How's Your Sleep, Blood Sugar, and Brain Power?

A recipe: Baked Sweet & Salty & Saucy Big Beans (Perfect quick & easy, high-protein vegetarian dinner idea!)

*This newsletter is not intended to be medical advice. Supported by Mandy Murphy Carroll, RD MPH, Dr. Rosa Keller, PHD RD, Dr. Ricki Pollycove OBGYN, & Dr. Claire Packer OBGYN

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Welcome to 2025 with Modern Women’s Nutrition!

Empowering the busy modern woman to understand her hormone & metabolic health, and how to eat to thrive at every step of her journey—from fertility to perimenopause and beyond.

→Jump to Recipe: Baked Sweet & Salty & Saucy Big Beans (with parsley pesto & winter squash)

Photo cred: Kelly Powers

Hi friends!

Today, I’m diving into a few personal experiences that inspired me to talk about the powerful connection between sleep, blood sugar, and brain health. This topic is SO important for all of us, even if it’s a reminder. It hits home for me not only as a health professional but because I see its effects in my daily life.

Let me tell you about last night: I drank two (or three) glasses of wine, ate dinner late (9:30 pm), and went to bed even later (1:30 am, oops). Despite being really tired after an intense day, I didn’t sleep well. I woke up multiple times during the night and was wide awake by 8:11 AM, unable to fall back asleep.

Now, let me be clear—I wouldn’t trade the joyful evening I had with my friends Matt & Rosalie for anything. But the morning after was a wake-up call (literally) about how our habits can disrupt the intricate balance between sleep, blood sugar, and brain function.

Here’s how I felt today:

• I woke up with poor circulation, feeling both overly hungry and slightly nauseous.

• I’m anticipating a major 3 PM slump.

• My mental clarity isn’t quite there.

For me, this is rare, and I know I can recover quickly. But for those who regularly experience nights of poor sleep, and/or have blood sugar spikes before bed, the long-term consequences can include insulin resistance (diabetes), brain fog, weight gain, and an increased risk of diseases like Alzheimer’s and dementia.

Let’s break it down with some science.

Your brain is the most energy-demanding organ in your body. Yup — more than your massive muscles! It uses half of all the sugar energy (glucose) in your bloodstream to function properly (source). This sugar fuels day to day processes like thinking, memory and learning.

But too much or too little sugar can cause problems: