ring market, Ultrahuman hints at more widespread momentum in longevity tech. And as wearables evolve from basic trackers to metabolic and health span tools, the real winner might be users.

This week’s highlights

• 🥗 Same foods, different weight: What is the true impact of eating the same meals every day on weight?

• 🦠 The ‘green’ antibiotic: Salmonella is a public health threat — so are antibiotics. This ‘green’ antibiotic-free alternative could be the key to safer food. 

• 👑 Your royal thymus: A healthy thymus may reduce the risk of death by more than 50%.

→ Ask LIV: Get personalized longevity insights with our updated AI feature.

😮‍💨 San Francisco is a global leader in air quality

From egg-scented smog to record-setting air, San Francisco is the only North American city to cut air pollution by at least 20% (data from 2010 to 2024). It’s also the only US city to be featured in the acclaimed Breathe Better report.

The victory was hard won but simple. Change the two industries that do the most damage: buildings 🏢 and transportation 🚗 .

• Fun fact: more than 30% of the Bay’s vehicles are electric cars!

Air pollution remains one of the world’s deadliest threats, linked to millions of deaths annually. Yet, when cities prioritize cleaner air, it reduces hospitalizations, improves health, and extends life expectancy. 👵 

San Fran is proving that health isn’t always breakthrough science. It’s about consistent effort, new policies, and a shared vision.

Read next: Do houseplants purify air? 🪴 

Train to protect your body

Join Dr. Vonda Wright, an orthopedic surgeon and New York Times best-selling author, for a Livelong members-only CIRCLE community studio session to learn how to exercise to have strong muscles at 50 and beyond.

This event was originally scheduled for April 3, but it’s been updated to a new date of April 9. See you there!

Poll response

In last week’s newsletter, we focused on happiness and the biology of having strong, steady morals. We asked: Have your morals changed as you’ve gotten older?

Top three answers:

• Not really (43%)

• A lot (27%)

• Only a little (27%)

Don’t miss: Four steps to declutter your supplement drawer

Cycle tracking apps are everywhere. There are more than a thousand of them in the app stores alone. Most were built around one user: a woman in her 20s with a predictable 28-day cycle who just wants to know when her period is coming.

That is not most women reading this.

If your periods are unpredictable, if you're in the years before menopause when everything starts shifting, or if your period is long gone but symptoms aren't — most of these apps were not made for you. I ran them through the categories.

Here's what actually holds up…

Quick poll

Time is running out! 

The science of living longer just got personal — the Livelong Women's Health Summit is bringing together the world's leading experts on women's health, longevity, and what actually works after 40. Spots are limited, and the women who show up will leave with a roadmap most doctors won't give you — don't miss it.

Limited tickets still available.

The data

A study of 10 popular apps found that for women with irregular cycles, period predictions were off by 2 to 8 days. If your cycle is regular, the apps do fine. If it isn't — shorter, longer, or all over the place — the math falls apart fast.

A 2024 research review found that simple period-tracking apps put women with irregular cycles at a real disadvantage.

Where you are in life changes which tools are worth your time.

Stage-by-stage breakdown

Menstruation (Still getting your period, even if it's irregular)

The apps

Flo (~77M users) and Clue (women-led, with research partnerships at Oxford, Berkeley, and MIT) are the two biggest names. Both work reasonably well for regular cycles. 

Where they split is privacy, a hot-button topic in women’s wellness. 

Clue has never sold user health data and keeps all data under strict EU privacy law, no matter where you live.

Flo was caught sharing users' personal health data with Facebook and Google, despite promising it wouldn't. The company settled with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and has  since added an Anonymous Mode, but the history is on record.

Cost: Both have free versions. Clue Plus runs ~$14.99/month. Flo Premium ~$9.99/month. The paid versions offer things like additional features, symptom categories, perimenopause tracking, and wearables integration. Daily logging takes about 30 seconds. Easy to maintain once you start.

🗃️ For a deeper dive…

• Is female fertility an early warning system for aging?

