Menopause Brain Fog
What is menopause brain fog?
Brain fog is everything from trouble with memory and concentration to difficulty processing information, solving problems, or coming up with words.
What is the cause of menopause brain fog?
Brain fog is caused by the fluctuation and decline of your hormones, mainly estrogen. Certain other factors can contribute to how it feels, including those that disrupt your sleep or cause stress, anxiety, and depression.
What is happening inside your body?
The areas of your brain associated with memory are rich in estrogen receptors, specifically those for estradiol, a type of estrogen produced by your ovaries. When estrogen levels drop during perimenopause and menopause, these memory regions can be under-stimulated, leading to brain fog and other cognitive problems.
of Members report symptom improvement within 3 months.
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How is brain fog in menopause diagnosed?
Once paired with your provider, they will diagnose you based on the description of your symptoms.
What are some medical-provider-prescribed treatments for menopause brain fog?
Estradiol: This medication replenishes the exact form of estrogen that your ovaries are no longer producing.
What are some non-medical treatments for menopause-related brain fog?
While less effective than medical-grade treatments, here are some of our go-to at-home supplements that you can use:
Nutrition: Several studies have shown that a Mediterranean diet—low in sugar and carbohydrates and high in healthy fats, produce, and protein—lowers the risk of cognitive decline. The diet features food rich in omega-3s, antioxidants, and species that may help fight inflammation.
Supplements: Nutrients like vitamin D, B12, and fasts like omega-3s have been associated with cognitive benefits.
Physical exercise: Exercise is linked to improved function of the hippocampal area of the brain—which is responsible for verbal memory and learning.
Meditation: Studies on meditation have tied it to memory, attention, and verbal fluency benefits. It may also help prevent cognitive decline.
Memory exercises: Some studies have seen the benefit of memory exercises like Sudoku and crossword puzzles.
What should you do next?
Let’s get you prepared to be paired with your provider!
Select and submit all of the symptoms you are currently experiencing so your doctor can assess and provide a tailored treatment plan for you.
of Members report symptom improvement within 3 months.
care at your fingertips.
of Members report symptom improvement within 3 months.
care at your fingertips.
References
- The Seattle Midlife Women’s Health Study found that 62% of women experienced noticeable declines in cognitive performance following menopause.
- The American Journal of Epidemiology published a study showing that perimenopausal women were 1.4 times more likely to self-report forgetfulness than pre-menopausal women.
- Follow-up research on the Study of Women’s Health Across Nations (SWAN) discovered that there was a decline in cognitive performance in perimenopausal women that rebounded post-menopause.
- A 2016 study in the Journal of Neuroscience found that lower concentrations of 17β-estradiol (a type of estrogen produced in your ovaries and also used in estradiol therapy) were related to poorer performance on memory retrieval tasks.
