Lost Sparks, Raving & Relationship Advice | Midlife & Menopause Podcast

In today's 40ish, Nicole is celebrating a personal best at the gym as she gears up for turning 50ish. Lauren is staying up far too late watching The Substance (again). One of us is getting stronger. The other is getting sleepier. Both are entirely committed to their choices. In Midlife News, the underwire bra is making a comeback. Designers including Prada and Tom Ford are embracing lingerie-inspired looks, while celebrities are wearing bras as outerwear. But after years of wireless bras, stretchy fabrics and finally being able to breathe, are women in their forties and beyond really ready to return to something that feels like scaffolding around the ribcage? Our listener dilemma is all about celebrating her mum’s 80th birthday when the birthday girl hates a fuss. With a mum who doesn't want a big party, how do you make such a milestone special without making her miserable? We're talking about aging parents, family expectations and learning to celebrate people in the way that actually makes them happy. In this week's midlife meltdowns. Cutlery is causing disproportionate levels of irritation, and we're exploring the complicated business of angry gratitude. Because sometimes even the smallest inconvenience is enough to push us over the edge. Join us for honest, funny and gloriously relatable conversation about life in your forties and beyond, getting older, family dilemmas, midlife fitness and all the little things that somehow become very big things. Follow 40ish for more midlife news, relatable dilemmas, funny meltdowns and the things nobody warned us about in our forties.

This week on 40ish: Lauren wonders if it’s too early to put the heating on and Nicole has a tupperware invention that could transform the world of reusable plastic storage. We're also tackling a parenting dilemma that will resonate with anyone whose teenager is thinking about university. One listener is concerned about student debt, future job opportunities and whether university will live up to expectations. But how do you balance wanting to protect your children from an expensive mistake with giving them the freedom to make their own decisions? Plus, we're sharing the meltdowns that come with travelling light, having a cold and resolving what to do about grey eyebrow hair. It’s another dose of midlife honesty, ridiculous everyday frustrations and the reassurance that we're probably all losing the plot just a little bit. If you're navigating midlife, parenting teenagers, perimenopause or simply wondering why your eyebrows are turning grey while your patience disappears, you're in the right place.

Brain fog, anxiety, weight gain, poor sleep: is it always perimenopause? This week on 40ish we ask whether we're blaming everything on our hormones, and whether that means other health issues get missed.

This week on 40ish: Nicole is wondering if her post menopause personality is here to stay - and if so how worrying is that (answer: very) Whilst Lauren has finally found somewhere to wear the white shoes.

It's a 40ish Midlife News Special, and this week we're asking a fairly important question: how much do doctors actually learn about menopause? An ITV News investigation into medical schools in England and Wales found that some student doctors receive as little as one hour of formal menopause teaching during their entire five-year medical degree, with around 20% of universities that responded reporting less than 90 minutes of dedicated menopause teaching.