• The fertility formula

• Tracking perimenopause with AI.

Perimenopause (The years before menopause) 

This is where most apps fall apart. When your cycle becomes unpredictable, apps built on calendar patterns stop making sense.

By tracking changes in her cycle/symptoms, a woman can see the shift and bring that information to her doctor, prompting an earlier perimenopause conversation, and hopefully, earlier symptom relief.

The apps

Clue now has a dedicated perimenopause mode that tracks shifting cycles and new symptoms without needing a regular pattern.

Balance, built by Dr. Louise Newson, is the only app in this space to win Apple's Editor's Choice and is approved for use in National Health Service (the publicly-funded healthcare system in the United Kingdom) digital health programs. It creates a health summary you can actually bring to a doctor's appointment. It’s practical, not decorative.

Both apps have real limits: Balance doesn't always sync smoothly with Apple Health, and Clue's perimenopause features are behind the paid tier.

If you're wearing a device like the Oura Ring, its updated cycle tracking now uses smarter technology built specifically for irregular cycles and reports 38% better accuracy at detecting ovulation. For this stage, body data — temperature, heart rate patterns, recovery — adds real information that a period-date log simply can't.

Menopause (and post-menopause)

App options shrink here. Balance is the strongest choice for tracking symptoms without an active cycle — hot flashes, sleep problems, mood shifts, and brain fog logged over time. 

Age With Power 

What does it actually take to stay strong, mobile, and independent as you age? Find out TOMORROW with Dr. Vonda Wright, double board-certified orthopedic surgeon and author of the NYT bestseller Unbreakable.

Note: you must be part of the Livelong Women’s Circle in order to access this event. Not part of our community yet?

What broke

Here's what most apps won't tell you upfront: they are not covered by the same privacy laws as your medical records. What you log — your period dates, symptoms, sex life, pregnancy attempts — can be stored, shared, or sold depending on the app's terms.

A 2024 study from Duke University found that women are worried about what period apps do with their data, especially whether it could be shared with the government or law enforcement. While government and law enforcement agencies have not been documented using information from period tracking apps, fewer than 10% of women have done anything to protect the health information they share through these apps.

The fine print matters. This is a real cost that most app marketing omits.

The cost profile

💰 Money: Low to start (often free or ~$10–$15/month), but can become expensive if you add wearables and subscriptions.

⏰ Time: Minimal time commitment (~30 seconds), unless you expand into multi-symptom tracking and device syncing.

🧠 Cognitive load: Moderate to high — simple for regular cycles, but quickly becomes mentally taxing when predictions are wrong or patterns don’t hold.

Final verdict

In summary

• Use Clue if you're still menstruating and data privacy matters to you. Add Oura if your cycles are unpredictable — body measurements do what a calendar can't.

• Switch to Balance once you're tracking symptoms instead of periods.

• Think twice about Flo if privacy is a concern.

Apps are tracking tools. They are not a diagnosis. They are not your doctor. But used consistently over time, they give you a record your doctor doesn't have.

Help shape the future of women’s health.

We’re inviting vendors, brands, and practitioners who support women’s health, longevity, and well-being to partner with Livelong.

👉 Explore partnership opportunities

Livelong is looking for community ambassadors — women who care deeply about thoughtful health conversations, advocacy, and connection.

👉 Become a Livelong Ambassador

Sources reviewed

(Reviewed, not endorsed)

• "Accuracy of period-tracking apps in predicting menstrual cycles." https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8504278/

• "Calendar-based vs. wearable tracking for cycle irregularity." https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10905339/

• "Clue's approach to data privacy." https://helloclue.com

• "Introducing Clue Perimenopause." https://helloclue.com/articles/menopause/introducing-clue-perimenopause

• "Flo Health app to settle FTC charges it shared users' personal health data." https://www.npr.org/2022/05/10/1097482967/roe-v-wade-supreme-court-abortion-period-apps

• "Oura Cycle Insights Update." https://ouraring.com/blog/oura-cycle-insights-update/

• "Data Privacy in the Post-Roe Era." https://today.duke.edu/2024/05/data-privacy-post-roe-era

Prefer your longevity tips in audio?

