24. Fueling for Focus: Why CEOs, Athletes & Parents Need Gut Resilience With Jessica O'Dwyer

Can your gut, stress hormones, and menstrual cycle be the real reason you're struggling with brain fog or decision fatigue? In this powerful episode, Dr. Shawn Watson and Michelle are joined by functional health expert Jessica O’Dwyer, trusted by high performers at Barclays, UBS, and Morgan Stanley, to uncover the often-overlooked connection between physical health and cognitive clarity.

🔬 From gut-brain communication and hormonal fluctuations to blood sugar regulation and burnout recovery, this conversation offers science-backed, holistic strategies for navigating cognitive overload, especially for women in high-performance environments.

Whether you're a CEO, athlete, student, or parent juggling multiple roles, you'll walk away with tangible tools to fuel your brain, reduce stress, and make sharper decisions—even on your busiest days.

🔑 Key Takeaways:

• Gut health plays a direct role in mental clarity and decision-making

• Hormonal shifts, sleep, and stress profoundly impact cognitive performance

• Chronic stress and nutrient depletion can hijack your brain’s capacity to function

• Fueling for cognitive load is just as essential as fueling for a workout

• Data-led, personalized health strategies can prevent burnout and boost performance

📌 Topics Covered:

0:00 Introduction

05:30Understanding Cognitive Overload

10:25 Physical Health & Decision-Making

19:12 Fueling Your Brain for Performance

26:24 The Gut-Brain Connection

30:07 Fiber, Hormones & Nutrient Deficiencies

36:14 Personalized Nutrition & Technology

48:28 Empowering High Performers with Data

🧠 Keywords: decision fatigue, cognitive overload, gut-brain connection, stress management, personalized nutrition, mental clarity, hormones, gut health, burnout, high performance, functional health, women’s health, biohacking, brain optimization, focus, productivity

🎙 Guest: Jessica O'Dwyer — Functional Health Practitioner | Trusted by leaders at Barclays, UBS, Morgan Stanley 🔗 jessicaodwyer.co.uk | @jesstalksnutrition🎧 Listen & Subscribe:

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💡 If you found this episode helpful, like, comment, and subscribe. Share it with someone who could use a reset on how they make decisions. Let’s build better brains together—one choice at a time.

Your decisions shape your life. Make every decision count.

#DecisionFatigue #GutBrainConnection #BrainFog #FunctionalHealth #CognitivePerformance #StressManagement #HighPerformance #Biohacking #MentalClarity #BrainOptimization