If you’re a woman in your forties or fifties, you’ve probably stopped in the middle of a room and wondered where you were going, or forgotten the name of a person you know well, or started a sentence and forgotten what you wanted to say.
Many women are concerned about the early symptoms of dementia.
Many women worry that these are early signs of dementia. But if these experiences coincide with changes in hormone levels and perhaps a few (or many) hot flashes, they are more likely to be signs of menopause than the onset of dementia.
The physical and emotional symptoms associated with changing hormone levels can be debilitating.
“Menopause often coincides with other significant life events, such as grown children leaving home, the arrival of grandchildren, the development of chronic illnesses such as diabetes or heart disease, aging parents who need care, planning for retirement or, conversely, more time of your own that you plan for career advancement.
Therefore, any symptoms associated with menopause, including effects on brain function, must be viewed in the context of everything else going on in an individual’s life.
There is much speculation as to why some women have more memory and concentration problems in menopause than others. This may be related to estrogen levels or to the interaction between hormone levels and neurotransmitters in the brain. It is also indicated that lifestyle habits that affect brain health (intellectual activity or physical exercises) provide some protection of brain functions.
In perimenopause and the early stages of menopause, some women describe changes in the process of thinking and making decisions, and they may have difficulties in acquiring and using new information.
It is now known that the mentioned complaints affect about two thirds of women in menopause and perimenopause. The cause is related to the effects of changing hormone levels on the brain.
Disturbed hormone levels as triggers
The first hormone level to drop is usually progesterone, and this can be associated with irritability, mood swings and deconcentration. Falling progesterone can also cause sleep disruption, and sleep disruption itself can affect the brain’s ability to function optimally.
Falling estrogen levels cause the well-known symptoms of menopause, including hot flashes, mood swings, irritability, mental confusion, and decreased energy.
Regular exercise is very important for brain function
There is an association between memory loss and the severity of hot flashes. One study found that women who experienced more hot flashes in one day also had the worst memory scores.
Doctors report that patients can be “relieved” when they are told that their problems with brain function are most likely caused by the state of their hormones, and that this is likely to be temporary, and not associated with an increased risk of dementia or Alzheimer’s disease.
One study at the University of Rochester in New York looked at 117 middle-aged women and administered a series of neuropsychological tests of memory.
Researchers tracked and analyzed their menopausal symptoms and measured their hormone levels, finding that declines in attention/working memory, learning, memory capacity, and fine motor skills were most common in the first year after the last period.
It turned out that women who had hysterectomies and had their ovaries surgically removed at a younger age were more prone to effects on brain activity.
Women who had their uterus and ovaries removed, but who then took hormone therapy, had slower cognitive decline than women who did not take hormones.
The first year of menopause is likely to be more difficult in terms of the effect on brain activity, and memory and learning ability generally return to normal after the menopause process ends.
What can be used as prevention
Doctors say that there is a lot that women can do to ease the mentioned problems.
They advise regular check-ups with the chosen doctor, and regular blood pressure checks, which, when elevated, can also increase the risk of cognitive impairment. It has been shown that women with very high blood pressure have a 30 percent higher risk of developing cognitive impairment.
Exercise is essential for the prevention of chronic diseases, and is also useful for curbing irritability, helping you sleep, and maintaining a healthy body weight, bone and muscle strength. The brain requires good blood flow to maintain optimal function, so exercise is really more than recommended.
Exercise your mind, solve crosswords, read, learn a foreign language or play music. Be socially active, these are the doctor’s recommendations.
Doctors also point out that disturbed sleep or lack of quality sleep disrupts normal brain function and contributes to mental confusion. Give yourself time to fall asleep. Keep your bed and pillows comfortable and your bedroom quiet and dark. Do not keep electronic devices that emit light or make noise in the bedroom, health professionals advise.
They add that it is also important to watch your diet, eat lots of vegetables and fruits and other unprocessed foods, while avoiding animal fats and trans fats.
Avoid tobacco, artificial sweeteners and alcoholic beverages and switch to water as your primary drink, meditation, relaxing activities and breathing techniques, doctors advise.
It is also important to know that some of the drugs can affect memory and brain function. If you notice that your brain function has worsened after starting to take these medicines, ask your doctor or pharmacist to review the medicines you are taking and possibly suggest a replacement.
When it comes to supplements, herbal and vitamin preparations, as well as hormonal therapy, which could be helpful, the most important thing is to consult a doctor in order to determine exactly what and how best to use, because they do not have all patients have the same problems and no requests.
Source: www.sitoireseto.com
