Clear Your Mind: Top Tips for Beating Menopause Brain Fog

Navigating Brain Fog During Perimenopause and Menopause

In this episode of Joyful Menopause, host Lynda Enright delves into the topic of brain fog, a common issue during perimenopause and menopause. She explains the hormonal changes that lead to brain fog, particularly the role of estrogen and blood sugar in brain health. Lynda provides practical advice on how to manage brain fog with balanced meals, regular exercise, hydration, and proper sleep. She also shares a success story of a client who improved her symptoms by stabilizing her blood sugar levels. Tune in for science-based advice and actionable steps to maintain brain sharpness during midlife.

00:00 Introduction to Brain Fog

01:01 Understanding Brain Fog and Hormonal Changes

01:57 The Role of Blood Sugar in Brain Health

03:05 Practical Steps to Combat Brain Fog

04:40 Additional Tips for Brain Health

06:32 Client Success Story: Julie's Journey

07:51 Conclusion and Final Thoughts

When you're ready, here are 3 ways I can help you to feel your best during perimenopause and menopause:

1. Want more science-backed health tips? Click here to sign up for my free weekly newsletter for practical advice on navigating menopause with confidence:

2. Click here to get the free guide: 5 Natural Ways To Reduce Menopause Symptoms.

2. For more information about Lynda and how she supports women on their health journey, click here to learn more.

3. Interested in seeing if nutrition coaching with Lynda is right for you? Click here to book a free discovery call with Lynda.

Episode Transcript

(00:00):
Brain fog, forgetting words,losing your train of thought, or

(00:03):
going for a task and by the timeyou get there forgetting what
you went to do.
It's frustrating and common.
Welcome to Joyful Menopause, thepodcast where we explore
practical ways for women tonavigate perimenopause and
menopause.
I'm your host, Lynda Enright.
Up to 60 percent of women inperimenopause report
experiencing it, but why doesthis happen?

(00:24):
The answer lies in hormonalchanges.
Today we're talking about brainfog, a topic many of us
experience but may not totallyunderstand.
Why does it happen and what canyou do about it?
We'll explore how brain health,blood sugar, and menopause are
connected.
So let's get started.
Menopause doesn't have to feellike you are living in someone

(00:44):
else's body.
Your host, Lynda Enright, hasspent the last 25 years helping
women to thrive in midlife.
Here you'll find science basedpractical advice that you can
start using today to get realresults for your health.
Welcome to Joyful Menopause.
Let's start by understandingwhat brain fog is and why it

(01:04):
happens.
And at the end, I want to tellyou about one of my clients and
how she got rid of her brainfog.
Estrogen plays a huge role inbrain health.
It helps controlneurotransmitters like serotonin
and acetylcholine, which affectmood, memory, and learning.
When estrogen levels start tofluctuate or they decline, these
processes are disrupted, causingthat sort of foggy feeling.

(01:28):
Estrogen also protects braincells from damage caused by
inflammation and oxidativestress.
Without it, the brain can bemore vulnerable, which makes
focusing and remembering thingsharder.
Think of estrogen as the oil foryour brain's engine.
When it's running low or uneven,the engine can sputter.
You've maybe heard aboutinflammation, and I expect

(01:49):
you've heard about estrogenchanges during menopause, but
maybe something you haven'tthought much about is how your
brain relies on sugar forenergy.
Let's talk a little bit aboutblood sugar.
In a previous episode, I talkedabout blood sugar regulation and
hot flashes, and today I want toshow you the connection between
blood sugar and brain fog.
Your brain's main fuel source isglucose.

(02:10):
When your blood sugar is steady,your brain has the energy it
needs, but during perimenopauseand menopause, hormonal changes
like declining estrogen andrising cortisol can throw blood
sugar off balance.
Here's how it works.
If you eat a sugary snack, or ifyou skip a meal, your blood
sugar may spike or crash.
These swings can lead toforgetfulness, trouble focusing,

(02:33):
and even irritability.
Many women experience reactivehypoglycemia, where blood sugar
drops too low after a quickspike.
This might make you feel shaky,anxious, or yes, foggy.
It's like riding a rollercoaster that can be exhausting
for your brain.
To feel steady, we want to keepblood sugar smooth.
In just a moment, I have somepractical steps you can, start

(02:56):
taking right away.
But today we're talking aboutbrain fog and how blood sugar
regulation can impact brain fogand particularly for women
during the years ofperimenopause.
So how do you keep your brainsharp and focused?
Number one, eat balanced meals.
Make sure every meal includesprotein, some healthy fats, and
fiber rich carbs.

