Home Remedies for Mental Forgetfullness During Menopause

You're menopausal and dealing with the frustration of forgetting things you used to remember easily. You've probably cringed in embarrassment, trying to remember if you promised to get together with a girlfriend on a Friday or Saturday night. You've returned to the store after forgetting to buy coffee or cat food. You can incorporate some simple remedies to help restore your brain to its former sharpness.

Play Brain Games

• While you're dealing with other symptoms of menopause, you find your memory beginning to slip. You struggle to remember friends' names; if you don't make a grocery list, you come home without something you needed; you forget where you placed something. Even though your brain isn't a muscle, it still needs stimulation via mental memory games.

  Pick up the crossword puzzle in your local paper and work it out. Buy game books at your local drugstore. Sudoku, word search puzzles and puzzles where you can find differences between two pictures. Begin to play these games several days a week. If your children enjoy games like Scrabble or Monopoly, start a game with them and exercise your brain.

  You can also travel, making plans to see new places and sights. Beginning to travel--or continuing your travel habit--will help you and your mental acuity to "stay in the game" as you visit out of the way museums and tourist attractions like Mount Rushmore or Old Faithful in Yellowstone National Park.

Eat the Right Foods

• Make sure you're including the right foods in your diet. Include complex carbohydrates and lean proteins along with plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables. Focus on including foods such as legumes, blueberries, soy products and fish, which are are linked to increased mental abilities. While you're fine-tuning your diet, avoid alcohol since this only impairs your memory. Talk to your doctor about alcohol intake and take her advice seriously.

  Add ginkgo to your regimen as well. Ginkgo increases the supply of red blood cells in your brain and this helps increase your ability to concentrate. Ginkgo is also said to act directly on brain cells, which helps your mental acuity. If you are taking blood thinning medications, discuss the implications of using ginkgo with your doctor.

Sufficient Rest

• Try to give yourself eight hours of sleep a night. This can be difficult especially if your menopausal symptoms include insomnia, but sufficient sleep is important for mental sharpness. If you find yourself wakeful at night, take a short nap during the day, if possible.