Estrogen and Brain Changes During Menopause

Brain Changes During Menopause: The Estrogen Effects

​A woman undergoes many changes as she grows older. The physical and mental effects of growing older can get even more devastating when they reach their menopausal stage. During this time, they can experience hot flashes, memory fog, night sweats, electric shocks, and sleep problems. But what truly causes these symptoms to appear during menopause?

Estrogen is the culprit.

Read on to know more about this important hormone and how its levels affect a woman’s brain.

What Is Estrogen?

Estrogen is a hormone that is responsible for developing and maintaining the reproductive system, as well as female physical features. This also plays a role in regulating other areas of the body including cardiovascular function, bone health and cognitive capabilities. It is a vital hormone in keeping a woman’s body in a good state.

Types of Estrogen:

• Estrone (E1)
• Estradiol (E2)
• Estriol (E3)
• Estetrol (E4)

Although we naturally have enough levels of Estrogen in our body, there are many reasons why the normal levels change. Here are some of them:

• Pregnancy
• ​Puberty
• Being overweight or doing an extreme diet
• Medications
• Medical conditions
• Menopause

The Connection Between Estrogen and the Brain

Estrogen is not just for reproductive health; it also affects brain function. It is responsible for creating chemicals that affect our moods and emotions. This hormone also helps neurotransmitters and receptors, making it possible for us to maintain good cognitive functions, such as learning, thinking, problem-solving, reasoning, and focus.

How Does Estrogen Imbalance Affect Your Brain?

Given that Estrogen has a crucial effect on the functions of our body, when this hormone declines during menopause, it can create mild to severe symptoms that may disrupt everyday life. The most common effects of Estrogen imbalance are:

Mood changes
Estrogen plays a role in managing our emotions. Specifically, it assists in increasing serotonin, which is a mood stabiliser, and brain receptors. This is why menopausal women often experience irritability, anxiety and depression.

Declining memory
Although being forgetful is part of ageing, hormonal imbalance can make you more at risk for memory-related issues. This is because estrogen helps with the concentration of an enzyme that is necessary for synthesising acetylcholine, a chemical that plays a vital role in our memory.

Reduced concentration
​Menopause can cause brain fog and other memory issues. If one moment you are excitedly talking about your favourite show with your loved one and suddenly forget what you are saying, that might be due to estrogen imbalance.

Behaviour
Changes in estrogen levels can affect a woman’s behaviour. It may affect vital receptors, resulting in a sudden shift towards aggressive communication or violent actions.

Cognitive function
Oestradiol, a type of estrogen, helps in memory performance and reorganisation of our brain circuitry. This is essential for learning, problem-solving, decision-making and other functions. 
​During menopause, this hormone declines, making it unable to properly assist the brain.

Dementia and Alzheimer’s disease risk
Due to the decline in the hormone that assists normal brain function, menopausal women are at risk of getting Dementia and Alzheimer’s disease. In a study that investigated the link between the number of reproductive years and the risk of having Dementia, 42 per cent of the 6,137 women who joined the study developed Dementia.

What Can You Do to Maintain Brain Health?

Preventing or easing Menopausal symptoms is possible. Try these tips to improve your condition.

• Physical exercises
  It has been proven that physical movements for 15 to 20 minutes a day helps improve blood circulation, mood and overall health.
• Do mental exercises
  Sharpen your memory and cognitive skills, making puzzles, doing the crossword or learning a new hobby.
• Eat healthy foods
  Avoid eating food that is high in salt, sugar and fat, as well as alcohol and caffeine. Change your diet to those rich in vitamins and phytoestrogens, such as soybeans, cashews, chickpeas, flax seeds, dried fruits, garlic, peaches and berries.
• Have enough sleep
  Having an undisturbed and deep sleep is important because it promotes body repair and relaxation.
• Practice mindfulness or meditation
  Whether you are experiencing anxiety and depression or not, it is helpful to allot time in doing mindfulness or meditation because it will help you forget about stressful things.
• Drink some herbal teas 
  Herbal tea for menopause is proven to alleviate the symptoms caused by menopause. It assists in balancing estrogen levels and reducing the effects of having hormonal issues, including hot flashes, insomnia, joint pains, brain fog and electric shocks.

How The T Lady Can Help You

If you want to try a natural way of alleviating the symptoms of menopause, try our menopause tea. This drink is a special tea blend of Red Clover, Black Cohosh and other herbs that can give you relief from various menopausal symptoms. It is all-organic and pure-tasting. Our tea gives you relief from your symptoms and creates a relaxing effect that will help you get through the day without being hindered by menopause inconveniences.

​Are you looking for menopause tea? We have batches ready for you! The T Lady menopause tea is available for purchase within Australia (free delivery) and internationally (includes postage). Contact us today.

Are you experiencing short-term memory loss lately? That might be caused by Menopause. Read here to know more about this symptom and what you can do about it.

Menopause Memory Loss and How to Remedy It

Menopause is something that all women go through in their life. When they start experiencing menopause, usually in their 30s to 50s for Australians, they experience a wide variety of symptoms that often cause discomfort. Some of them are hot flashes, night sweats, vaginal dryness, hair loss, weight gain and psychological distress like anxiety and depression. It can also affect your memory and may cause lapses or general fogginess.

What Is Menopause Memory Loss?

It can be a shocking experience when you are in the middle of a conversation and not be able to recall a certain part of your memory. You know that you should be aware of what it is, but even after digging through your memories, you still end up empty-handed. It can be frustrating and can even feel frightening because it is also a symptom of Dementia and Alzheimer's disease. However, if this is happening along with night sweats and hot flashes, there is a high chance that it is caused by Menopause.
 
Other signs of memory loss are the following:
 
·         Misplacing items
·         Getting lost in a familiar area
·         Forgetting recent events
·         Forgetting a recent conversation

What Is the Cause of Menopause Memory Loss?

