Podbit · The Diary Of A CEO with Steven Bartlett
Creatine struggles to cross the blood-brain barrier in small doses. On days after poor sleep — especially common in perimenopause — doubling up to 10 grams can meaningfully restore alertness and cognitive performance where caffeine alone falls short.
Where this was said
At 52:35 · chapter starts 52:07
Dr. Estima opens a bag of supplements to structure this segment, framing herself as a 'special category of nerd' who takes research-grade extras but is focused here on what matters for most women. Magnesium glycinate leads — easy to absorb, supports sleep, relaxation, and muscle recovery, with Dr. Estima habit-stacking it next to her salt and pepper at lunch and in her bathroom at night. Omega-3s (2–4g daily, kept in the fridge) are well-established for inflammation and cognition. Vitamin D3 with K2 — a pro-hormone rather than a true vitamin — is essential for sex hormone production and should be taken at 4,000 IU daily by virtually everyone, even those in sunny climates. Creatine (3–5g, previously seen as a 'bro supplement') is now embraced for women's strength, muscle volume, and cognition. Collagen (10–15g hydrolyzed) supports the frequently neglected joints, tendons, and ligaments. Vitamin C rounds out the stack as an antioxidant and collagen absorption enhancer. [1] — Dr. Stephanie Estima "The foundational supplement stack for women starts with magnesium glycinate for sleep and recovery, omega-3s for inflammation and cognition…" 49:27
Dr. Estima recommends every woman take 3 to 5 grams of creatine daily, paired with resistance training, for strength, muscle volume, and cognitive benefits.
A higher 10-gram creatine dose on days following poor sleep can help compensate for cognitive impairment, as creatine struggles to cross the blood-brain barrier in smaller amounts.
Self-help fails because people are sold one universal cure by the hyper-responders who had a transformative result from it. The real problem is context: every method works for the right person at the right time, which is almost never you just because the author says so.
Spencer Greenberg was once so socially anxious his heart pounded just approaching a stranger. His therapist gave him homework: go to a bar alone, talk to 5 strangers. Starting with asking for the time, he worked up to asking men for hugs — and his anxiety fell dramatically in 6 months.
A person who flies regularly but obsessively checks weather forecasts before every flight is not doing exposure therapy — they're teaching their brain that flying is only safe with the ritual. Safety behaviors prevent the brain from ever learning that the feared thing is actually fine.
The worry-time technique assigns all worries to one scheduled slot (e.g. 5 PM). Every time a worry surfaces, you write it down and ban yourself from engaging with it until that time. When 5 PM arrives, most worries feel trivial and the act of batch-worrying exposes how little it actually accomplishes.
In a randomized study of 20 habit techniques, 'habit reflection' stood out: recall a past habit you successfully built, write down what helped you succeed, then apply those same strategies to your new habit. It works because it's self-adapting — it uses whatever worked for YOU.
The tiny habits technique — always having a minimal version of your habit you can do when life gets in the way — keeps the mental machinery of habit formation from breaking. Paradoxically, people given a tiny-habit fallback option were MORE successful at the full habit, not less.
Fears and worries act like playground bullies — they want to ambush you. But when you deliberately seek them out and choose the time of engagement, they lose their power. The volitional act of starting the fight on your own terms is one of CBT's most underappreciated insights.
Most downtime defaults are things you regret immediately after — phone scrolling, binge TV. 'Glad you did it' activities meet the same need for rest but leave you feeling like you spent your time well. The switch from a bad screen to a documentary, a book, or a walk costs almost no extra effort but compounds into identity over time.
You rarely control your first reactive thought. But you can train your second thought — the response to the trigger — by asking whether your initial reaction is the most helpful one and replacing it with something equally true but more constructive. Over time, that second thought becomes automatic.
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