Are you struggling with low energy and fatigue and the constant battle of brain fog? Does it often feel like you’re functioning in a cloud of haze? Do you have a hard time feeling motivated? You’re not alone. Many women suffer from low energy and brain fog particularly as you hit perimenopause and menopause. Symptoms of brain fog may include:
- low motivation or feeling hopeless or depressed
- anxiety
- low energy
- irritability
- forgetfulness
- insomnia
- difficulty concentrating
- headaches
Don’t be part of the 60% percent
Often times brain fog rolls itself in as a result of hormonal changes. According to a study by the University of Rochester and the University of Illinois, showed that “women between the ages of 40 and 60 have trouble staying on tricky tasks and stumble with something called “working memory” which helps you to do things like adding up a bunch of numbers in your head”. In a study done by The Seattle Midlife Women’s Health Study “60 % of women between the ages of 33 to 55 reported an unfavorable memory change in their cognitive function over the past few years”.
Try one or all these tips to make your life better
Many of these women cited stress as being the cause of much of their fuzzy thinking. Whether stress or hormones or some other barrier that prevents you from functioning at your best, there are natural solutions that can help you sharpen your mental focus while boosting your energy as well. Try these strategies to make quick and lasting changes in your daily life:
- Sleep – I know this is stating the obvious but getting seven to eight hours of quality sleep each night will be a huge help to combat brain fog. You’d be surprised at how many of us don’t make getting quality sleep a priority. According to the National Institute of Health “sleep helps your brain work properly and helps form new pathways to help you remember things”. Whether it’s cutting down our screen time or putting the kids to bed early enough to allow down time, quality sleep is critical. Sleep helps your body to heal and rejuvenate. If you have difficulty falling or staying asleep try taking a natural supplement such as melatonin or Calm Magnesium before bed. It can help you fall asleep and help in getting a deeper sleep. (I’ll be writing more on sleep or lack thereof in a future post, so stay tuned).
- Cut Out Sugar – I know you hate me right now, but I’m telling you this cause I love you and I care about you. As fitness guru and health expert Jackie Warner says in her book This is Why You’re Fat, “sugar is the devil”. Brain fog basically is a form of inflammation and sugar makes that inflammation way worse. Instead of eating chocolate donuts with your coffee or tea try a bowl of oatmeal with raisins. Instead of a Bagle and cream cheese make an egg sandwich on whole grain bread. Avoid simple carbs because they turn into sugar and go straight to your belly and your brain. And not in a good way. Add complex carbohydrates like fruit or mixed berries, sweet potatoes and yams.
- Get Enough Protein – If we’re filling up on simple carbohydrates like pasta, rice, and too much bread we could be cutting ourselves short by not getting enough necessary protein. Healthy lean proteins like grass-fed red meat, chicken, fish, especially salmon, and cage free eggs are key to a healthy, vibrant brain because it provides essential amino acids that the body cannot make on it’s own. Not only will these help with brain function but it will help fight weight gain and depression.
- Manage Stress – I can’t say enough about managing stress. I mean it’s something that all of us have to contend with everyday, so since we can’t avoid it we need to learn how to manage it. If you find yourself so wound up at the end of the day, find productive ways to unwind. Go for a 20 or 30 minute walk in the sunshine. If the weather doesn’t permit, throw in a DVD or look up a walking exercise video on YouTube and exercise indoors. Find 15 minutes of quiet just to sit and do nothing. Listen to a 10 minute guided meditation. Do deep breathing exercises for 10 minutes. Garden. Play with your pet for 15 minutes. Ask yourself “is the world gonna end if you don’t get everything done’? Pray. Sing. Listen to music. Managing stress is just as important as eating right. Find productive, fun ways to manage yours.
- Exercise – Maybe you hate me even more now, after all, I’ve told you to cut out sugar or at least cut it down substantially, and now here I go telling you to exercise. But let’s keep the big picture in mind which is to get rid of brain fog and fight fatigue. Exercise gets your heart rate up and increases blood flow to the brain which improves memory and overall brain function. So not only will it help you feel better, add muscle tone, improve your heart, but studies show exercise actually increases brain volume. Don’t try and do a marathon, 10 to 30 minutes of exercise has been shown to make huge differences in the state of our health.
Perhaps you’ve heard this advise a thousand times before, and if you have, then there must be some truth to it. We have to start somewhere and we have to start sometime, why not today? Try one or all of these remedies, and remember Rome wasn’t built in a day, and consistency is key. Here’s to having a healthy, fully functioning brain!
