The most common Perimenopause symptoms are:
Difficulty sleeping at 81%,
Difficulty concentrating at 75%,
Hot flushes & Night sweats at 72%
(as per menopause in the workplace survey House of Commons, women and equalities commitee2021-2022)
All of these symptoms can aggravate another common ailment during Perimenopause, Menopause Brain Fog.
Were you like me, and diagnosed your inability to concentrate as a form of dementia?
When this occurs during the transition to menopause i.e., Perimenopause it is not likely to be dementia, but it is a symptom that comes under the umbrella of Menopause Brain Fog!
So what is Menopause brain fog, What can help Menopause brain fog, Is it the same as dementia? Can you do anything to delay o prevent dementia in later life?
What is Menopause Brain Fog?
Menopause brain fog is a group of symptoms that happens around the time of perimenopause,
In your brain, you have many estrogen receptors.
If we say estrogen is the key and the receptor is the lock. The decline of estrogen means you ‘can’t unlock the receptors which results in the symptoms like
Difficulty remembering words and numbers, disruptions in daily life (misplacing items like keys),
Trouble concentrating
Losing a train of thought, being more easily distracted),
Forgetting appointments and events.
Difficulty switching between tasks,
Forgetting the reason for doing something
( studies show when estrogen levels are increased the symptoms improve IMS-White-Paper-2022-Brain-fog-in-menopause.pdf )
What can you help your Menopause brain Fog?
Perimenopause symptoms like hot flashes, night sweats, and difficulty sleeping can exacerbate your menopause brain fog. Treating those symptoms should help with brain fog too.
(See tips below)
In any event please do not give yourself a hard time.
We don’t expect an athlete to perform at their best if they have an injury, so accept that you will not either if you are in the middle of a menopausal brain fog episode.
Menopause brain fog is not the same as dementia
Menopause does not lead to dementia.
The memory issues you experience are not necessarily early symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease or dementia.
Dementia at midlife is very rare unless you have a family history of early-onset Alzheimer’s disease
It will improve post-menopause.
Of all the women who transition to menopause, most women will not develop dementia later. In the USA lifetime risk of Alzheimer’s disease dementia is 19.5% at age 45 years and only increases to 21.1% at age 65 years
“Prevalence of Alzheimer’s Disease depends on biological sex and geographical location, with higher rates among women than men and higher rates in Europe and North America than in Asia, Africa and South America”
https://www.imsociety.org/
Can you delay or prevent Dementia in later life?
Midlife is an ideal time to intervene in changing your risk factors for dementia.
Five factors at midlife that increased dementia risk by 41–78%, including
obesity,
diabetes,
currently smoking,
hypertension
high cholesterol.
You can adjust your lifestyle to:
improve your brain health
manage your current health
help your future health
By
✔ Having sufficient Sleep
✔ Heart health = brain health Move to get your heart pumping (running, swimming dancing walking cycling) aim for
150 mins per week
✔ Cut out sugary, fatty food, and replace it with more fruit and vegetables.
✔ During perimenopause eat more phytoestrogen (plant estrogen) eg Soya products ie soya milk & soya beans
✔ Avoid stress
✔ Stop smoking & reduce alcohol intake
✔ do not socially isolate yourself get involved with a community and or your family.
✔ Aim for blood pressure of 120mm HG 18
✔ Maintain weight with a BMI of 18-25
✔ Keep the brain active by learning something new
Conclusion
Menopause brain fog is one of the most common perimenopause symptoms. It occurs because of declining estrogen. it does not necessarily lead to dementia.
There are lifestyle changes that you can take to help with brain fog today & also to delay or prevent dementia in later life.
If you would like a Free Ebook with more tips on how to manage your Perimenopause symptoms please subscribe to it here
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