Hormones play an important role in a woman’s body. They help regulate appetite, sleep, mood, growth, metabolism, bone health, heart rate, and more reproduction. As a woman ages, her body’s ability to produce these vital hormones decreases, and their levels eventually remain low when she enters Menopause. The decline in hormones causes hormonal imbalance and may induce memory loss.
 
What specific hormone can cause these gaps in your memory?

Estrogen is the culprit. Estrogen is responsible for keeping our cognitive function in good condition. Many researchers think that it helps the growth and survival of neurons that are involved in memory and information processing. That is why occasional lapses or short-term memory issues may occur once this particular hormone decreases.
 
Memory loss is common for women who are in their menopausal stages. However, it is still important to seek professional advice when it is starting to get worse and can cause a huge negative impact on your daily life. Yes, low levels of hormones may be the cause of short-term memory loss, but it will not hurt to get checked by a medical expert in order to rule out Dementia and Alzheimer's disease. A visit to a doctor will also help in soothing your worries because you will be assured that it is not due to a serious illness.

What Can You Do About It?

Experiencing menopause memory loss is definitely not an enjoyable experience. It can leave you confused, irritated, anxious and have a general feeling of discomfort. But you do not have to just sit and endure it until it subsides. There are things that you can do in order to lessen your symptoms.
 
Here are some natural ways that can help reduce menopause memory loss:

1. Rest

Lack of sleep can disturb the normal functions in many areas of your body, including cognitive functions. This is the reason why it is important to maintain a healthy sleep cycle. Some useful tips that can aid you in getting a regular and healthy amount of sleep are as follows:
 
·         Sleep at the same time every day
·         Do not exercise too close to bedtime
·         Drinks with caffeine may taste great, but try your best to avoid them
·         Keep your bedroom cool and wear breathable bed clothes to help combat hot flashes and night sweats
·         Do relaxation techniques like meditation or yoga

2. Exercise your body

Exercise assists in boosting your mood and stimulating brain areas that are responsible for memory and information processing. A combination of aerobic and resistance exercise for at least 30 minutes per day is recommended.

3. Do mental exercises

Our brain needs exercises too in order to prevent the effects of aging. This helps in keeping areas of our brain active, resulting in better concentration and other cognitive functions. Give your brain some workout by spending time doing crossword puzzles, playing brain games, reading books or magazines and learning new hobbies.

4. Have a healthy diet

What you eat can also have effects on your brain. Stay away from eating food with high levels of saturated fat and trans fat which can be found in fried, battered and baked foods. Replace high cholesterol meals with those that have high nutrients, minerals and vitamins to keep your body and mind properly nourished.   Also, avoid sweets and carbonated drinks.

How Menopause Tea Can Assist?

There is evidence that shows herbal teas can alleviate the symptoms caused by Menopause. Special tea blends assist in balancing Estrogen levels, which is vital for brain health, and reducing the effects of having low hormones, such as hot flashes, insomnia, joint pains and memory loss.
 
If you are looking for a Menopause tea, The T Lady has batches ready for you. This all-organic, pure-taste and original Menopause tea is created from the finest herbs, including Red Clover, Black Cohosh and others that can give you relief from various Menopausal symptoms. It is available for purchase within Australia (free delivery) and internationally (includes postage). We also have a subscription service that comes with free delivery. 

For more details about our Menopause tea, contact us today.

5 Natural Remedies to Deal with Hot Flushes during Menopause
 
Menopause is part of life. However, it is not an easy phase for many women. The various changes in the body often lead to discomfort and pain. One common symptom when dealing with menopause is hot flushes.
 
Hormonal therapy may not be everyone’s treatment of choice, and here are some wonderful natural remedies you can try:

Herbs:
For example you can use Black Cohosh especially in a tea form for dealing with hot flushes and night sweats, sleeping difficulties, vertigo, decreased sex drive, improved bone density, improved mental performance, and mood changes in women.
 
Evening Primrose Oil:
Evening primrose is another supplement used by many women. This oil comes from a flower, and the oil is extracted from the seeds which are rich in fatty acids.

Exercising:
Physical activities boost your overall health, and this is important during menopause. Women who participate in yoga or other physical activities have a better sense of well-being.
 
Look for moderate to high-intensity workouts at least one hour every three times a week. Choose aerobic type or muscle strengthening exercises.

Diet:
Aside from exercise, diet is crucial in minimizing the effects of menopause. Try cutting down any caffeine, spicy foods, and alcohol.
 
Some foods can boost estrogen levels, such as soybeans, chickpeas, and lentils. These foods are rich in Isoflavones that can help minimize the frequency of hot flushes.
 
Flaxseed also contains Isoflavones, but it is an effective in-ground or crushed form.
 
According to Chinese medicine, there is cooling food you can incorporate into your diets, such as bananas, apples, spinach, and green tea. These are rich in nutrients and can be bought anywhere. 

Lifestyle Changes:
Lastly, lif​estyle modification can assist you when dealing with hot flushes. Improving room temperature either with an air conditioning unit or electric fan can help with hot flushes during sleep time.
 
For women who smoke, quitting reduces the symptoms and also your risk of cardiovascular diseases post-menopause. 
 
Moreover, practicing deep breathing exercises at least three times a day and wearing socks to bed are simple modifications you can do at home.

Conclusion:
For many women entering the menopausal stage, the side effects of hormonal imbalances cause a significant amount of discomfort, such as hot flushes. 
 
For those who are not inclined with medical or hormonal therapy, natural remedies can be incorporated into their daily lives to reduce the effects of hot flushes. Lifestyle changes, diet, exercise, and taking herbal supplements can help improve these symptoms and minimize discomforts.