Addressing Menopausal Brain Fog: 6 Ways to Help

As women age, it’s common for them to experience a range of symptoms and life-altering impacts. Common symptoms you’re likely familiar with include hot flushes, night sweats, mood changes and disrupted sleep. Another symptom that’s lesser known can have a major effect on how we move through our daily activities: brain fog.

While brain fog isn’t a medical term, it’s an apt description of how it feels to experience this challenging symptom. For many women, this can result in issues with concentration, memory loss and confusion. This can result in challenges meeting the daily requirements of personal and professional activities alike.

Brain fog can be managed and reduced through proactive and preventative measures. If you’re looking to combat the impact of brain fog throughout your menopausal experiences, read on.

 

The importance of sleep during menopause

Sleep is crucial for our overall health and wellbeing, whether you’re in the midst of menopause or not. Getting enough sleep is one of the first steps in reducing the detrimental impact of brain fog.

Women in the midst of menopause should aim for between seven and eight hours of sleep a night in order to reduce the likelihood of brain fog. It’s also important for this sleep to take place on a regular sleep schedule, contributing to a regulated internal body clock that makes it easier to fall asleep and wake up around the same time each day.

If high-quality sleep is challenging for you, try introducing these simple strategies into your routine:

• Create a wind-down bedtime routine. Skip out on screen time as you get closer to lights out, choosing instead to take a warm bath, read a book or meditate. These activities can help your body prepare for sleep, helping you to drift off when it’s time for bed.

• Control your sleeping environment. Loud noises and rooms with too much light can impact the quality of our sleep – by making sure you’re sleeping in a dark, quiet room, you can increase your odds of a successful night’s sleep. 

 

Regular exercise and brain fog

Not only is regular exercise a powerful way to fight off brain fog, but it also positively contributes to maintaining our health and wellbeing throughout menopause. 

The endorphins released during exercise can play a crucial role in improving mood and energy levels. By working in a minimum of 30 minutes of regular activity each day, you can improve your clarity, focus and prime your body for a restful night’s sleep.

Mixing up your exercise routine can also help to keep your mind engaged and active throughout the week. Try alternating between exercises such as walking, cycling or swimming to build your physical and mental endurance in each sweat session.

 

How our diets impact brain fog symptoms

Our diets are one of the key areas of opportunity we have to decrease brain fog’s disruptive impact. What we eat has a major effect on our mental clarity and stamina, with a healthy, balanced diet crucial to ongoing health and functionality throughout each stage of menopause.

By consuming a diet that’s rich in fruits, vegetables, whole grains and lean proteins, not only will you be able to improve function, but also to reduce inflammation. In contrast, if your diet is high in sugar, processed foods and unhealthy fats, this can worsen inflammation while accelerating the impact of brain fog and mental decline.

Opt to include a wide variety of healthy foods in order to give your brain and body the nutrition necessary to mitigate these disruptive symptoms. Fatty fish, like salmon and tuna, are high in omega-3 fatty acids, which have proven abilities to improve cognitive function in menopausal women. Antioxidants are also powerful brain fog fighters – blueberries, strawberries and leafy greens, such as spinach, all have a positive impact on memory and brain function.

 

Remain mentally active

Contrary to what may seem like a natural response to brain fog, staying mentally active can help to fight the debilitating effects of this menopause symptom. By exercising your mental muscles, you can help to improve your cognitive function. 

Simple mental activities such as puzzles, reading or the development of a new skill can all help to keep the brain active and in a learning state, contributing to better memory and a stronger ability to concentrate.

 

Managing and reducing stress

If you’ve ever experienced a reduction in your ability to concentrate due to stress, this is only exacerbated throughout menopause. Managing stress is crucial to protecting our mental abilities, with stress directly contributing to brain fog.

Stress management techniques such as meditation, deep breathing exercises and mindfulness can all be implemented throughout the day to help keep stress levels down. If you’re experiencing chronic stress, you may need to readjust your routines or commitments in order to reduce these stress levels and find a healthy, sustainable resting point.

 

Find relief with hormone therapy

Many women find that lifestyle changes alone aren’t enough to provide effective relief from menopausal symptoms, including the detrimental impact of brain fog. Hormone therapy can be a powerful way to find relief and regularity in the midst of menopause’s ongoing hormonal changes.

Body-identical hormone therapy uses hormones that match those produced by the body, mimicking hormones such as oestrogen, which decline throughout menopause. As a result, brain fog can be alleviated, with hormone therapy providing the internal regulation necessary for peace and clarity.

 

Conclusion

Brain fog can be a highly frustrating symptom of menopause, reducing women’s ability to achieve their goals and meet their daily responsibilities. By drawing on the support available through lifestyle treatments and hormone therapy alike, you can minimise the disruptive nature of brain fog, taking back control of your energy and focus.

Learn more about the power of hormone therapy at Australian Menopause Centre. Our friendly team’s expertise provides intuitive, grounded support across the course of your menopause experience.