Sure enough I was in perimenopause \u2013 something nobody talked about at the time \u2013 and have had my hormone levels managed ever since, which made the transition through menopause a breeze (sorry).<\/p>\n
But the study \u2013 which put 11,000 menopausal women through MRI brain scans \u2013 shows that even taking HRT didn\u2019t stop this loss of grey matter. Eek.<\/p>\n
![\"Viavi,](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/107332471-15669405-Viavi_a_discreet_wellness_and_longevity_clinic_invited_Alice_Har-m-4_177445720092.jpeg\")
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Viavi, a discreet wellness and longevity clinic, invited Alice Hart-Davis for a brain scan which\u00a0would check her dementia risk<\/p>\n
I was also intrigued to learn that I\u2019d be tested for something that Viavi\u2019s founder and CEO, Dr Sabine Donnai, calls \u2018CEO brain\u2019.<\/p>\n
What on earth is that? Well, explained Dr Donnai, a former GP who\u2019s now a leading authority in proactive health management, it\u2019s essentially a hard-wired tendency towards a go-getting, positive mood, better executive function and more entrepreneurial, risk-taking behaviour.<\/p>\n
Apparently, some people have a mutation in their COMT gene (bear with me), which breaks down neurotransmitters such as dopamine, known as the \u2018happy hormone\u2019. That means people with this genetic mutation have more than their fair share of the stuff and are generally living life on a dopamine high, which, suggested Dr Donnai, may well lead to a combination of qualities and attributes that makes for a good CEO. Hence \u2018CEO brain\u2019.<\/p>\n
Among the general population, only 23 per cent of us have this COMT variation, but among Viavi\u2019s elite clientele of lawyers, investment bankers, hedge-funders, celebs and entrepreneurs, a massive 81 per cent do. It sounds wonderful \u2013 as long as you don\u2019t lose the \u2018off\u2019 switch, because the CEO brain is also highly vulnerable to burnout.<\/p>\n
Did I fit that bill? I doubted it. I\u2019m the founder of a small company (The Tweakments Guide), but I\u2019m easily distracted when I\u2019m meant to be concentrating.<\/p>\n
There was only one way to find out: with a mass of highly specific tests, including a brain MRI, a \u00adfitness evaluation, and blood and DNA tests.<\/p>\n
\u2018When we focus on your brain,\u2019 Dr Donnai told me, \u2018we look at three areas. First, what is your brain like now? Are there structural issues like a tumour? Second, what could harm it? Are there nutrient deficiencies, or inflammation or genetic issues?<\/p>\n
\u2018Third, what is supporting it \u2013 your sleep, your fitness, your microbiome. Then we ask: how is your brain doing, and what should the strategy be to prevent any problems?\u2019<\/p>\n
So off I went for the MRI. Then, back at the clinic, I huffed as hard as I could into a device that measured respiratory volume, did some DNA swabs to check genetic mutations, and had 23 vials of my blood taken (23 vials? That\u2019s nearly an armful!). This would be sent off to labs in the UK and the US to check my levels of vitamins, hormone levels, inflammation markers and toxin levels \u2013 and of the p-tau protein (that sample had to go to the US for testing).<\/p>\n
Next came the fitness test, where I pedalled on an exercise bike, grumbling as the resistance became harder and harder, while ECG electrodes on my chest monitored my heart and an alarming face mask measured the oxygen I breathed in and the carbon dioxide I puffed out.<\/p>\n
After that, the tests were easy. Body composition, bone density, grip strength, \u2018brain mapping\u2019 with tiny electrodes glued to my head . . . though by the time I got to the cognitive tests at the end of the day, trying to remember a sequence of words, then numbers, then shapes, then identify them again under time pressure, I was feeling old and slow.<\/p>\n
![\"Alice](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/107332477-15669405-image-m-45_1774201913318.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
Alice underwent a mass of highly specific tests, including a brain MRI<\/p>\n
![\"Alice](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/107332479-15669405-I_pedalled_on_an_exercise_bike_while_ECG_electrodes_monitored_my-m-42_17742018783.jpeg\")
<\/p>\n
Alice pedalled on an exercise bike while ECG electrodes monitored her heart and a mask measured the oxygen she breathed in and the carbon dioxide she puffed out<\/p>\n
