The hormone roller coaster throughout menopause affects not only your brain, but your whole body.
Here’s what happens, why, and how to cope.
First, The Chemistry Behind It:
You may not realize this but it’s not just the reproductive system that’s affected, there are also receptors for estrogen and progesterone throughout the body.
The constant change of hormone levels during menopause can have a disastrous effect on emotions.
When hormone levels begin to decline in the months and years leading to menopause, every system in your body registers this change and is affected accordingly – including your brain.
Unfortunately, very little is said or read about what happens when the hormone receptors in the brain begin running on empty.
The truth is that there is a disruption in an entire chain of biochemical activity. This affects the production of chemicals such as serotonin and endorphins, which are known to regulate mood.
Call it what you like – mood swings, outbursts, depression, irritability – these are all the result of that loss of balance.
Notice The Wear And Tear Menopause Has On Your Body And Mind
According to a recent study by Weill Cornell Medicine and the University of Arizona Health Sciences, menopausal women had markedly lower levels of glucose metabolism in several key brain regions.
Previous studies also confirmed a similar pattern in the brains of patients in the earliest stages of Alzheimer’s.
These findings suggest that the loss of estrogen in menopause can directly affect the brain.
A key neuroprotective element in women’s brains is lost and they become more vulnerable to brain aging and Alzheimer’s disease.
Menopause can cause many concerning symptoms – depression, anxiety, insomnia and cognitive deficits largely caused by declining estrogen levels.
Reduced signalling in estrogen receptors throughout the brain can leave brain cells more vulnerable to disease and dysfunction.
Brain cells shift into “starvation mode” when estrogen levels fall due to menopause. This produces short term benefits but will be detrimental in the long-term.
Here’s How Most Try To Balance Out These Effects
The first step many women take to protect their brain during menopause is to seek out Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT).
In addition to HRT though, it’s important to seek out supplements that will work to support you through these changes:
- Calcium to prevent bone loss.
- Vitamin D for emotional wellbeing.
- Ginseng boosts your mood and helps to improve sleep.
- St John’s Wort improves your mood and smooths out mood swings.
For the early stages of menopause it’s important to begin making lifestyle choices that will help:
- Regular exercise
- Consistent sleep
- A diet rich in antioxidants
- Are all effective ways to relieve some of the suffering caused by menopause.
Ready To Kick Your Menopause Symptoms To The Curb?
It’s a lot easier to focus on maintaining these lifestyle changes if you don’t have the persistent disruptions caused by irritability, moodiness and hot flashes.
The formulas are based on hundreds of years of experience and has helped countless women.
You can learn more about Menopause Cool and Calm on the next page, and take the natural approach to feeling normal again:
