There's no way around it: Menopause's symptoms—hot flashes, night sweats, and down-there dryness—stink. But for some, losing your period can leave you feeling like you're losing your mind, too.
Forgetfulness during menopausal years is what Tara Allmen, MD, and author of Menopause Confidential: A Doctor Reveals the Secrets to Thriving Through Midlife calls "menofog." During menopause, she says, many ladies complain of memory loss.
In fact, some research suggests that 60% of perimenopausal women notice "unfavorable" memory changes.
"There is a general consensus based on some longitudinal data [like the Study of Women's Health Across the Nation (SWAN)], that in perimenopause and early post-menopause, there are cognitive difficulties for some women and some mood changes, which seem to level back to normal once you get further into menopause," explains Mary Jane Minkin, MD, a clinical professor of obstetrics and gynecology at Yale University.
What gives? Symptoms like hot flashes, night sweats, poor sleep, and mood changes could give way to stumbles in cognition, says Allmen. "Part of the problem is also that there are a whole lot of things going on in a typical 50- to 55-year-old woman's life which can take a lot of attention: kids going off to school; kids coming home; dealing with job issues and partner's job issues; dealing with aging parents—huge stressors," says Minkin. (Here are 10 silent signals you're way too stressed.)
Fortunately, there are some ways to fight back. Take these 4 steps to feel better and banish fogginess for good. (Did you know your body has 6 key fat-fighting hormones? See how to balance and boost them—and lose up to 40 pounds in the process—with The Hormone Fix.)
Protect your heart.
Your heart and your head have more in common than you think. A study in the Journal of the American Heart Association found that cardiovascular disease, hypertension, and diabetes were all linked with a higher risk of mental decline in postmenopausal women. The connection likely boils down to a healthy blood flow throughout the body.
"The best approach to brain health and wellness is to promote factors that maintain the health of the cardiovascular system," says Allmen. To keep your mind sharp, start by controlling issues like high blood pressure, diabetes, and abnormal cholesterol, and nix habits like smoking cigarettes.
Go on a run.
You know that exercise can make you feel better, but it can do a world of good for your brain, too. Every study analyzed in an Australian review of research found that exercise was associated with lower rates of cognitive decline in postmenopausal women. When in doubt, consider cardio: Heart-pumping workouts seemed to boost health the most, the researchers found.
Prevention Premium: Everything You Need To Know To Get The Best Health Insurance Coverage For You And Your Family
Make a sleep schedule.
"Sleep can be massively disrupted by hot flashes," says Minkin. "When you're not sleeping well, stressors and your brain are really off the wall." In fact, one study in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society found that older women who slept five or less hours a night had worse cognition skills than those who slept seven hours. But sleeping too much isn't the answer: Ladies who zonked for nine hours a night or more suffered from declines in cognition. The research suggests that extremes (too much or too little sleep) as well as big changes (like sleeping six hours one night and 10 hours the next) can negatively impact brain function. Your best bet is to stick to seven or eight hours a night—no matter what day of the week it is.
Befriend your doc.
A good relationship with your healthcare provider—your gynecologist or primary care doc—is a key part of managing menopausal symptoms, says Minkin. Take this study from Massachusetts General Hospital: It found that a better relationship with your doc (making eye contact, feeling understood, setting goals) can be as beneficial to your health as some small medicinal interventions like daily aspirins to prevent against heart attack.
Not seeing eye-to-eye with your physician? Try a specialist. For a menopause practitioner near you, plug your zip code into menopause.org, the North American Menopause Society's site, Minkin suggests.
MORE: I Tried To Stretch Every Day For The #SpreadTheHealth Challenge, And Here's How It Went
Cassie Shortsleeve is a skilled freelance journalist with more than a decade of experience reporting for some of the nation's largest print and digital publications, including Women's Health, Parents, What to Expect, The Washington Post, and others. She is also the founder of the digital motherhood support platform Dear Sunday Motherhood and a co-founder of the newsletter Two Truths Motherhood and the maternal rights non-profit Chamber of Mothers. She is a mom to three daughters and lives in the Boston suburbs.
Watch Next
Halle Berry Misdiagnosed Perimenopause for Herpes
Halle Berry Gets Real About Menopause Brain
What Is Menopause Brain?
Gabrielle Union on Perimenopausal Hair Loss