I left clutching home-testing kits. A continuous glucose monitor would track my glucose levels and relay these to an app on my phone, while a device to measure my heart-rate variability \u2013 clipped to my ribs and below my collarbone with stick-on electrodes \u2013 would show how stressed I became and how well I recovered from said stress. I also had a spit-in-a-tube saliva test to check my levels of cortisol, which is a key stress hormone.<\/p>\n
A few weeks later, apps bulging with data, I was back at Viavi to get my results.<\/p>\n
First, the easy bits. I had already worked out via the apps that my glucose levels were consistently \u00adstable (except for the one time I ate a Pret baguette for lunch, which sent them soaring).<\/p>\n
My stress levels were consistent too \u2013 but consistently high. Indeed, the app kept telling me to get more rest, but since I go to bed early and sober 95 per cent of the time, and do a fair bit of yoga, I was stumped as to how to do this.<\/p>\n
At my debriefing, however, there was so much good news, at least at the start, that I began to relax.<\/p>\n
My MRI was clear. My brain is working surprisingly well and rates three years younger than my actual age (yay, I thought, until Dr Donnai told me I should really aim to get it ten years younger). And my grey matter? Just fine, since you ask.<\/p>\n
A \u2018lovely volume of grey matter,\u2019 confirmed Dr Donnai, \u2018above the typical range\u2019. Thank goodness.<\/p>\n
All that pedalling showed my VO2 max \u2013 the maximum amount of oxygen that a body can use during intense exercise, aka your fitness levels \u2013 was up in the exceptional category (double yay!). My cholesterol levels were a tad high and I was a bit low on antioxidant vitamins B and C, but otherwise all the blood results were fine.<\/p>\n
Oh, and I don\u2019t have any signs of p-tau, the Alzheimer\u2019s biomarker.<\/p>\n
Dr Donnai seemed delighted. I was thrilled \u2013 and amazed, given how old and creaky I feel when I lever myself out of bed in the morning.<\/p>\n
And then we got to the heart rate variability and recovery data from those electrodes I\u2019d had stuck to my chest 24\/7 for three weeks \u2013 and Dr Donnai looked suddenly serious.<\/p>\n
\u2018Your days are a bit like a horror story,\u2019 she said. I laughed nervously, but clearly this wasn\u2019t a joke.<\/p>\n
\u2018We\u2019re seeing a nervous system completely stuck in high alert,\u2019 she said. \u2018You do recover a bit at night, but not enough to compensate. Our bodies should build up a \u201csavings account\u201d of rest. You\u2019re dipping into your savings account every day.\u2019<\/p>\n
My levels of cortisol \u2013 the main stress hormone \u2013 were out of whack, too. Ideally, Dr Donnai explained, you wake with a healthy cortisol peak that falls steadily to almost nothing by bedtime. That tells your body it\u2019s safe. My cortisol started off high and simply climbed all day until bedtime. It looks like there\u2019s no \u2018off\u2019 switch at all in my life.<\/p>\n
Is this CEO brain? I asked meekly. Suddenly it didn\u2019t seem such a great idea.<\/p>\n
\u2018Oh, definitely,\u2019 said Dr Donnai. \u2018You think you\u2019re coping, but physiologically your system is in constant fight-or-flight.<\/p>\n
![\"Alice](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/107332475-15669405-I_also_huffed_as_hard_as_I_could_into_a_device_that_measured_res-m-48_17742022725.jpeg\")
<\/p>\n
Alice huffed as hard as she could into a device that measured respiratory volume and had some DNA swabs taken to check for genetic mutations<\/p>\n
![\"Alice](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/107332485-15669405-I_had_23_vials_of_my_blood_taken_My_cholesterol_levels_were_a_ta-m-50_17742022889.jpeg\")
<\/p>\n
Alice also had 23 vials of blood taken. Tests revealed her cholesterol levels were a tad high and she was a bit low on the antioxidant vitamins B and C<\/p>\n
![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/107332481-15669405-image-m-53_1774202431504.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
The Viavi tests revealed that Alice has CEO brain – a hard-wired tendency towards a go-getting, positive mood, better executive function and more entrepreneurial, risk-taking behaviour. It also makes her highly vulnerable to burnout<\/p>\n
\u2018If people do that for long enough, they pay, first with sleep quality, then mood and focus. Hormones will be affected, and eventually their body gives up.<\/p>\n
