Are you struggling to remember people names, getting your words muddled up, losing your train of thought mid sentence or forgetting your computer password (again)?
Do you worry there’s something more sinister going on – perhaps Dementia or Alzheimers.
The reality is, if you’re a woman of a certain vintage it’s more likely your fuzzy thinking is just another way of your body telling you it’s not getting what it needs in order to function well.
The good news is there’s plenty you can do to reboot your brain and sharpen your thinking.
Just Say No!
Women love to help others – we say yes all the time.
Whether the request comes from family, friends or work colleagues, the temptation to say yes is overwhelming…
· yes I can stay late
· yes I can cover for you at lunchtime
· yes I can help you with your homework
· yes I can look after the grandkids
· yes I’d love to meet you for a coffee
· yes I’ll organize our night out
Before you know it your head and your diary is full of other peoples stuff not yours.
Now there’s nothing wrong with helping others, but you need boundaries and you need time for you too.
When it comes to menopause, managing stress is crucial to managing your symptoms.
Rushing from one task to the next or multi tasking just stresses you out. And when you’re stressed your body produces a stress hormone called cortisol.
Studies have shown too much cortisol can change the landscape of your brain, specifically the shrinking of the hippocampus area which is where you memories are stored.
If you want to improve your memory, it’s time to start saying no!
Switch it off!
We’re bombarded with digital information 24/7.
Your brain is whirring away processing the information you’re flicking through on social media – most of it wholly irrelevant that you simply don’t need taking up space in your brain!
If the first thing you do every morning is check your social media feed your brain is immediately hijacked by other peoples stuff.
Notifications pinging on your phone throughout the day are constantly distracting you from the task at hand whatever that may be.
If the last thing you do every night is check your social media feed you’re powering up rather than powering down.
Have you every tried a digital detox? A few hours or even days away from social media?
Don’t let social media rule your life, eat your time and fog up your brain!
Eat smart to think smart!
Your gut health is directly linked to your brain health; in fact your gut acts as a 2nd brain. So if your gut is unhappy your mental faculties will suffer too.
Now there are seven smart menopause eating essentials I teach my clients and one of the most crucial for brain fog is to make sure you have enough essential fats in your diet.
There’s a reason they’re called essential—you absolutely need them and they’re vital for hormone balance.
You’ll find essential fats in foods like avocados, nuts, seeds, ccoconut oil, oily fish and eggs.
We’ve been taught for years by the diet industry that fat is bad. But the reality is that the right type of fat won’t make you fat any more than eating blueberries will make you blue!
Brain fog, anxiety, mood swings, hot flushes, disrupted sleep are all signals your body’s changing and you need to change too in order to feel like yourself again.
Commit to saying no more often, take a break from social media and eat some good fat every day.
Come and join us in The Menopause Chat Room on Facebook and hang out with other women just like you who. You’ll discover the simple changes you can make to cool down, calm down and break through the brain fog of menopause.