Why Your Brain Can Feel Different During Hormonal Changes

For many women in perimenopause and menopause, the brain starts working harder than it should have to. 

That’s not because of age. It’s because of change. 

Many experience foggy thinking and inconsistent motivation. Perhaps a difficulty in concentrating on things that used to come easily. These are experiences that many women describe clearly and consistently, and that have historically been under-studied and under-explained. Often, such experiences are dismissed as stress, or the inevitable consequence of getting older.  If their bloodwork comes back as normal, then they are sent on their way. 

In this article, we have not attempted to diagnose what's happening. Instead, we have focused on what researchers understand about the connection between hormonal changes and how the brain feels. We then look at which ingredients in the get dopa formula are relevant to that picture. 

Hormones and the brain: the basic connection 

Hormones are essentially chemical messengers that are produced by a number of different glands throughout the body. The ones that we are most concerned about travel through the bloodstream to influence a vast range of biological processes, including processes within the brain. 

Several hormones are especially active in influencing and modulating these processes. This can affect the systems involved in mood, motivation, memory and the ability to concentrate. When hormonal patterns shift — as they do during the significant transitions of midlife — the brain's chemistry shifts with them. 

This isn’t a pathology or a disease. It is a normal consequence of a biological transition. But 'normal' and 'without impact' are different things. The changes that many women experience during this period are very real. They are not imagined, exaggerated, or simply a mindset problem. They can have a real biological basis. 

Why can focus, mood and motivation feel less? 

The brain systems involved in focus, drive, and emotional regulation are sensitive to hormonal context. As hormonal patterns change over the years of perimenopause and menopause, the environment in which those systems operate changes too. 

What this can look like in practice — and what the research supports — is a period of adjustment in which the brain is recalibrating. During that recalibration, the systems that used to feel automatic may require more effort. Concentration that once came easily may feel like it has to be actively maintained. Motivation that was reliable may feel inconsistent. Memory can feel the same way - research from the Study of Women's Health Across the Nation found that around 60% of midlife women report memory problems during this transition (1) 

The evidence on nutritional support during this period 

There are several nutrients which have a well-established relationship with the brain systems that are most affected during the hormonal transitions experienced in life. They are nutrients involved in normal brain function that become especially relevant when those functions are under greater demand. 

Vitamin B6 

B6 has been extensively studied and safety checked. It contributes to the regulation of hormonal activity. That’s a significant statement which is an authorised health claim under UK/EU regulation. B6 is also an important cofactor in producing several different compounds that all our brains rely on for mood and motivation. During periods of our adult lives when there are hormonal changes, and when the hormonal environment is shifting, adequate B6 becomes especially relevant. get dopa contains B6 at 9mg. This is 643% of the reference intake (the guideline amount of a nutrient that an average adult needs each day). Why so high? Because B6 is involved in the regulation of hormonal activity and several normal metabolic processes. The demand on B6-dependent processes can rise during periods of high hormonal activity. 

Magnesium Glycinate 

Magnesium contributes to normal psychological function and to the reduction of tiredness and fatigue. These are both authorised health claims. It is also one of the minerals most commonly at sub-optimal levels in the diet. In addition, the form that the mineral is in matters significantly. 

Most supplements use magnesium oxide, which is the cheapest and most widely available form. But in this form it is generally considered less absorbable than some organic forms. (2) get dopa uses magnesium glycinate which is an organic compound of magnesium in a highly absorbable form that your gut can actually take up and make available to the body. At 180mg per serving, it's a meaningful dose of a highly bioavailable form of magnesium. 

The relevance to this period in our lives specifically is that magnesium contributes to normal psychological functions which includes supporting calmness and mental steadiness. The experience of feeling wired, unable to switch off, or mentally unsettled (which many women describe during hormonal transitions) is one where magnesium's role in supporting normal psychological function is very applicable. 

Read more about the forms of magnesium here. 

L-Tyrosine and L-Phenylalanine 

As discussed in Part 1 of this series, L-Phenylalanine and L-Tyrosine are the amino acid building blocks the brain uses every day for protein synthesis and normal body processes that for many mean motivation, drive, and mental clarity. These processes don't operate in a vacuum — they're influenced by the hormonal context in which the brain is working. During periods when that context is shifting, having adequate supply of these building blocks becomes more important, not less. 

get dopa includes both at 400mg each. The underlying nutritional support these amino acids provide is directly relevant to the systems that hormonal changes affect. 

→ B6 (9mg)

Contributes to the proper regulation of hormonal activity. It’s a cofactor in the production of compounds that the brain relies on for mood and motivation. 

→ Magnesium Glycinate (180mg) 

A highly absorbable form that contributes to normal psychological function and the reduction of tiredness and fatigue. Supports calmness and mental steadiness. 

→ L-Phenylalanine + L-Tyrosine (400mg each) 

Both are amino acid building blocks involved in the processes the brain uses for motivation, drive, and mental clarity. Relevant to the systems most affected by hormonal change. 

→ Chromium (200μg — 500% RI) 

Contributes to maintaining normal blood glucose levels. Relevant to the energy stability and afternoon steadiness that can feel harder to maintain during hormonal transitions. 

A note on Chromium 

Each daily dose of get dopa contains Chromium at 200μg. This is 500% of the reference intake. Chromium is important because it contributes to normal blood glucose maintenance, which is relevant to normal energy metabolism.  Again, this is an authorised health claim. Blood glucose stability is relevant to this conversation because of energy inconsistency. That feeling of the mid-afternoon crash and running out of fuel before the day has ended, is one of the experiences many women describe during hormonal transitions. It has a metabolic component alongside a hormonal one. 

We can see that Chromium’s contribution can lead to steadier blood glucose levels and steadier afternoons. The mechanism here is metabolic, not hormonal, but the practical outcome is equally relevant. 

KEY TAKEAWAYS 

• Perimenopause and menopause can affect how the brain feels in areas including focus, motivation, mood stability and mental steadiness. This has a biological basis which is not imagined or simply psychological. 
• B6 contributes to the regulation of hormonal activity (authorised UK health claim) and is a cofactor in brain processes relevant to mood and motivation. 
• Magnesium Glycinate is a highly absorbable form of magnesium that contributes to normal psychological function and the reduction of tiredness and fatigue. 
• L-Phenylalanine and L-Tyrosine are amino acid building blocks for the brain processes most affected by hormonal change. 
• Chromium contributes to maintaining normal blood glucose levels, which is relevant to the energy stability that can feel harder to maintain during this period. 
• get dopa is nutritional support for normal brain function during a period when those functions are under greater demand. 
  
  

NEXT IN THE SERIES 

This is the sixth and final article in the Inside the Formula series. The full series covers all six ingredient groups in the get dopa formula, written in plain language, with the reasoning behind every formulation decision. 

Part 1 — The Amino Acid Building Blocks Your Brain Uses Every Day

The raw materials your brain runs on, and why L-Phenylalanine and L-Tyrosine are the ones that matter.

Part 2 — The B Vitamin Form Matters More Than the Name on the Label
Why the active form of a B vitamin can matter more than the dose on the label.

Part 3 — Caffeine Isn't Energy. Here's Where Real Energy Comes From

What caffeine actually does, why it stops working, and the nutrients that support genuine cellular energy production.

Part 4 — What the Research Shows About the Brain After 40

Four ingredients, the changes they address, and an honest account of the evidence behind each one.

Part 5 — The Gut Has a Brain Too

The vagus nerve, the microbiome, and why Lactobacillus rhamnosus is in a cognitive formula at all.