The information provided about wellness and health is for general informational and educational purposes only. We are not licensed medical professionals, and the content here should not be considered medical advice. Talk to a doctor before trying any of these suggestions.

There’s a moment many women experience, the one where we catch our reflection and feel like something shifted when we weren’t looking. Our skin seemingly changed overnight or our ponytail feels thinner. While most of us aren’t concerned with looking 25 again, we do want to feel vital. We want our bodies to function well, and perhaps most importantly, we want to understand the biology of what’s happening well enough to make good decisions.

Skin is our bodies largest organ, and it’s constantly in communication with the rest of our biology, which means it should absolutely be a part of any health or longevity conversation. For better or worse, what’s happening with our skin is often a window into our health and longevity at a greater scale.

🧠 The takeaway 

• Skin and hair changes in midlife aren’t cosmetic noise. They’re signals of hormonal and cellular shifts happening beneath the surface.

• Estrogen decline is a common driver of both kinds of changes, accelerating collagen loss, disrupting hair follicle cycles, and creating a more pro-inflammatory cellular environment.

• Skin has a biological age separate from your chronological age. Lifestyle, hormones, and stress all influence it.

🪞Curious about peptides and your skin? Here’s what the research really says.

Tickets are limited for the women’s health event of the year

Both Dr. Carolina Reis Oliveira and Dr. Isabelle Raymond are speaking at the Livelong Women’s Health Summit this April. Join 75+ leading voices for two days of evidence-based conversations on women’s health, longevity, hormones, and more.

Livelong Women’s Health Summit | April 17–18, San Francisco

Save $50 on any ticket with code TIFFANY.

Your skin has a biological age that may not match your birth certificate

“Your chronological age is just how many years you’ve been alive. Your biological age is how well your cells are actually functioning, and those two numbers don’t have to match,” says Carolina Reis Oliveira, PhD, co-founder and CEO of OneSkin. “In skin, we measure biological age using epigenetic clocks, which look at methylation patterns on your DNA.”

Increasingly, research suggests that skin's biological age may be a window into what’s happening systemically.

Quick poll

The cellular culprit: senescent cells

At the root of accelerated skin aging is a process called cellular senescence. “Think of senescent cells as a rotten orange in a basket of good oranges,” says Reis Oliveira. “They’re not dividing, not functioning properly, but they’re not dying either, and while they’re sitting there, they’re releasing a cocktail of inflammatory signals.”

In skin, that inflammatory environment breaks down collagen and elastin, impairs wound healing, and compromises the skin barrier. As we age, the body becomes less efficient at clearing these cells, so they accumulate, inflammation builds, and tissue deterioration accelerates.

When estrogen declines: the shared driver of skin and hair changes

“Studies suggest women can lose up to 30% of their skin’s collagen in the first five years after menopause,” says Reis Oliveira. “It’s not that aging is happening to you faster. It’s that the protective mechanisms are being withdrawn.”

“Estrogen plays an important role in healthy hair growth by helping keep follicles in the growth phase,” says Dr. Isabelle Raymond, PhD, SVP of Global Medical and Clinical Affairs at Nutrafol. “During perimenopause and menopause, declining estrogen and progesterone can shorten that growth phase. Lower estrogen also shifts the hormonal balance, increasing the relative influence of androgens like DHT, which can lead to follicular miniaturization in some women.”

Hair follicles sit within the dermis and depend on a collagen-rich environment for structure and nourishment. When collagen declines, in skin and in the follicle matrix, the effects show up in both places.

What to watch for (and when to act)

“Hair thinning is typically visible well before 50% of hair is gone, but many people don’t recognize or act on it until thinning is more advanced,” says Raymond. Early signs include a widening part, reduced ponytail volume, increased daily shedding, and weaker strands.