(03:16):
For example, try grilled chickenwith quinoa and roasted
vegetables.
These foods slow digestion andkeep your blood sugar stable and
then fuel your brain.
Second, Don't forget to eat.
Skipping meals or living oncoffee can cause blood sugar
chaos.
You don't need to eat every twohours, and I don't think the

(03:36):
idea of grazing necessarilyworks great for a lot of
reasons, but you don't want toskip meals either.
Eating three meals a day, maybea snack somewhere in between if
needed, can keep your bodybalanced throughout the day.
These first two are things youcan pay attention to.
Make some notes about when youexperience brain fog.
Is it different when you haveenough protein?
Is it different when you skipbreakfast or not?

(03:58):
Or is it different when you havean afternoon snack and don't go
six hours between lunch anddinner?
The third step is to incorporatemovement.
Exercise improves your body'sability to use glucose
effectively.
Every time you move your body,your cells become more receptive
to glucose, so you get theglucose into your cells, where
it gives your body and yourbrain steady energy and will

(04:21):
support your brain function.
An added bonus, movement boostsmood and energy.
And number four, stay hydrated.
Dehydration can affect yourfocus and energy levels.
Keep a water bottle handy.
One rule of thumb is to aim forabout half your body weight in
pounds in ounces of water eachday.
Today we're focusing on bloodsugar, but I want to give you a

(04:43):
few more things you can try,too.
I know how frustrating brain fogcan be, and there are many
factors that you can work on.
Another, get to bed.
Prioritizing sleep is importantbecause your brain does its
cleaning while you sleep.
If your sleep isn't what you'dlike it to be, try reading,
meditating, or listening torelaxing music.
But first, make sure you'regiving yourself the opportunity

(05:05):
for enough sleep.
If you find yourself upscrolling on your phone, Put it
away and turn off the lights.
You have to at least startthere.
An interesting music option canbe helpful to reduce stress,
inflammation, and releaseserotonin that can help you to
sleep.
There's a frequency of soundcalled Solfeggio frequencies
that's 528 hertz.

(05:26):
You can find it on platformslike Spotify.
And another important one is topractice mindfulness.
Deep breathing, meditation, oryoga can help shift you out of
the fight or flight mode andinto a calm focused state and
that can be great for yourbrain.
I understand that the years ofparamenopause and menopause can
feel frustrating, brain fogbeing one of the symptoms that

(05:47):
many women experience, but Ialso know that it doesn't have
to be horrible, which is why Italk about having a joyful
menopause.
I know that it can be a greattime in life too when you get
good answers for your health.
To help give you more support,grab my free guide, Five Natural
Ways to Reduce MenopauseSymptoms.
You will find specific thingsyou can start doing to create

(06:09):
your best health today and foryour future.
A client recently made a hugeshift in her menopause symptoms
when she just focused her energyon the first step in the guide.
Go to the show notes for thelink to get the free guide.
Brain fog doesn't have tocontrol your life.
By focusing on blood sugarstability, prioritizing sleep,
and adopting simple healthyhabits, you can help your brain

(06:31):
to thrive during midlife.
Before I end today, I want totell you about my client Julie.
Julie came to me for weightloss, but when we talked more, I
realized brain fog was makingher really frustrated.
She found it difficult inmeetings at work to get her
thoughts in order.
She wasn't as quick at problemsolving as she had always been.
Talking with Julie about herdiet, I thought it was possible

(06:52):
that her blood sugar maybe wasjumping up and down throughout
the day.
She started the day with coffeeand didn't eat until mid
morning.
She'd have a bowl of soup orsalad for lunch and would end up
feeling really hungry and tiredin the afternoon and would grab
some candy to keep her going.
Then she'd have a big dinnerbecause she was so hungry by the
time she got home from work.
Julie used a continuous glucosemonitor so we could look more

(07:14):
closely at her blood sugarlevels and we did find that they
weren't staying steadythroughout the day.
I helped Julie to adjust herfood choices to get more protein
and create better balancethroughout the whole day.
And she started building inmovement after eating too.
She lost weight, which she washappy about, but she found that
she was finding it easier tofocus.

(07:34):
She wasn't forgetting things aseasily, and she just felt like
she had more energy.
Getting her blood sugars betterregulated played a big role in
helping her to reach her healthgoals and just to feel so much
better throughout perimenopause.
And I know it will help her tocreate better health for her as
she gets older too.
Thank you for joining me ontoday's episode of Joyful
Menopause.
If you found this helpful, clickto subscribe.

(07:56):
Until next time, take care ofyourself and your amazing brain.