Treated with Dr. Sara Szal Why Women Over 40 Burn Out: The Biomarkers No One Is Testing with Cynthia Thurlow
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Sep 17, 2025 Cynthia Thurlow, a seasoned nurse practitioner and TEDx speaker, discusses the hidden causes of burnout in women over 40. She shares her personal journey from traditional cardiology to understanding hormonal impacts on health. The conversation dives into essential biomarkers like fasting insulin and HRV, revealing how they can signal deeper issues. Cynthia emphasizes the significance of personal boundaries, resilience, and alignment in combating burnout, transforming midlife fatigue into a time of positive change.
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Adjust Training And Priorities In Perimenopause
- Listen to bodily signals across midlife and pause practices that no longer serve you, especially high-intensity training if recovery is poor.
- Prioritize sleep, recovery, and adjusting training intensity as hormones shift in perimenopause.
Fasting Insulin Predicts Future Risk
- Fasting insulin reveals metabolic dysregulation years before fasting glucose rises and predicts later cardiometabolic disease.
- Cynthia says routine insulin testing would have changed prevention in her cardiology practice and for many women.
Hormone Patterns Of Burnout
- Burnout often shows a cortisol pattern of prolonged high then low, with depleted free T3 and elevated reverse T3.
- Blood sugar dysregulation and hyperinsulinemia commonly accompany this hormonal burnout phenotype.