Hi, I'm Ellen

Where I'm coming from

I'm a woman in the thick of midlife — and I'm going through perimenopause myself. Like a lot of you reading this, I know what it's like to lie awake at 3 a.m., to feel my body change in ways nobody really warned me about, and to wonder whether it's "just me." I'm not writing from a doctor's office or a research lab. I'm writing from the same place you're standing.

I'm not an expert, and I'll never pretend to be. What I do is refuse to settle for vague answers. When my own sleep started falling apart, I began reading what most of us don't have time to read — the SWAN cohort papers, the NAMS position statements, Cochrane reviews on CBT-I and hormone therapy — and I translate it into calm, plain-English notes for women going through the same thing.

What I am — and what I'm not

Being straightforward here matters, so:

I'm not a doctor. Not an MD, not a nurse, not a nurse practitioner, not a physician assistant. I hold no clinical license. I've never diagnosed a patient, and I never will. Nothing on The Midlife Compass is medical advice.

I live this myself. I'm a midlife woman going through perimenopause, not an observer writing from the outside. So read this site the way it's meant to be read: as one woman sharing what she's learned while going through it too — grounded in the evidence, never dressed up as medical authority.

I'm a careful reader, and I try to be a clear writer. That's what I bring. I read what most of us don't have time to read — peer-reviewed journals, national society guidelines, clinical trial registries — and I cite my sources every single time. If you ever see a claim on this site without a source, hold me to it. Email contact and I'll add one or take it down.

Why this site exists

The gap between "what the sleep and menopause research actually says" and "what women hear at their annual physical" is enormous. That gap gets filled by wellness influencers, supplement marketers, and social media hearsay — not always to women's benefit.

The Midlife Compass is my small attempt to close that gap. I stick to what the peer-reviewed evidence supports. I avoid dramatizing normal transitions. I name uncertainty when it exists. And I point you toward qualified clinicians — especially NAMS Certified Menopause Practitioners — when it's time to have a professional conversation.

How the content is created

Every article on this site follows the same process:

1. Identify a question women 40+ are actually asking.
2. Read what the current peer-reviewed evidence says — primary sources first, then reputable clinical guidelines (NAMS, Mayo Clinic, Cleveland Clinic, NIH/NIA, Sleep Foundation, AASM).
3. Draft an answer that reflects the state of the evidence, including where the evidence is weak or contested.
4. Cite every claim. Link to the primary source when possible.
5. Update the article when new evidence changes the picture.

What you'll never find here

• Miracle cures.
• Fear-based marketing.
• "You'll never feel this way again if you just..." promises.
• Made-up "as a woman who's been there" stories.
• Product recommendations dressed up as medical advice.

About the portrait

Yes, that's me up there — me and my tea, drawn instead of photographed. I like it that way: cozy, honest, and never a bad hair day.

Editorial policy in one sentence

If it isn't backed by evidence, it doesn't run. If the evidence changes, I update the article. If I get something wrong and you tell me, I fix it and credit you.