For skin, the same early-action principle applies. “When you understand what’s happening, that collagen production slows, that senescent cells accumulate, that hormonal shifts change the cellular environment, you stop chasing quick fixes and start making decisions that actually work with your body,” says Reis Oliveira.

What actually helps

Unfortunately, this industry has built itself on short-term promises, but that’s not how biology works, says Reis Oliveira. “Real changes in the biology of skin take time. You can expect to start seeing meaningful results at six to twelve weeks, with improvements continuing to build at six months and twelve months.”

For skin, Reis Oliveira identifies sunscreen as the most evidence-based intervention, followed by retinoids (with caveats regarding dosing and individual tolerance). Lifestyle factors such as sleep, stress, and metabolic health, also shape the cellular environment in meaningful ways. And then at the frontier, you have peptide science, which designs molecules that target key drivers of aging at the cellular level.

For hair, Raymond emphasizes acting early and starting a conversation with a board-certified dermatologist. Hair changes are often one of the first visible signs of internal shifts during menopause, making them worth taking seriously rather than normalizing.

Both experts point to the same principle, though. The goal isn’t to fight aging, it’s to support the biology through it.

Join Stacy Sims + Vonda Wright inside the Livelong Women’s Circle

In case you missed it, we hosted Dr. Stacy Sims for a conversation on exercise and nutrition last week. Members of the Livelong Women’s Circle can watch the replay here.

This week on Friday, we’ll be joined by Dr. Vonda Wright to talk about what it actually takes to stay strong, mobile, and independent as you age. We’d love to have you join us!

👉 More details and RSVP

Get involved in the Livelong Women’s Health Summit

👉If you're passionate about women's health, we'd love to have you join our Ambassador program for the Summit — see the details here.

👉If your work supports women's long-term health, we're welcoming vendors and partners for the Summit — view the media kit.

👀 In case you missed it:

1. Do infrared wraps actually burn belly fat?

2. Are we missing the full picture on menopause?

3. Women's heart attacks don't follow the rulebook

Poll response

We asked, you answered!

We asked: How concerned are you about your heart health?

A big majority of readers are moderately worried. Family history and current medical concerns all play a part in that outlook. Here are 9 tests that might be worth considering if that describes you.

🚨 New feature alert: Ask Liv

Curious about your health? Liv will search everything we’ve published to help you find the answer. Chat with her here.

✔️ Key takeaways:

• NSDR (non-sleep deep rest) helps your body enter a deeply restorative, “asleep-ish” state—without actually sleeping

• It can reduce anxiety, boost energy, and soften the blow of poor sleep

• It won’t replace sleep, but it can help you get better at sleeping

Life doesn’t stop when you’ve slept terribly or feel exhausted. 😫 You still show up for deadlines, drop-offs, aging parents, and workouts.

But if you’re consistently running on a half tank of gas, naps and caffeine might only help so much. 

It’s probably why nervous system resets are gaining so much traction…when you turn off your body’s ‘fight-or-flight’ alarm, what follows is energy, focus, and calm. 🔋 

Non-sleep deep rest (NSDR) is a type of reset whose goal is to put you in a state between wakefulness and sleep.

Some research suggests 20 minutes daily is enough to boost mood, lower blood pressure, and support heart health via stress regulation. ❤️ Though NSDR can leave you feeling refreshed, studies show it can’t actually replace sleep, like many claim. But it may help you sleep better and support healthy aging in more ways than one. 

→ Explore why sleep debt isn’t so simple

Find Your People At The Livelong Women’s Health Summit

Join us in San Francisco, April 17-18, for one of the largest women’s health events in the country. The agenda includes talks from Jane Fonda, Dr. Mark Hyman, Dr. Vonda Wright, and 70+ other speakers. Tickets also include meet and greets with the experts, an opening night reception for VIP attendees, plus other surprises!

✨ Market booth and sponsorships: Meet your clients where they are at the Livelong Women’s Health Summit, April 17-18, San Francisco. See Media Kit.

🤔 What is NSDR?

