unPAUSED with Dr. Mary Claire Haver

What if weak bones and muscle loss aren't just "normal aging" but the result of decades of misinformation? In this episode double board-certified orthopedic surgeon Dr. Vonda Wright joins Dr. Mary Claire Haver to shatter the myth that frailty, fractures, and decline are inevitable for women in midlife.
Dr. Wright explains why women can lose up to 20% of their bone mass in just five years after menopause—and more importantly, what we can do to prevent it. She reveals how stress, inadequate nutrition, and neglecting strength training and hormonal health create the very outcomes we've been taught to accept as unavoidable.
From the "musculoskeletal syndrome of menopause" that affects 70-80% of women (yet most doctors never discuss) to the science of building bones through strategic lifting, Dr. Wright provides the blueprint for aging with power instead of resignation.
Guest links:
Dr. Vonda Wright
Dr. Vonda Wright (Instagram)
Books
Unbreakable: A Women's Guide To Aging With Power, by Dr. Vonda Wright
Younger in 8 Weeks, by Dr. Vonda Wright
Fitness After 40: Your Strong Body at 40, 50, 60, and Beyond, by Dr. Vonda Wright
Guide to THRIVE: 4 Steps to Body, Brains and Bliss, by Dr. Vonda Wright
Masterful Care of the Aging Athlete: A Clinical Guide, by Dr. Vonda Wright
Raising a Healthy Youth Athlete, by Dr. Vonda Wright
For full show notes, please click here.

In this episode of unPAUSED, Dr. Mary Claire Haver sits down with Dr. Lucy McBride, a Harvard and Johns Hopkins trained primary care physician and author of the new book Beyond the Prescription: A Doctor's Guide to Taking Charge of Your Health. Dr. McBride has spent twenty five years watching patients bounce between a rushed medical system and a wellness industry.
The conversation opens with a hard truth about modern healthcare: doctors interrupt patients within eleven seconds of them speaking, and fifteen minute appointments leave almost no room to understand the whole person behind the diagnosis codes. Dr. McBride explains why this happened, how insurance incentives reward volume over conversation, and why trust and rapport, not just lab values, are the real birthplace of health. She and Dr. Haver share stories from their own practices, including patients who were given thousands of dollars in tests but never asked a single question about their actual lives.
Guest links:
Dr. Lucy McBride
Dr. Lucy McBride (Instagram)
Dr. Lucy McBride (LinkedIn)
Dr. Lucy McBride (X)
Dr. Lucy McBride (YouTube)
Dr. Lucy McBride (Ackerly McBride Group)
Beyond the Prescription (Apple Podcasts)
Are You Okay? By Dr. Lucy McBride (Substack)
Books
“The New Perimenopause,” by Dr. Mary Claire Haver
“The New Menopause,"⁠ by Dr. Mary Claire Haver
“Beyond the Prescription: A Doctor's Guide to Taking Charge of Your Health,”
by Dr. Lucy McBride
For full show notes, please click here.

In this episode of unPAUSED, Dr. Mary Claire Haver continues her conversation with Dr. Kristen Holmes, Vice President of Performance Science at Whoop and author of the new book Aligned, moving from the science of circadian rhythm into a practical recovery plan a woman can start using tonight.
Dr. Holmes lays out a realistic strength and cardio prescription for women who only have thirty minutes a day, and explains how sleep governs the release of growth hormone and the capacity to build and preserve muscle as we age. She introduces the idea of alignment over willpower, framing consistent habits as infrastructure built around what someone actually values rather than a matter of discipline, and connects that back to the four core psychological needs, purpose, autonomy, self efficacy, and connection, that predict anxiety and sleep quality.
The conversation turns to wearables, including what to look for in a tracker, the pitfalls of obsessing over data, and simple, no cost markers like a regular menstrual cycle, resting heart rate, energy, and mood that anyone can track without one. Dr. Holmes and Dr. Haver also cover how alcohol and marijuana affect sleep architecture, when a sedative can help short term versus when it becomes a long term problem, and which supplements, like magnesium, actually have data behind them for sleep and anxiety.
The episode closes with a rapid fire round on melatonin, mouth taping, cold plunging, weighted blankets, red light therapy, chronotypes, and napping, followed by the two changes Dr. Holmes would tell a woman to make first if she wants better sleep and recovery starting tonight.

Guest links:
Dr. Kristen Holmes (Instagram)
Dr. Kristen Holmes, PhD (LinkedIn)
The Line with Dr. Kristen Holmes (Apple Podcasts)
Books
“The New Perimenopause,” by Dr. Mary Claire Haver
“The New Menopause,"⁠ by Dr. Mary Claire Haver
“Aligned: The Data-driven Guide to Performance, Recovery, and Human Potential,”
by Kristen Holmes
For full show notes, please click here.

In this episode of unPAUSED, Dr. Mary Claire Haver sits down with Dr. Kristen Holmes, Vice President of Performance Science at Whoop and author of the new book Aligned, to unpack why sleep and circadian rhythm matter as much as hormones when it comes to the symptoms women feel in perimenopause and menopause.
Dr. Holmes explains the concept of circadian amplitude, the contrast between activity and rest, light and dark, and fed and fasted states that keeps every system in the body running on time, and why women with lower amplitude tend to report more frequent and more severe symptoms. She walks through why morning light exposure is one of the most powerful and underused tools available, how getting outside within the first part of the day sets the timing for melatonin release that night, and why a window is not a substitute for actual daylight.
The conversation moves into meal timing, including why the body is more insulin sensitive earlier in the day and how consolidating calories into a shorter window can support better sleep and metabolic health. Dr. Holmes also covers where movement fits, including the specific role of zone two training in recovery, why late night intense exercise can work against sleep, and how alcohol affects women differently than men at the same dose.
Dr. Holmes and Dr. Haver also dig into what actually drives a 3am wake up, tracing it back to progesterone, GABA signaling, and the loss of hormonal stability that comes with perimenopause, and why sedatives can mask the problem without improving sleep architecture. The conversation ends with a look at the data connecting circadian misalignment to shift work, mental health, and long term health risk, and what a woman can start doing tonight to build back that rhythm.

Guest links:
Dr. Kristen Holmes (Instagram)
Dr. Kristen Holmes, PhD (LinkedIn)
The Line with Dr. Kristen Holmes (Apple Podcasts)
Books
“The New Perimenopause,” by Dr. Mary Claire Haver
“The New Menopause,"⁠ by Dr. Mary Claire Haver
“Aligned: The Data-driven Guide to Performance, Recovery, and Human Potential,”
by Kristen Holmes
For full show notes, please click here.

In this episode of unPAUSED, Dr. Mary Claire Haver continues her conversation with Dr. Sasha Hamdani, a board certified psychiatrist and ADHD clinical expert who wrote Self-Care for People with ADHD and the forthcoming Too Sensitive, moving from diagnosis into what to actually do once ADHD and perimenopause or menopause start colliding.
Dr. Hamdani explains how ADHD symptoms and medication effectiveness shift across the menstrual cycle, tracing the pattern back to the drop in estrogen and rise in progesterone that hits right before a period, and walks through where nonstimulant medication options fit for women who want an alternative to stimulants. She lays out her version of a menopause toolkit, prioritizing sleep, exercise, and nutrition ahead of any prescription, and explains why psychiatrists have reprioritized sleep given new data on how stimulant medication works in the brain.
The conversation moves through nutrition and appetite regulation, the role GLP1 medications can play in quieting food noise, and a candid look at which supplements, including omega 3, ferritin, and magnesium, actually have data behind them versus which are marketed with none. Dr. Hamdani connects circadian rhythm and delayed melatonin onset to the sleep struggles common in ADHD, and explains why morning light exposure functions almost like a switch for the brain.

Guest links:
Sasha Hamdani, MD
Sasha Hamdani, MD (Facebook)
Sasha Hamdani, MD (YouTube)
Sasha Hamdani, MD (Instagram)
Sasha Hamdani, MD (TikTok)
Sasha Hamdani (LinkedIn)
Books
“The New Perimenopause,” by Dr. Mary Claire Haver
“The New Menopause"⁠ by Dr. Mary Claire Haver
“Too Sensitive: Rejection, Resilience, and the Science of Feeling Deeply,” by Dr. Sasha Hamdani
“Self Care For People With ADHD,” by Dr. Sasha Hamdani
For full show notes, please click here.