N4L 097: "The Female Brain" by Dr. Louann Brizendine

 SUMMARY

Dr. Louann Brizendine’s bestselling, seminal book “The Female Brain” has been translated into more than 30 languages and sold over a million copies. Brizendine guides us through all the stages of a woman’s life, from birth to menopause, explaining what hormones trigger her feelings, skills, and behaviors. Beyond male-female stereotypes, Dr. Brizendine cites solid research to substantiate some commonly held beliefs about women and to explode some myths as well. “The female brain has tremendous unique aptitudes—outstanding verbal agility, the ability to connect deeply in friendship, a nearly psychic capacity to read faces and tone of voice for emotions and states of mind, and the ability to defuse conflict,” says Brizendine. “All of this is hardwired into the brains of women.”   

KEY POINTS

“Overlapping speech” – when women pick up and continue a line of thought for other women; by men, this form of spoken language is mistaken as interrupting Botox treatments and facelifts – interrupt the tiny muscles in the face, making it very difficult to pick up on nonverbal cues and can change our very essence Estrogen escalation during the first two weeks of the menstrual cycle makes women more flirtatious and verbal. Childbirth triggers gargantuan hormonal changes, including overwhelming protectiveness, and makes women more flexible, adaptive, and courageous and increases their spatial memory. Postpartum, new mothers lose an average of 700 hours of sleep in the first twelve months! About 80 percent of women get “the baby blues” (day 7-9 postpartum) when hormones drop dramatically before the brain regains its normal balance. Sleep and bright sunlight can help women combat postpartum depression. Social isolation postpartum can be devastating to a woman, especially if she has left the workplace to have a baby. Perimenopause is “like adolescence without the fun” (e.g., night sweats, heavy bleeding, mood swings).

QUOTES FROM BRIZENDINE

“The male and female brain are more alike than different. After all, we are the same species.” “Language is the glue that connects one female to another.” “Sleep has to be your touchstone for being your best brain you can be while you’re awake, so anything you can do to improve your sleep and the baby’s sleep will follow… You need to focus intensely on sleep postpartum.” “[Childbirth] is a complicated time in a couple’s relationship, especially the first baby.” “[Getting] social interaction is like taking an essential daily vitamin.” “[I believe in] honoring who you are and whatever it is that makes you feel normal after you’ve had a baby.” “Tears in a woman make evoke brain pain in men, and the male brain registers helplessness when they see a woman crying.” After menopause: “There’s a regrouping…you’re in a different state where you’re able to embrace that authenticity of who you are again. It’s really an upgrade. It’s wonderful. So, you have that to look forward to.”

BUY The Female Brain
BUY The Male Brain: A Breakthrough Understanding of How Men and Boys Think

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