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Women's Health
Menopause and brain fog: What’s the link?
- By Maureen Salamon, Executive Editor, Harvard Women's Health Watch
Research ties severity of certain menopause symptoms to cognitive performance.
Reaching for the right word. Wondering why you walked into a room. Forgetting appointments. These signs of "brain fog" might be common at midlife, but our accumulation of birthdays doesn’t necessarily tell the whole story.
With midlife comes menopause, and new research suggests cognitive blips may be linked to how severely we experience menopause symptoms — especially depression and sexual problems such as painful sex, low desire, or trouble with arousal.
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A Guide to Cognitive Fitness
In this Special Health Report, Harvard Medical School doctors share a six-step program that can yield important and lasting results. Together these “super 6” can strengthen your intellectual prowess, promote your powers of recall, and protect the brain-based skills that are essential for full, rewarding, and independent living. From simple and specific changes in eating to ways to challenge your brain, this is guidance that will pay dividends for you and your future.
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