The Period Brain: How Hormones Change Women’s Behaviour - Dr Sarah Hill - #992 episode artwork

EPISODE · Sep 11, 2025 · 1H 39M

The Period Brain: How Hormones Change Women’s Behaviour - Dr Sarah Hill - #992

from Modern Wisdom · host Chris Williamson

Dr Sarah Hill is a professor at TCU, a research psychologist, expert in women’s hormones and brain science, and an author. Each month, women experience hormonal changes that go far beyond the clichés of PMS. These shifts can influence mood, stress response, and even how women relate to others. So how can recognizing these patterns make it easier for both men and women to navigate relationships when things don’t feel normal? Expect to learn why hormones play such a role in psychological function, what actually happens to women during their time of the month and what a PMS brain is, if women understand what their cycle does to them, what men can learn about women’s hormonal cycles and how birth control changes the brain, if oral contraceptives could be the biggest unexamined mental health experiment currently playing out, if PMS is actually a design feature rather than a flaw, and much more… Timestamps: (0:00) Introducing the Menstrual Cycle (5:30) What Women Experience During Their Cycle (20:29) The Ovulatory Shift Hypothesis: Researching the Cycle (44:05) How Do Men and Women Differ Hormonally? (56:27) How Does the Pill Effect Women on Their Cycle? (01:05:58) Does Female Hormone Suppression Effect Male Hormone Levels? (01:11:31) Are Career-Driven Women Going to Burn Out Faster Than Women Listening to Their Cycle? (01:17:50) Biological Sex is So Important in Research (01:22:56) Is Feminism Making Women Feel Insufficient? (01:27:26) Why are Periods So Understudied? (01:35:50) Find Out More About Sarah Sponsors: See me on tour in America: ⁠https://chriswilliamson.live⁠ See discounts for all the products I use and recommend: https://chriswillx.com/deals Get a Free Sample Pack of LMNT’s most popular Flavours with your first purchase at https://drinklmnt.com/modernwisdom Get the brand new Whoop 5.0 and your first month for free at https://join.whoop.com/modernwisdom Get 5 Free Travel Packs, Free Liquid Vitamin D, and more from AG1 at https://ag1.info/modernwisdom Extra Stuff: Get my free reading list of 100 books to read before you die: https://chriswillx.com/books Try my productivity energy drink Neutonic: https://neutonic.com/modernwisdom Episodes You Might Enjoy: #577 - David Goggins - This Is How To Master Your Life: ⁠⁠⁠lnkfi.re/SN-Goggins⁠⁠⁠ #712 - Dr Jordan Peterson - How To Destroy Your Negative Beliefs: ⁠⁠⁠lnkfi.re/SN-Peterson⁠⁠⁠ #700 - Dr Andrew Huberman - The Secret Tools To Hack Your Brain: ⁠⁠⁠lnkfi.re/SN-Huberman⁠⁠ - Get In Touch: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chriswillx Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/chriswillx YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/modernwisdompodcast Email: https://chriswillx.com/contact - Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Dr Sarah Hill is a professor at TCU, a research psychologist, expert in women’s hormones and brain science, and an author. Each month, women experience hormonal changes that go far beyond the clichés of PMS. These shifts can influence mood, stress response, and even how women relate to others. So how can recognizing these patterns make it easier for both men and women to navigate relationships when things don’t feel normal? Expect to learn why hormones play such a role in psychological function, what actually happens to women during their time of the month and what a PMS brain is, if women understand what their cycle does to them, what men can learn about women’s hormonal cycles and how birth control changes the brain, if oral contraceptives could be the biggest unexamined mental health experiment currently playing out, if PMS is actually a design feature rather than a flaw, and much more… Timestamps: (0:00) Introducing the Menstrual Cycle (5:30) What Women Experience During Their Cycle (20:29) The Ovulatory Shift Hypothesis: Researching the Cycle (44:05) How Do Men and Women Differ Hormonally? (56:27) How Does the Pill Effect Women on Their Cycle? (01:05:58) Does Female Hormone Suppression Effect Male Hormone Levels? (01:11:31) Are Career-Driven Women Going to Burn Out Faster Than Women Listening to Their Cycle? (01:17:50) Biological Sex is So Important in Research (01:22:56) Is Feminism Making Women Feel Insufficient? (01:27:26) Why are Periods So Understudied? (01:35:50) Find Out More About Sarah Sponsors: See me on tour in America: ⁠https://chriswilliamson.live⁠ See discounts for all the products I use and recommend: https://chriswillx.com/deals Get a Free Sample Pack of LMNT’s most popular Flavours with your first purchase at https://drinklmnt.com/modernwisdom Get the brand new Whoop 5.0 and your first month for free at https://join.whoop.com/modernwisdom Get 5 Free Travel Packs, Free Liquid Vitamin D, and more from AG1 at https://ag1.info/modernwisdom Extra Stuff: Get my free reading list of 100 books to read before you die: https://chriswillx.com/books Try my productivity energy drink Neutonic: https://neutonic.com/modernwisdom Episodes You Might Enjoy: #577 - David Goggins - This Is How To Master Your Life: ⁠⁠⁠lnkfi.re/SN-Goggins⁠⁠⁠ #712 - Dr Jordan Peterson - How To Destroy Your Negative Beliefs: ⁠⁠⁠lnkfi.re/SN-Peterson⁠⁠⁠ #700 - Dr Andrew Huberman - The Secret Tools To Hack Your Brain: ⁠⁠⁠lnkfi.re/SN-Huberman⁠⁠ - Get In Touch: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chriswillx Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/chriswillx YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/modernwisdompodcast Email: https://chriswillx.com/contact - Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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The Period Brain: How Hormones Change Women’s Behaviour - Dr Sarah Hill - #992

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This episode is 1 hour and 39 minutes long.

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This episode was published on September 11, 2025.

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Dr Sarah Hill is a professor at TCU, a research psychologist, expert in women’s hormones and brain science, and an author. Each month, women experience hormonal changes that go far beyond the clichés of PMS. These shifts can influence mood, stress...

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