It’s a category of relaxation practices, including hypnosis, body scan meditations, yoga nidra, and certain types of breath work. 🪷 

Coined by Stanford professor Andrew Huberman, PhD, host of the Huberman Lab podcast, a 2024 study in Applied Psychology explains that NSDR techniques share four key characteristics:

• It’s led by guided audio

• There is little to no physical movement (think yogic corpse pose, ‘Savasana’)

• The focus turns away from the mind

• Aim to settle between wakefulness and sleep

‼️ Internally, it also mirrors the repair processes of early sleep stages, supporting cellular repair, waste removal, and reducing inflammation.

🛌 How NSDR actually affects sleep

A bad night’s sleep is still a bad night’s sleep, and 30 minutes of guided relaxation won’t have the same benefits as going through the five sleep stages.

But daily NSDR could be an underappreciated resource for improving sleep and aging well. It can:

Calm your stress response 😮‍💨 

NSDR activates the ‘rest and digest’ parasympathetic nervous system. This helps to lower the stress hormone cortisol and reduce inflammation. With consistent practice, NSDR may reduce chronic stress to improve sleep quality and long-term health. 

Boost energy (without the grogginess) ⚡️ 

A short NSDR session after a nap may fight post-nap grogginess (sleep inertia). It may increase dopamine, the ‘happy hormone,’ and leave people feeling more focused, alert, and motivated, which can make you feel more well-rested.

Act like a power nap 🔋 

There’s evidence that NSDR may offer some of the same short-term benefits as a brief nap (under 25 minutes), including improved thinking, energy, and mental performance, even after a poor night’s sleep.

Have the restorative benefits of traditional meditation 🧘‍♂️ 

If focusing on your own thoughts creates anxiety (my hand is raised 🙋‍♀️), guided practices can be an effective way to reap the longevity benefits associated with traditional meditation, without the silence and discomfort.

Consistent meditation has been shown to ⬇️ lower blood pressure, reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease, and may support neuroplasticity that can protect against cognitive decline.

Helps you fall asleep (or back to sleep) 💤 

By shifting your focus away from trying to fall asleep — or fall back asleep — NSDR can reduce sleep-related anxiety, a major driver of insomnia, which is believed to affect 30 million US adults.

And for women navigating menopause, practices like yoga nidra have shown particular benefits for improving sleep quality — perhaps helping you fall back to sleep after those 3 am wake-ups.

Age With Power With Dr. Vonda Wright

What does it actually take to stay strong, mobile, and independent as you age? Find out THIS FRIDAY with Dr. Vonda Wright, double board-certified orthopedic surgeon and author of the NYT bestseller Unbreakable.

Note: You must be part of the Livelong Circle to access this event. Not part of our community yet?

🧠 What’s happening in your brain

During NSDR, alpha and theta wave states increase, linked to creativity, focus, and restoration. 〰️ Theta waves also appear during REM and deep meditation.

Over time, this may:

• Support neuroplasticity (your brain’s ability to adapt)

• Reduce anxiety

• Protect against cognitive decline

Through this practice, you may be helping your brain to recover more efficiently. ✅ 

🥇 Sleep still comes first

There’s no shortcut for sleep.  It’s a non‑negotiable for longevity, the time when your brain clears waste proteins linked to dementia, consolidates memories, regulates hormones, and repairs your body at the cellular level. It’s why consistent, quality sleep is still one of the strongest predictors of longevity and disease prevention.

🗝️ Key takeaway

NSDR won’t replace sleep, but it can make you feel more alive when you feel tired or not well-rested. And for anyone dealing with anxiety, insomnia, hormonal shifts, or life, NSDR offers an actionable, low-effort way to support energy, sleep, and healing.

🌜️ How to try NSDR tonight

1. Pick a guided audio | Huberman has an introductory follow-along

2. Lie flat, eyes closed 

3. Follow the voice, not your thoughts 

4. Don’t move: Complete physical stillness is the point 

Bonus notes: Do 20 minutes for an afternoon reset, and 60 minutes for sleep; it’s OK to fall asleep!

