Are you experiencing the ‘cotton-wool’ brain in your 40’s?

While physical and mental health are frequently in the spotlight, it is important that we continue to open up and focus more on the less discussed aspects of our health, such as menopause awareness.

World Menopause Day is observed on October 18 every year to raise awareness about  the impact condition has on the lives of women around the world and the support options available for improving health and wellbeing. The theme of World Menopause Day 2022 is cognition and mood which focuses on what’s known as ‘Menopause Alzheimer’s Disease’ a group of symptoms that occur around the time of the menopause. 

Menopause can be one of the most difficult phases of a woman’s life, but it is a natural part of the ageing process. Most women reach menopause when they’re around 50, but the transition can take more or less than 10 years, which is known as the perimenopause. Memory loss, vaginal dryness, hot flushes, and headaches are among the symptoms of menopause, but there are many others, and each woman will experience them differently.

There are many theories about how women’s brains differ from men’s brains in various ways. Compared to males of the same age, women going through menopause have significant effects on multiple organ systems, including the brain and ovaries, which are part of the neuroendocrine system. As part of the system, the health of the ovaries is linked to the health of the brain and the other way around. Oestrogen and testosterone, two major female hormones that play a significant effect on cognition and memory. During menopause, when these levels begin to decline, your entire body, including your brain, will enter a state of deprivation. Thus, hormones are a critical key for brain energy production.

Studies also have shown that women are more likely than men to have Alzheimer’s disease or cognitive disease. Many women often describe their brains around midlife as ‘cotton wool’. Some women may have noticed that they are becoming increasingly forgetful, having difficulty staying focused, having difficulty finding words, losing their train of thought and becoming easily confused.

Many factors influence the fundamental changes that occur in the body, but even for women who are experiencing more severe menopause, there are ways to live as normally as possible. However, it is probably better to focus on lifestyle changes for the woman who is struggling to cope with the current changes, along with mental health support.

Whether menopause’s symptoms throws at you and whether age it occurs, it is important to recognize that there is life after the menopause. Many women are more comfortable within themselves by the time they reach their midlife and the majority have accepted and embraced the ageing process.

A sustainable and pleasant life after menopause can happen at RAKxa wellness.