\u2018Pushing through isn\u2019t clever,\u2019 she added. \u2018That\u2019s where burnout happens. Because you keep pushing where someone else would say, \u201cHold on, this isn\u2019t good, something really needs to change.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u2018Sadly for many people like this, often something bad has to happen to make them see that they need to change.<\/p>\n
\u2018But our role is to stop that from happening, to make you realise what\u2019s going on and give you the tools to change it now.\u2019<\/p>\n
She added, very ominously, that whenever people arrive at the clinic with cancer, she looks back two or three years in their medical history for a period of acute stress that could have been the tipping point.<\/p>\n
Suddenly, I was in tears. I love my work; I love the variety, the over-full days, the being \u2018always on\u2019. This has been my \u2018normal\u2019 for many years, and I\u2019m always up for new challenges, though I have to admit I feel constantly on the brink of collapse. How on earth do I learn to be different? Is it even possible to change how my body reacts to life at my age?<\/p>\n
\u2018Of course you can,\u2019 said Dr Donnai. \u2018We see this all the time.\u2019<\/p>\n
In contrast to all the high-tech testing, my recovery plan is largely good old common sense advice, starting with a proper evening wind-down regime, with all screens off an hour before bed, a hot bath and a book. When I wake in the night, no playing with my phone or even meditating (the brain needs its downtime for repair and it can\u2019t do that if you keep feeding it information), but counting down from 100 instead.<\/p>\n
During the day, I need to remember to breathe more deeply and slowly as often as possible, to calm down my hyper\u00advigilant nervous system.<\/p>\n
Brains need lots of oxygen so keeping up the exercise is a must. Dr Donnai reckoned that my fitness level was the one thing standing between me and imminent collapse.<\/p>\n
Nutrients are vital for the brain, too. I should aim to eat 100 different foods a week (herbs and seeds count), switch to organic produce to reduce the pesticide load, eat more slowly, and also chew more thoroughly to extract the nutrients from whatever I\u2019m scoffing. And seeing as I\u2019m under-nourished, Dr Donnai suggested I need a lot of green juices \u2013 celery and kale \u2013 for more antioxidant vitamins, made with a masticating juicer, not a centrifugal one. Cripes, what\u2019s the difference? A masticating one grinds ingredients more slowly to yield more nutrients; the other has a high-speed blade that heats the juice and destroys lots of the antioxidants that you\u2019re after.<\/p>\n
Can\u2019t I just take supplements? Food first, she advised. Also, more fibre and fermented foods to help my gut microbiome, plus activated charcoal capsules to mop up toxins (if your gut is unhappy, your brain will hear about it).<\/p>\n
So yes, I have CEO brain and it makes life exciting. But now, of course, I\u2019d rather not have it at all.<\/p>\n
I had a horrible feeling that, if I didn\u2019t get a grip, it would be the end of me. Another huge incentive was that if I could find that elusive off-switch, my brain should get sharper when it\u2019s \u2018on\u2019. Dr Donnai seemed supremely confident that I could do this.<\/p>\n
I wish I could say I left the clinic and instantly became the poster child for R&R, but life barged in.<\/p>\n
My ancient, adored father became ill and died. Work galloped on and in the fug of grief and funeral planning, a major lifestyle overhaul involving green juices, no caffeine after 11am (a genetic mutation means my body struggles to get rid of it), regular detoxing saunas and phone-free nights went out of the window. Later, I thought.<\/p>\n
Later is now. I can\u2019t say I\u2019ve made much progress, but I\u2019m trying. My phone sleeps, mostly, in another room. I aim to be off all screens by 9.30pm and fill the time before bed with stretching and reading. The one thing that does make my nights less riddled with stress, at least according to my wearable fitness watch, is having a hot bath before bed.<\/p>\n
I aim, but constantly forget, to practise deep-breathing during the day, to tell my body it\u2019s safe, that there is no tiger about to pounce. My fruit and veg are now organic. And top of my birthday list this year? A masticating juicer.<\/p>\n