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Memory and Menopause
Copyright 2005 Mary Desaulniers
Last week I did it again-made a trip to deposit a check at our
local bank only to discover once I got there, that my check was
nowhere to be found.
Hadn't I tucked it inside one of the pockets
of my purse? I ransacked my clutch bag, emptying every pocket onto
the ledge of the ATM machine. Where did the check go?
I returned home and found the check neatly tucked inside another
purse. This has been a familiar scenario with me since I turned 50.
I cannot help but wonder if memory loss is an unavoidable part of
menopause.
Is this an irreversible condition that we can more or
less resign ourselves to as we move on in years?
Much to my surprise, recent studies suggest otherwise. In one
study, 803 women between the age of 42-52 were tested once each
year over the course of 6 years. The results showed that memory
performance improved by an average of 3% among the women, an
improvement that surprised even the researchers themselves.
What do these results mean? One conclusion is that there is
really no concrete evidence behind the assumption that declining
estrogen levels in the brain are responsible for memory loss
experienced by so many menopausal women.
Other studies suggest that as women go through midlife change,
their ability to multitask decreases. "Multitasking appears as an
estrogen-facilitated capacity and a 60 year old woman is no longer
able to multitask like a 30 year old," writes Dr. Cheri Quincy(
Sonoma Medicine Fall'05). It is not inconceivable that what I had
construed as "memory loss" is actually an instance of doing too
much at once.
In my hurriedness to kill 3 errands at the same
time-go to the post office, get milk at the store, put my check in
the bank-I had placed the check in the wrong purse without
realizing it-a mistake that any one, even a younger woman, could
have made.
All this is not to say that "foggy brain" does not exist. Some
decline in mental sharpness is part of the aging process. However,
turning foggy at 50 is not a sign that we are all heading towards
the end.
On the contrary, there is a lot we can do to preserve the
brain.
Feed it Good Fats: Intelligence is helped by smooth transition
between neurons. The nerve fibers of the brain cells are coated
with myelin, a kind of fatty substance which helps the cells make
more synaptic connections-the basis of the thinking process. Taking
fish oil( omega fatty 3 acids) regularly will definitely ensure
that your brain cells will negotiate more connections.
Feed it Vitamins C and E: Prevent free radical damage in your
brain by making sure that your diet is rich in
antioxidants-vitamins B( including folic acid, C, E ) and selenium.
Eat fruits, vegetables and whole grains. Take a multi-vitamin
supplement.
Give it Adequate Sleep: Sleep is the natural restorer of muscles
and tissues.
Research has shown that a rested brain works better
than an "all-nighter." In one study, 106 volunteers were shown a
puzzle which they had to solve. One group was kept awake all night;
the other allowed to sleep. Those kept awake were less successful
in solving the puzzle.
Scientists believe that sleep allowed the
brain to restructure the information from the previous day and
assisted the sleepers to solve the puzzle.
Exercise Your Brain: The brain will develop new neural pathways
when it is confronted with something new and unfamiliar. So get out
of any rut that you are in. Do something different: take a holiday,
start a business, write a book, design a website, move to a new
community, do crossword puzzles, learn a new language.
Give your
brain a chance to develop new modes of thinking.
It is so easy to blame menopause for a whole series of
problems-weight gain, memory loss, fuzzy thinking. Far better it is
to see that there are things we can do to turn these problems
around.
------
A runner for 27 years, retired schoolteacher and writer, Mary is
now doing what she has always done--being engaged in what she
loves--running, weight training,writing,helping people reclaim
their bodies by seeing that weight is just matter that needs to be
processed.
Nutrition, exercise, positive vision and purposeful
engagement are the tools used to turn this matter into creative
selves. You can subscribe to Mary's newsletter by contacting
news@GreatBodyat50.com
a body well-nourished is a mind well-served~
.GreatBodyat50.
com
A runner for 27 years, retired schoolteacher and writer, Mary is
now doing what she has always done--being engaged in what she
loves--running, weight training,writing,helping people reclaim
their bodies by seeing that weight is just matter that needs to be
processed. Nutrition, exercise, positive vision and purposeful
engagement are the tools used to turn this matter into creative
selves.
a body well-nourished is a mind well-served~
.GreatBodyat50.
com
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