Menopause and Its Effect on the Brain

Menstruating people of a certain age, usually around 45-55 years old will start to experience disturbances in their monthly cycle and start to notice their periods declining until they eventually stop altogether, signaling the end of the reproductive stage of that person’s life.

This transition from regular menstruation to full menopause can take years to complete and all kinds of symptoms can be experienced by a person during that time.

Whether you are a menstruating person or someone who knows, works with or loves someone who menstruates, it doesn’t hurt to learn a little about the changes, both physical and emotional that you or they may experience when going through menopause.

Perimenopause and Menopause

Source: Mayo Clinic/YouTube

Menopause occurs twelve months after the last period of a menstruating person. Perimenopause, however, is the period leading up to full menopause that people will often refer to as ‘going through the menopause’.

This transition period, called perimenopause, is when a person’s ovaries release fewer eggs, less estrogen and other hormones are produced, the person becomes increasingly less fertile and there is a change in the regularity and length of menstrual cycles.

Some classic symptoms of going through this transition period are hot flashes and night sweats, mood changes, headaches, and sleep disturbances.

Perimenopause and Brain Health

Source: TED/YouTube

Menopause is commonly linked to neurological changes in the brain due to the classic symptoms of forgetfulness, sleep issues, mood changes, and hot flashes. As a result, ovarian and brain health during this period are thought to be linked.

Roberta Brinton, a neurobiologist at the University of Arizona in Tucson claims that the drop in oestrogen can have an effect on circuits in the brain that would have normally relied on this hormone for smooth functioning.

Oestrogen has a very active role in supporting varying systems in the body as well as brain function. One part it plays is in stimulating glucose uptake, giving energy. It also increases blood flow in the brain, has anti-inflammatory effects, helps with body temperature adjustments, and promotes neuronal synapse activity.

As a result, the reduction in oestrogen in the body during perimenopause can throw brain chemistry and function out of whack. One major problem is that during perimenopause levels of oestrogen in the body can plummet one week only to skyrocket the next.

As a result, the brain is unable to start to adjust effectively to function without oestrogen after menopause. Fortunately, however, once true menopause has happened, neurons in the brain learn to function without it.

Brain Health Postmenopause

Because it is difficult to pin down when a person is perimenopausal (it can take years, to just months for some people), there hasn’t been much solid research done on the longer-lasting effects of perimenopause symptoms on brain health postmenopause.

There is some concern over the onset of age-related diseases, such as dementia, osteoporosis, stroke, and heart disease, that seems to accelerate in postmenopause, and more research is needed.

Treatments for Perimenopause and Post Menopause

Source: Mayo Clinic/YouTube

Even the fairly common hormone replacement therapies (HRT) prescribed to people going through peri- and postmenopause have not had extensive research done on the best dosage and when to use the treatment on individuals.

A large study done in 2002 called Women’s Health Initiative halted a trail of HRT after it was found that people taking oestrogen and progesterone were at a greater risk of breast cancer. Another trial in 2004 found that those taking oestrogen alone were at greater risk of stroke. These trials resulted in people stopping using HRT.

The subjects during these trials we mainly people in their 60s in postmenopause. Since those trials, other research has been done to understand how HRT can better help people during the perimenopausal phase.

Kathryn Schubert, president of the Society for Women’s Health Research in Washington DC believes that the taboo surrounding the topics of menstruation, menopause, and aging in women is slowly melting.

As well, people going through perimenopause are getting more confident about discussing symptoms and asking for help.

Study of Women’s Health Across the Nation (SWAN) is currently studying people between the ages of 42 and 52 to try to understand better the perimenopausal transition.

This article is for informational purposes only and shouldn’t be taken as medical advice. If you have any questions or concerns surrounding the topics discussed in this article you should speak to a medical professional.

Related Content:

• Which Eco Period Product Is For You?
• The Benefits of Magnesium for Premenstrual Syndrome
• Why We Need to Switch to Sustainable Period Products
• Eating Plant-Based During Pregnancy? How to be a Confident, Healthy Mom-to-Be
• Plant-Based Diet Rich in Soy Reduces Menopause Symptoms, Especially Hot Flashes, New Study Finds

Easy Ways to Help the Planet:

• Eat Less Meat: Download Food Monster, the largest plant-based Recipe app on the App Store, to help reduce your environmental footprint, save animals and get healthy. You can also buy a hard or soft copy of our favorite vegan cookbooks.
• Adopt-a-Pet: Visit WildWatchers, a watchdog platform specifically designed for animal, earth, and wildlife warriors to actively give back, rescue, and protect animals and the planet.
• Reduce Your Fast Fashion Footprint: Take initiative by standing up against fast fashion Pollution and supporting sustainable and circular brands like Tiny Rescue that raise awareness around important issues through recycled zero-waste clothing designed to be returned and remade repeatedly.
• Support Independent Media: Being publicly funded gives us a greater chance to continue providing high-quality content. Please consider supporting us by donating!
• Sign a Petition: Your voice matters! Help turn petitions into victories by signing the latest list of must-sign petitions to help people, animals, and the planet.
• Stay Informed: Keep up with the latest news and important stories involving animals, the environment, sustainable living, food, health, and human interest topics by subscribing to our newsletter!
• Do What You Can: Reduce waste, plant trees, eat local, travel responsibly, reuse stuff, say no to single-use plastics, recycle, vote smart, switch to cold water laundry, divest from fossil fuels, save water, shop wisely, Donate if you can, grow your food, volunteer, conserve energy, compost, and don’t forget about the microplastics and microbeads lurking in common household and personal care products!