{"id":4151,"date":"2025-03-21T00:16:30","date_gmt":"2025-03-21T00:16:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.villages.com.au\/?p=4151"},"modified":"2025-03-21T01:31:01","modified_gmt":"2025-03-21T01:31:01","slug":"perimenopause-and-dementia-just-brain-fog-or-something-more","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.villages.com.au\/retirement\/perimenopause-and-dementia-just-brain-fog-or-something-more\/","title":{"rendered":"Perimenopause and dementia: just brain fog or something more?"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t<div data-elementor-type=\"wp-post\" data-elementor-id=\"4151\" class=\"elementor elementor-4151\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-fe669f4 elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"fe669f4\" data-element_type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-5260b9b\" data-id=\"5260b9b\" data-element_type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-5bc66a7 elementor-drop-cap-yes elementor-drop-cap-view-stacked elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"5bc66a7\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-settings=\"{&quot;drop_cap&quot;:&quot;yes&quot;}\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t<style>\/*! elementor - v3.15.0 - 20-08-2023 *\/\n.elementor-widget-text-editor.elementor-drop-cap-view-stacked .elementor-drop-cap{background-color:#69727d;color:#fff}.elementor-widget-text-editor.elementor-drop-cap-view-framed .elementor-drop-cap{color:#69727d;border:3px solid;background-color:transparent}.elementor-widget-text-editor:not(.elementor-drop-cap-view-default) .elementor-drop-cap{margin-top:8px}.elementor-widget-text-editor:not(.elementor-drop-cap-view-default) .elementor-drop-cap-letter{width:1em;height:1em}.elementor-widget-text-editor .elementor-drop-cap{float:left;text-align:center;line-height:1;font-size:50px}.elementor-widget-text-editor .elementor-drop-cap-letter{display:inline-block}<\/style>\t\t\t\t<p>The other day, Tamar Krebs, Founder and Executive Director of Group Homes Australia, walked into her kitchen and completely forgot why she was there. Was it the start of something serious \u2013 or just another Tuesday in perimenopause?<\/p><p>&#8220;If you\u2019ve ever asked yourself, \u2018Is this brain fog or early-onset dementia?\u2019 \u2013 welcome to the club. Turns out, hormones and memory have a very complicated relationship,&#8221; she says.<\/p><p><strong>Estrogen: your brain\u2019s Wi-Fi signal that keeps dropping out<\/strong><\/p><p>Estrogen isn\u2019t just about fertility \u2013 it\u2019s a cognitive powerhouse. It regulates blood flow to the brain, protects neurons, and keeps memory sharp. But when perimenopause hits, estrogen fluctuates wildly, and brain function takes a hit.<\/p><p><strong>Symptoms that make you question everything<\/strong><\/p><ul><li><strong>You forget words mid-sentence and replace them with \u201cthingy\u201d<\/strong><\/li><li><strong>You wake up at 3am and can\u2019t fall back asleep<\/strong><\/li><li><strong>You start telling a story\u2026 and someone reminds you that you already told it twice<\/strong><\/li><\/ul><p>Sound familiar? That\u2019s hormone-induced brain fog, and it\u2019s completely normal. But for many women, it triggers a bigger fear: Is this the start of dementia?<\/p><p><strong>Brain fog vs. dementia: the key differences<\/strong><\/p><ul><li><strong>Brain Fog <\/strong>\u2013 You forget where you put your keys, then find them in the fridge and laugh.<\/li><li><strong>Dementia <\/strong>\u2013 You forget what keys are for and feel a deep sense of confusion.<\/li><\/ul><p>A study in the Journal of Menopause found that perimenopausal women experience temporary dips in memory and processing speed, but cognitive function stabilises after menopause.<\/p><p>&#8220;So yes, your brain feels slow \u2013 but no, it\u2019s not permanent,&#8221; Tamar reassures.<\/p><p>How to outsmart your own brain during perimenopause<\/p><ul><li><strong>Move daily <\/strong>\u2013 Exercise boosts blood flow to the brain<\/li><li><strong>Eat brain food <\/strong>\u2013 Omega-3s, leafy greens, and yes, dark chocolate!<\/li><li><strong>Use cognitive ramps \u2013 Your phone is your second brain \u2013 embrace it!<\/strong><\/li><\/ul><p>The bottom line? Brain fog is frustrating, but temporary. With the right habits, you can keep your mind sharp \u2013 even when your hormones have other plans.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The other day, Tamar Krebs, Founder and Executive Director of Group Homes Australia, walked into her kitchen and completely forgot why she was there. Was it the start of something serious \u2013 or just another Tuesday in perimenopause? &#8220;If you\u2019ve ever asked yourself, \u2018Is this&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4152,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":"","om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_mi_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[70],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4151","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-retirement"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.villages.com.au/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4151","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.villages.com.au/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.villages.com.au/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.villages.com.au/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.villages.com.au/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4151"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/www.villages.com.au/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4151\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4162,"href":"https:\/\/www.villages.com.au/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4151\/revisions\/4162"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.villages.com.au/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4152"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.villages.com.au/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4151"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.villages.com.au/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4151"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.villages.com.au/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4151"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}