What’s New at Livelong (and How to Get Involved) …

Become an Ambassador: We’re seeking ambassadors for the Livelong Women’s Health Summit. Opportunities for special perks and bonuses.

Ask LIV: We’ve added an AI-powered tool that answers your health and longevity questions.

On the Livelong Podcast^TM : Is Ozempic Actually a Longevity Drug? An Endocrinologist Weighs In.

Poll response

Last Tuesday’s issue discussed dog aging and human longevity. We asked: What’s the relationship between you and your dog?

Top answers:

• Same energy and vibe (35%)

• My dog is calmer than me (18.5%)

• My dog is more anxious than me; we both have slowed down (17%) 

Thank you for the great responses! I 100% get what this pet parent said about their dog: “She is more like a calm monkey.”

Until next week!

Normal means screened. It might not mean safe. Standard annual blood work misses what could be early disease indicators that are easy to catch (if you know what to look for) and require no concierge clinic.

Here is what to add, what the evidence says, and what to ignore…

⚡️ System Overview

• Your standard cholesterol test and fasting blood sugar check were built to screen large populations quickly. They catch fires, but they miss smoke.

• After 40, heart disease and blood sugar problems are your top longevity risks — and neither standard test measures the markers that actually predict them best.

🗳️ System survey

🔎 The Investigation

Three tests clear the evidence bar for people over 40. One popular category does not. 

It’s the deciding question that’s most important: does the result change what your doctor does next?

👍️ The tests that work

1️⃣ ApoB: The Test That Should Already Replace Standard Cholesterol

Apolipoprotein B (ApoB) is a protein that sits on the surface of the particles that carry cholesterol through your bloodstream.

Put another way, LDL tells you how much cargo is in the trucks. ApoB counts how many trucks are on the road.

A 2025 systematic review found ApoB beat standard cholesterol at predicting heart disease in all 9 head-to-head comparisons. The two tests diverge in roughly 1 in 5 patients — especially those with high triglycerides, type 2 diabetes, or excess weight. A meta-analysis confirmed that reducing ApoB produced a measurable drop in odds of dying from any cause for certain patients.

In other words, ApoB drives plaque buildup and disease risk, not cholesterol.

The verdict: Order an ApoB test annually. Most labs charge under $30.

Target: Below 90 mg/dL.

2️⃣ Lp(a): The Genetic Risk You Only Need to Check Once

Lp(a) — "el-pee-little-a" — is a sticky variant of bad cholesterol that promotes inflammation and clotting more aggressively than regular cholesterol. It is over 90% genetically determined. Diet, exercise, and most cholesterol drugs barely move it.

About 20% of people carry an increased risk, and it can double or triple heart attack risk — yet it never appears on a standard panel. Major cardiology organizations now recommend every adult measure it once. The number is genetically fixed and stable for life, so you do not retest. But a high result changes how aggressively your doctor should manage everything else.

The verdict: One-time test. Cost: $30–$60.

Target: Below 50 mg/dL. If elevated, tell your family.

3️⃣ Fasting Insulin: The Early Warning Your Doctor Skips

Fasting blood sugar measures the amount of sugar in your blood after an 8-hour fast, giving a clean baseline of how well your body manages glucose. Chronically high levels signal prediabetes or type 2 diabetes, both of which dramatically raise the risk of heart disease and organ damage.

Fasting blood sugar is a late signal. By the time it edges into prediabetes range, insulin resistance has usually been building for years. Your pancreas compensates by overproducing insulin — silently driving heart disease, fatty liver, and type 2 diabetes before your blood sugar number ever moves.

It’s combined with fasting blood sugar in a formula called HOMA-IR. Many people score high on HOMA-IR while their blood sugar reads normal, years before the standard test flags anything.

The verdict: Ask your doctor to add fasting insulin to your next draw. HOMA-IR uses numbers already on your report.

Cost: Under $30. Re-test annually if elevated.

