When Personal Experience Drives Product Creation
Make Time Wellness exists because its founders lived the problem. Emma Heming Willis — known for her advocacy around caregiving and brain health — and Helen Christoni built the brand from direct experience with brain fog, the demands of caregiving, and the lack of products designed specifically for women’s cognitive wellness.
In this conversation recorded at Expo West 2025, Nour Abochama explores their journey from personal need to product launch — and what it means to build a supplement brand around an underserved demographic: women navigating cognitive load, hormonal shifts, and the physiological effects of stress.
The Brain Fog Reality
Brain fog — the experience of mental cloudiness, difficulty concentrating, forgetfulness, and slowed processing — is common but under-addressed. It can stem from:
- Sleep deprivation — the most common cause; cognitive function degrades sharply with inadequate sleep
- Hormonal fluctuations — perimenopause, menopause, postpartum, and menstrual cycle phases affect neurotransmitter balance and cognitive clarity
- Chronic stress — elevated cortisol impairs hippocampal function and working memory
- Nutritional gaps — B vitamins, omega-3s, iron, and vitamin D all play roles in brain function; deficiency can manifest as fog
- Medication side effects — many prescriptions and OTC drugs list cognitive effects
Make Time Wellness formulates with these drivers in mind. The brand’s products target the nutritional and botanical supports that have evidence for cognitive function — while acknowledging that supplements can support, not replace, sleep, stress management, and medical care.
Caregiving and Cognitive Load
Emma has spoken publicly about the experience of caregiving — a role that carries enormous emotional, logistical, and often physical load. Caregivers report high rates of stress, sleep disruption, and depression. The cognitive demands — managing medications, appointments, finances, and decision-making — are constant.
“Caregivers put themselves last. They’re so focused on the person they’re caring for that their own health deteriorates. We wanted to create something that acknowledges that reality — that gives caregivers permission to support their own brain health.”
The brand’s messaging explicitly includes caregivers as a core audience. The products are positioned as tools for people under cognitive load — whether from caregiving, demanding careers, motherhood, or the intersection of multiple roles.
Ingredients for Cognitive Wellness: What the Evidence Supports
Nour brings her laboratory and quality control perspective to the ingredient discussion. What does the evidence actually support for cognitive health supplements?
Omega-3 (DHA/EPA): Strong evidence for cognitive maintenance and possible slowing of age-related decline. DHA is the primary structural fat in the brain. Supplementation is particularly relevant when dietary intake (fatty fish) is low.
B vitamins (especially B6, B9, B12): Essential for neurotransmitter synthesis and homocysteine metabolism. Deficiency is associated with cognitive decline. Supplementation in deficient populations shows benefit; in replete populations, evidence is mixed.
Vitamin D: Observational studies link low vitamin D to increased cognitive decline risk. Supplementation trials have produced mixed results. Status matters — deficient individuals may benefit; sufficient individuals may not.
Adaptogens (ashwagandha, rhodiola): Evidence for stress reduction and possibly cognitive performance under stress. Mechanisms involve HPA axis modulation and possibly neurotransmitter support.
Lion’s mane, bacopa, ginkgo: Emerging evidence for cognitive support, with varying quality of clinical data. Lion’s mane has promising studies on mild cognitive impairment; bacopa has tradition and some trial support for memory; ginkgo has a long research history with mixed meta-analytic results.
Caffeine + L-theanine: Well-studied combination for alertness and focus without jitteriness. Often included in “brain health” formulations.
Make Time Wellness selects ingredients from this evidence base and formulates for women specifically — considering hormonal context, absorption differences, and the physiological demands of their target customer.
Quality and Transparency
For any supplement brand targeting brain health — a high-stakes category — quality and transparency are non-negotiable. Consumers are rightfully skeptical of cognitive claims.
Make Time Wellness emphasizes:
- Third-party testing — identity, potency, and purity verification
- Transparent labeling — full ingredient disclosure, no proprietary blends for key actives
- Evidence-based formulation — ingredients and doses aligned with published research
Nour: “Brain health is a category where consumers are vulnerable. They’re often dealing with real cognitive concerns — their own or a loved one’s. Brands that make cognitive claims have a responsibility to formulate rigorously and test thoroughly.”
Key Takeaways
- Brain fog has multiple drivers — sleep, hormones, stress, nutrition, medication — and requires multifactorial approach
- Caregivers are an underserved demographic for cognitive wellness; the demands of caregiving create sustained cognitive and emotional load
- Evidence-supported ingredients for cognitive support include omega-3, B vitamins, adaptogens, and select botanicals (lion’s mane, bacopa)
- Supplements support but don’t replace sleep, stress management, and medical care
- Quality verification and transparent labeling are essential in a category where consumers are often dealing with serious concerns
This article is based on Episode 35 of Nourify & Beautify with Emma Heming Willis and Helen Christoni of Make Time Wellness, recorded at Expo West 2025. Watch the full conversation on YouTube or listen on Podbean.
