support the notion that the brains of women after menopause don’t work as well.
Take a look at women like Marie Curie or Margaret Mead, who were both actively involved in their scientific careers well into old age. In fact, Mead is reported to have said, “There is no more creative force in the world than the menopausal woman with zest.”
RELATED: Depression During Menopause: How to Spot It and Treat It
Are there ways to improve memory and thinking?
If postmenopausal women have memory slips or difficulty concentrating, research suggests a variety of potential underlying causes. These include disturbed sleep, extra stress, or depression.
If you’re awakened by night sweats several times during the night, that’s often enough to interfere with your ability to concentrate or remember what tool you were trying to find in the garage the next day.
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Should hot flashes (medically known as vasomotor symptoms) be the reason for your insomnia and the fuzzy thinking and memory glitches that follow a sleepless night, try reducing their hold on you with some lifestyle changes.
Exercising daily is linked to a lower incidence of hot flashes. And if you’re a smoker, this may be the motivation you need to finally quit: Women who smoke have more intense and more frequent hot flashes than nonsmoking women.
If you think you might be depressed, which can cause difficulty concentrating, make an appointment with your doctor.
Feeling occasional sadness isn’t the same as being depressed. Depression is feeling sad or lacking interest in previously enjoyed activities for two weeks or longer, with at least four of the following occurring nearly every day: depressed mood, loss of interest in activities; significant change in weight and appetite; significant change in sleep; feeling physically restless or slowed down; fatigue or lack of energy; feeling worthless; diminished ability to think or concentrate; recurrent feeling of wanting to die or attempting suicide.
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If your stress quotient is noticeably high, you may be able to rein it in by practicing some form of relaxation. One of the simplest ways to combat stress is deep breathing.
Meditation, yoga, tai chi, or gentle stretching are also good ways to reduce stress. If stress, memory slips, or other menopausal symptoms continue to bother you, consult your doctor. The key is to take action that will let you feel more in control.
Now, what was I saying?
