Menopause and Memory: What to Know and Why

By 2050, 13.8 million people in the US will likely have Alzheimer’s disease, and two-thirds of that number will be women. Given that women are an increasingly powerful element of our global economy and the vast majority of unpaid caregivers, the economic cost and threat is especially dire for women.

Maintaining intact memory starting early in midlife with the transition to menopause is critical not only for women themselves, but also for their families, society, and our economic health.

Most studies of aging and cognitive decline, particularly studies of AD, begin in people in their 70s. However, understanding factors that happen earlier in life, and how they impact age-related brain changes, is critical for developing prevention strategies for one of the major public health challenges of our time.

In addition to chronological aging, women undergo reproductive aging in early midlife: menopause, during which they experience a depletion over time of ovarian hormones such as estradiol, the primary form of estrogen that works in the brain. Estradiol directly relates to changes in memory performance and reorganization of our brain activity that regulates memory function, so in a sense, women and men age differently.

Menopause also lowers the level of glucose in the brain, the primary fuel used by brain cells, so the brain then looks to other metabolic sources to provide the necessary fuel to function, and essentially has to adapt to a new hormonal environment in order to maintain functioning. Women with conditions like diabetes and hypertension are at an increased risk for cognitive decline. The brain and body share similar processes to produce energy to function.

So knowing all this, what can you do to maintaining intact memory?

Physical and Cognitive activity

The brain and body share similar processes to produce energy to function.

Social Contact

Keeps our brain active by external stimuli, novel experiences and perspective outside of ourselves

Diet

The mediterranean diet or intake of omega-3 fatty acids like in fish oil) have also had beneficial effects on memory function.

Adequate Sleep

seven hours a night is critical for brain health. Research has shown that during certain periods of sleep, learning is consolidated; that is, sleep plays a key role in storing and maintaining what we learned during the day, and even helps in clearing the brain of amyloid, one of the markers of potential AD pathology.

Don’t wait until you’re 70. The time to start incorporating these into your life is now.