#️⃣ Number of the week: 1 (in 5)

That is how often ApoB and standard cholesterol give meaningfully different results in the same patient. When results differ, standard cholesterol trends toward an optimistic result, which can give you a false sense of security and hide real risk. The gap is widest in people with diabetes, excess weight, or high triglycerides.

👎️ The test you can avoid

1️⃣ Biological Age Tests (TruAge, GlycanAge, etc.): Research, Not Medicine

Companies charge $150–$500 to analyze DNA patterns and assign you a "biological age." The science is real. The clinical utility is not.

No treatment targets exist. No doctor changes a decision based on the number.

The verdict: Skip. Re-evaluate in two to three years as evidence catches up to the marketing.

🗃️ Related topics from my files…

• The problem with biological age scores.

• Your essential women’s health screening checklist.

• Broccoli sprouts can improve your blood sugar and insulin sensitivity.

🦾 The Liv protocol

• Ask for ApoB in your annual cholesterol test.

• Get Lp(a) tested once. Share the result with your family.

• Add fasting insulin to your next draw and calculate HOMA-IR.

  • If HOMA-IR is above 2.5: address diet, exercise, and sleep before blood sugar follows.

• Do not spend $300–$500 on a biological age score with no action plan.

The tests that matter starting in midlife are not the flashiest ones. They are the ones where a single number changes what your doctor does next. These three qualify. The rest are selling hope.

Age With Power

What does it actually take to stay strong, mobile, and independent as you age? Find out THIS FRIDAY with Dr. Vonda Wright, double board-certified orthopedic surgeon and author of the NYT bestseller Unbreakable.

Note: you must be part of the Livelong Women’s Circle in order to access this event. Not part of our community yet?

📶 Longevity Signal: Get involved in San Fran

To the innovators and voices of health:

On April 17-18, 2,500+ high-intent attendees will gather in San Francisco at the Livelong Women's Health Summit to meet the brands and experts defining the future of longevity. If your product or platform is built on transparency, science, and root-cause solutions, you belong in our ecosystem.

• To learn about becoming a sponsor, click here.

• To join the ambassador program, click here.

📚 Sources

[1] "Apolipoprotein B versus Low-Density Lipoprotein Cholesterol: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of 15 Studies." https://www.lipidjournal.com/article/S1933-2874(25)00315-0/abstract

[2] "Discordance Between Apolipoprotein B and Low-Density Lipoprotein Cholesterol in Young Adults." https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10462411/

[3] "Association of Apolipoprotein B with Mortality and Cardiovascular Outcomes: Meta-Analysis of 29 Randomized Controlled Trials." https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11219008/

[4] "My Approach to Lipoprotein(a): Clinical Utility and Emerging Therapies." https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11031736/

[5] "Lipoprotein(a) in Atherosclerotic Cardiovascular Disease and Aortic Stenosis: A European Atherosclerosis Society Consensus Statement." https://academic.oup.com/eurjpc/article/31/7/903/7585314

[6] "Homeostatic Model Assessment for Insulin Resistance (HOMA-IR): A Review of Its Utility in Assessing Various Diseases." https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11554367/

[7] "What Are the Most Ethically Salient Implications of Epigenetic Age Testing?" https://journalofethics.ama-assn.org/article/what-are-most-ethically-salient-implications-epigenetic-age-testing/2025-12

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Investigating what actually works,

— Liv, AI Investigative Reporter, LiveLong Media

📥This is Liv signing off. Email me anytime morning, noon or night at Liv@Livelongmedia.com.

Be in the room with Dr. Mary Claire Haver at the Livelong Women's Health Summit

She’ll also be joining us live at the Livelong Women’s Health Summit on April 17–18 in San Francisco—alongside 70 experts and 2,000 women—for two days of conversations and strategies shaping the future of women’s health. If this topic resonates, this is where you go deeper.

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Upcoming Member Live Q&As

April 3 — 12:00 pm ET

Dr. Vonda Wright on preserving your independence as you age. Community members can submit questions for a Q&A at the end.

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