Copyright 2005 Mary DesaulniersLast week I did it again?made a trip to deposit a check at
our local bank only to discover once I got there, that my
check was nowhere to be found. Hadn?t I tucked it inside
one of the pockets of my purse? I ransacked my clutch bag,
emptying every pocket onto the ledge of the ATM machine.
Where did the check go?
I returned home and found the check neatly tucked inside
another purse. This has been a familiar scenario with me
since I turned 50. I cannot help but wonder if memory loss
is an unavoidable part of menopause. Is this an
irreversible condition that we can more or less resign
ourselves to as we move on in years?
Much to my surprise, recent studies suggest otherwise. In
one study, 803 women between the age of 42-52 were tested
once each year over the course of 6 years. The results
showed that memory performance improved by an average of 3%
among the women, an improvement that surprised even the
researchers themselves.
What do these results mean? One conclusion is that there is
really no concrete evidence behind the assumption that
declining estrogen levels in the brain are responsible for
memory loss experienced by so many menopausal women.
Other studies suggest that as women go through midlife
change, their ability to multitask decreases. ?Multitasking
appears as an estrogen-facilitated capacity and a 60 year
old woman is no longer able to multitask like a 30 year
old,? writes Dr. Cheri Quincy( Sonoma Medicine Fall?05). It
is not inconceivable that what I had construed as ?memory
loss? is actually an instance of doing too much at once. In
my hurriedness to kill 3 errands at the same time?go to the
post office, get milk at the store, put my check in the
bank?I had placed the check in the wrong purse without
realizing it?a mistake that any one, even a younger woman,
could have made.
All this is not to say that ?foggy brain? does not exist.
Some decline in mental sharpness is part of the aging
process. However, turning foggy at 50 is not a sign that we
are all heading towards the end.
On the contrary, there is a lot we can do to preserve the
brain.
Feed it Good Fats: Intelligence is helped by smooth
transition between neurons. The nerve fibers of the brain
cells are coated with myelin, a kind of fatty substance
which helps the cells make more synaptic connections?the
basis of the thinking process. Taking fish oil( omega fatty
3 acids) regularly will definitely ensure that your brain
cells will negotiate more connections.
Feed it Vitamins C and E: Prevent free radical damage in
your brain by making sure that your diet is rich in
antioxidants?vitamins B( including folic acid, C, E ) and
selenium. Eat fruits, vegetables and whole grains. Take a
multi-vitamin supplement.
Give it Adequate Sleep: Sleep is the natural restorer of
muscles and tissues. Research has shown that a rested brain
works better than an ?all-nighter.? In one study, 106
volunteers were shown a puzzle which they had to solve. One
group was kept awake all night; the other allowed to sleep.
Those kept awake were less successful in solving the
puzzle. Scientists believe that sleep allowed the brain to
restructure the information from the previous day and
assisted the sleepers to solve the puzzle.
Exercise Your Brain: The brain will develop new neural
pathways when it is confronted with something new and
unfamiliar. So get out of any rut that you are in. Do
something different: take a holiday, start a business,
write a book, design a website, move to a new community, do
crossword puzzles, learn a new language. Give your brain a
chance to develop new modes of thinking.
It is so easy to blame menopause for a whole series of
problems?weight gain, memory loss, fuzzy thinking. Far
better it is to see that there are things we can do to turn
these problems around.
----------------------------------------------------
A runner for 27 years, retired schoolteacher and writer,
Mary is now doing what she has always done--being engaged
in what she loves--running, weight training,writing,helping
people reclaim their bodies by seeing that weight is just
matter that needs to be processed. Nutrition, exercise,
positive vision and purposeful engagement are the tools
used to turn this matter into creative selves. You can
subscribe to Mary's newsletter by contacting
news@GreatBodyat50.com
a body well-nourished is a mind well-served~
http://www.GreatBodyat50.com
