Have you ever walked into a room only to forget why? Or do you sometimes lose your train of thought mid-sentence?
Maybe you’re more easily irritated than you used to be. Or more prone to feeling anxious.
For people in their 40s and older, these little lapses in memory and changes in mood are pretty common.
But did you know that imbalanced hormones often have a lot to do with these issues?
It’s true. Age-related hormone imbalances can have a significant impact on brain health.
The good news is that you can do something about hormone levels that are suboptimal.
Read on to learn more about the relationship between your hormones and your brain health, as well as what you can do to preserve mental acuity and stabilize moods.
Hormones and Your Brain
It should come as no surprise that hormones are important for the health of your brain. After all, hormones control every system within your body.
Estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone are just a few of the many hormones that are important for brain health:
- Estrogen influences the levels and activity of important neurotransmitters like serotonin and dopamine.
- Progesterone induces calmness and restorative sleep.
- Testosterone boosts motivation, focus, and mental clarity.
And yet, all adults will suffer from age-related hormone decline eventually, particularly during the 40s and beyond.
So, what do these shifts in hormone production do to your brain?
Brain Fog
While “brain fog” may not be a medical term per se, most people over the age 40 will know exactly what it is:
- Focus and concentration become difficult
- Forgetting simple/ordinary details becomes more common
- Thinking feels…fuzzy
Other circumstances can cause these symptoms (like stress or insufficient sleep), but hormone imbalances are also a common culprit—especially as people age.
When hormone levels decline (as they will naturally do during midlife), your brain can start to feel…well…just plain sluggish.
Mood Swings
Small things might annoy you more than they used to. You might feel uncharacteristically down or anxious for no particular reason. Or you might suddenly go from calm to irritated, and back again.
The bottom line is that hormones have a lot to do with mood stability. And when they aren’t present in optimal amounts, the negative impact on mood can be significant.
Forgetfulness
Perhaps you run into your neighbor at the grocery store and suddenly can’t recall her name. Maybe you can’t remember where you put your car keys or your cell phone. Or you can’t find your words with increasing frequency.
Often people look up this kind of mild forgetfulness as being inherent to the aging process, when it would be more appropriate to blame these memory issues on imbalanced hormones.
Afterall, hormones like estrogen and testosterone are protective when it comes to brain health. This means that when these important hormones become deficient, memory lapses and diminished mental acuity can result.
So, if you’re forgetting names, appointments, or words more often that you used to, low hormone levels could be to blame.
Hormone Therapy and Your Brain
Brain fog, mood swings, and forgetfulness are no longer unavoidable consequences of aging.
Properly administered bioidentical hormone replacement therapy (BHRT) can help to preserve your brain health and reduce the incidence of cognitive decline.
Renew Youth has been the industry leader in hormone therapy and healthy aging since 1999. We are your trusted resource for effective, individualized, and properly managed hormone replacement. Ready to kick brain fog, moodiness, and forgetfulness to the curb? Call us at 800-859-7511 or use our easy contact form to schedule your complimentary 30-minute consultation.