How perimenopause and menopause affect your concentration
The main reason is our changing hormones as we progress through perimenopause towards menopause. Falling oestrogen levels can impact the way that your brain functions, so you may find that your cognitive performance decreases.
Due to this, you may find that you can't concentrate as well as you did before, you can't focus, and that you have memory issues too. You can start forgetting things in general, struggling to remember names, what you're supposed to do, and where you put things. You might find, too, that it's starting to affect your performance at work because you can't concentrate, or you can't do all the things you used to do without even thinking.
And sometimes, other simple tasks can be affected, like driving. It can be something like cooking a meal. You might find you get halfway through it and then you're thinking, "What am I doing? What am I cooking?"
It can be struggling to finish watching something on TV. You've been looking forward to watching a program, and then three-quarters of the way through, your mind is just wandering and you're thinking of completely different things.
And it can be the same with reading books. You may find that you can only read a short amount compared to previously, or you might find that you put the book down, then when you pick it up again, you have no idea where you are. You just can't remember where you left off.
Other symptoms which impact your concentration
Other symptoms can affect your concentration, such as fatigue. If you are tired, you really can't concentrate. Poor sleep is going to have a really huge effect on how you perform the following day, too. It can be just basic burnout. You're just so tired and can't do anything at all. And also, if you're getting anxiety, if you're getting stressed, if you're getting low mood or mood swings, that is going to affect your ability to concentrate and focus.
What can you do to help improve concentration and focus in perimenopause and menopause?
So, what can you do to help yourself? Here are a few things that I recommend:
Stay well hydrated: For those of you that are regulars to my blog, you can guess what number one is. It's water! You need to stay hydrated. Your brain is made up of at least 73% water. And if you are dehydrated (and that can be through general dehydration, the hot weather, it could be due to you getting hot flushes and night sweats), that will have a huge effect on brain function. Your brain will experience some shrinkage, and there's no way it will be able to perform properly if you're dehydrated. (The good news: you can reverse this with good hydration.)
So, drink plenty of water every day, at least a litre and a half. And it needs to be plain water; so, things like caffeine, fizzy drinks, and fruit juices won't count. What about herb teas? If they're just single, plain herb teas that would be fine. But other than that, it really needs to be just pure, plain water.
Eat well to feed your brain: Your whole body needs lots of different nutrients at this time. And one of the really important things for brain function is your omega-3 fatty acids. So, this is an essential fatty acid that's needed for brain function. It’s found in things like oily fish. If you're vegetarian or vegan, go with flaxseed – either use the oil that you can put on food or use in dressings, or you can get supplements.
Also, eat more wholemeal, complex carbohydrates to keep your energy levels up; so, following the Mediterranean diet is a good option. Just Google the Mediterranean diet, and that will give you a really good idea of the sorts of foods that you need to be eating in your diet.
And interestingly, in a lot of communities around the Mediterranean, there are areas where people are living well into their 90s and over. And they are still as bright as a button, both physically and mentally. So, this is a really good diet to look into.
Don't skip meals: This is really important because your blood sugar control can go all over the place in perimenopause and menopause, and it only needs to dip a little to have a big effect on your brain function. And I know, for me, if I go too long without food, I get really irritable. And that affects my concentration and anything that I want to do. So, just make sure that you're eating properly and you're having some kind of healthy snack in between meals to keep those blood sugar levels stable.
Remember to breathe: I know that sounds a really silly one. But one of the things that we do know is that, especially if you're in a state of anxiety and stress, you shallow breathe. You need oxygen to keep your brain going, so it's really important. So, if you find that your concentration, or your memory, or your focus is going, just do some very gentle, slow, deep breathing for a few minutes; and often, that can just bring everything back online.
Reduce distractions: When you're trying to focus on something, try to eliminate distractions. I mean, what do we do today? You know, I'm in my office, we've got the radio on, other people are talking, we've got the computer on, the phones are ringing. You might find that it's not so much that you can't focus, but all these other distractions are just interrupting your train of thought.
So, try and keep things around you as clear as you possibly can, and stop trying to multitask. You know, I keep saying multitasking should be banned in menopause, purely because if you're trying to focus on one thing but you're thinking of what you've got to do next or what you've forgotten to do beforehand, it’s a recipe for mental mayhem. It's so often easy, simple stuff that we are doing that is sabotaging what we're actually wanting to achieve.
Try some herbal helpers: There is an herb called Ginkgo biloba, and its common name is the Memory Tree, because this herb is known to help with focus and concentration.
You can look at the herb Sage. Now, we all know Sage is really good for hot flushes and night sweats, but there's some lovely, recent research showing that it can also help with focus and concentration.
Sage is another word for wise so, traditionally, it may well have been used to help with memory. You can take Sage as a one-a-day tablet; you can take it as a liquid; and you can also take it as a tea.
The other strategy you can look at is one of the Flower Essences, called Concentration Essence. The Flower Essences are lovely. If you don't know much about them, they just help to support your emotional state. So, if you're stressed, anxious, and you're trying to concentrate, a few drops of Concentration Essence on the tongue can help you to focus just that little bit more.
Jan de Vries Concentration Essence | Flower Essence | 30ml
- Helps to quieten a busy mind
- Helps you focus on specific thoughts and ideas
- Contains Peppermint, Nasturtium and Hornbeam
- Suitable from the age of 2
- Suitable for Vegetarians and Vegans
- Combination of flower extracts
"For days when I have brain fog, or feel scatty or need/want to concentrate more. I am sure they help me in everyday life to just focus on one thing at a time and increase my attention span, which can wander off a bit these days. Would recommend.”
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And just remember, if you get to the point where you're really struggling, don't beat yourself up because that creates added pressure, which makes everything worse. Just take time out for 5 or 10 minutes; have a drink of water; just focus on something else; and then come back to the task at hand. And very often, that little break will give you that added energy just to keep going.
So, I hope you found this one helpful. It seems to be a really common issue for an awful lot of us as we go through perimenopause and menopause. And as I mentioned before, it can have quite a big impact on everything that we do during the day.
If you have found something that's helped you or something that you do that can make a difference, please share them. We really do love to read all your stories and tips.
And until next time, take care.
You may also find these topics helpful:
4 menopause brain worries & how to improve brain function
3 ways menopause brain fog can get worse
Exams, driving tests, studying, competing. These are all times we need to concentrate and be super focused.