Today's topic
Today on A.Vogel Talks Menopause, I take a look at perimenopause brain fog and what you can do to help yourself.
Are you finding in the perimenopause that you're not thinking clearly or your memory's sometimes not quite as quick as it used to be? Are you finding that it's really difficult to focus and concentrate on the things, such as on the tasks that you've got to do?
So, what I'm going to do today is have a look at what causes this brain fog, why it can happen in perimenopause, and what things you can do to make life easier for yourself.
Firstly, what is brain fog?
Brain fog is an all-encompassing term for a collection of symptoms that can affect your brain and memory, as well as the way you focus on things. This can include not being able to think clearly and confusion. So, you can get to a point in the day where you go somewhere and suddenly think, "What did I come here for?" So, you can get those moments of completely forgetting what you were doing or what you were looking for.
It can be a lack of mental clarity. Maybe you have a job where you have to think on your feet and you're finding now that you're really struggling to react as quickly as you used to be able to do.
It can also be difficulty concentrating. You might find that your brain just drifts off at any given moment and you start thinking about something completely different. It can be your inability to focus on tasks, to get them done, and to think clearly about what you need to do.
It can be about losing that train of thought. You're in the middle of doing something and suddenly, you start thinking about what have I got to cook for dinner tonight.
It can temporarily wipe your memory and cause memory lapses. And this can be a really troubling one. And I know, for me, I'm useless at names anyway but oh, my goodness, you remember faces but can you remember people's names. And, of course, that can be really embarrassing. It can be very disconcerting too if it's somebody that you see on a regular basis or maybe a work colleague that you meet now and again.
What causes brain fog to occur during perimenopause?
So why does this happen? There are several things that can cause this or make it worse:
Fluctuating hormones
In perimenopause, your hormones are flutuating, going up and down. So, what happens here is that when there's a lot of fluctuating oestrogen, it means that your brain can be more sensitive to stimuli. So, you can get overwhelmed by things much more easily.
If you think about it, your brain is a little bit like a computer. If you have your computer and you're trying to put in information just one thing after another, there gets to a point when the computer can just crash. And it's the same with our brains.
We can only input so much information and also, pull out information at the same time. And if our brain's not firing on all cylinders, then it's going to make things that little bit more difficult.
Blood sugar levels
This is a really, really important one. Your brain will take up at least 20% of the daily energy that you produce. And when you're in perimenopause, all the changing hormones and the physical changes that are going on can really drain you of energy.
So, if your energy is being used elsewhere, your brain is not being 'plugged in' fully. And that will affect the way in which your brain works generally. So, it's really important here to remember just how much energy your brain needs on a daily basis.
Your brain can also be super sensitive to a sudden drop in glucose. Glucose is brain food. It's what keeps your brain going. So, if your blood sugars keep dipping, then that's going to interfere with the flow of glucose to the brain. And you might find that there are very specific times in the day when your brain suddenly just goes all to pot. That can be an indication that it's your blood sugars and you just need to eat a little bit more or little and often.
Poor sleep
We know in perimenopause, especially just before and during a period, a lot of women find that their sleep is disrupted and they can't sleep well. If you are not sleeping well, that's going to aggravate stress. It's going to contribute to memory loss. It's going to cause fatigue. Your mood can then fluctuate, which is going to affect everything. And that can end up creating a real vicious cycle of poor sleep and poor brain function. You then get extra stress. That affects sleep and so on. So again, this is a really important one that needs sorting.
Dehydration
Your brain also needs lots of water. If you're dehydrated, your brain mass can actually shrink, and that will affect the way in which your brain and all your neurons, and nerves function. Dehydration will also cause anxiety. It can cause mood swings. If you're getting hot flushes and night sweats, that can contribute to dehydration as well.
So again, this is another reason why drinking plenty of water is very important during perimenopause and menopause.
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Does brain fog get worse during menopause?
Women often ask me, "If this is happening in the perimenopause, is it going to get worse in the menopause?" It's a difficult question to answer because it's different for everyone. I know, for me, memory loss and that blank brain feeling were worse in menopause rather than in perimenopause. But for some women, it will be worse in the perimenopause, and then they might be okay in menopause.
Very often, it's a phase. But again, it depends on how well you're treating your body, how well you're supporting it and if you are addressing things that can make it make it worse, and if you're doing things to counteract all these issues that I've mentioned.
What can help treat perimenopause brain fog?
So, what can you do to help yourself? There are lots of simple things that you can do to help improve brain function and reduce brain fog during perimenopause. Here are a few things I recommend:
Keep your blood sugar levels balanced: Eating little and often, having good snacks in between meals can help keep your blood sugars balanced. I know, for me, even now, that if I don't have snacks in between meals, my brain function practically grinds to a halt. So, I know, for me, and I've learned over time that little and often is really important to keep me going, especially at work.
Eat healthy fats: They are really important for brain function. You could take a fish oil supplement or if you're vegetarian or vegan, you can go with the flaxseed oil supplement. And that's something that can very often help as well.
Eat complex carbs: While limiting refined carbs such as white bread and white pasta, etc is best because, for a lot of women, it can contribute to weight gain, not all carbohydrates are bad! Slow-release, complex carbs like proper oatmeal, round grain brown rice, and some of the good root vegetables are good additions to a healthy diet.
Sleep well: If sleep is an issue, you could look at our Dormeasan Sleep Drops, which contain Valerian root and Hops. Taking a magnesium supplement with your evening meal can also help you sleep better.
Breathe well: When we're stressed and anxious, as well as sort of hunching like this, we tend to just breathe using the top part of our lungs. What happens then is we're not breathing enough, our blood is not being oxygenated, and that will affect brain function too. So, the minute you feel any of these symptoms appearing, just do a couple of minutes of really slow, really deep breathing and that can really get everything going again very, very quickly.
Drink plenty of water: This is important to help avoid dehydration
Helpful herb: If you really feel your memory is slipping quite badly, there is a herb called Ginkgo biloba which is known to help memory. It helps maintain healthy circulation, which helps to main and benefit the blood flow to the brain.
Flower power: You can also try Concentration Essence. This is a flower essence that comes in little drops that you can put on the tongue whenever you need to focus a lot on something very specific.
Concentration Essence - combination flower remedy
- Helps maintain a feeling of mental alertness
- Helps you to focus when there is a lot going on
- Contains a combination of flower extracts, including infusions of Common Ash, Larch, Blackberry, Hornbeam, Cerato, White Chestnut, Peppermint, Nasturtium, Wild Oat and Walnut.
"Lovely taste and does the trick"
Take B vits: B vitamins are really good for brain function and for also releasing energy so they can help with fatigue too.
Keep your brain active: The more you use it, the more things that you do to keep it going, the more that will help. A lot of people find doing puzzles and things like Sudoku can be really helpful too.
So, I hope you found this one helpful. It's really common. I'm getting so many women in the perimenopause contacting me to tell me that are experiencing this now.
If you have any other issues with brain fog or there is something you have found that's worked really well for you, then please share it because we would all love to hear about it.
Until next week, take care.
Exams, driving tests, studying, competing. These are all times we need to concentrate and be super focused.
