Do you know that Periods Affect Your Brainpower?

Dealing with Brain Fog

How many of you have felt lacking focus and concentration on the first day of your periods or around it? Forgetting what you did just a few seconds ago or ending up doing some careless mistakes? Feeling as if your brain has been hijacked?

That feeling of not being able to think clearly and sometimes even feeling like another version of yourself on your heavy flow day, as compared to how you were a day before?

Well, the singular term for such experiences is ‘BRAIN FOG’.

Low levels of Reproductive Hormones, also known as Female Sex Hormones – Estrogen and Progesterone in the body of females around the first day of their menstruation cycle, that is, the day our periods start affects our Cognitive Skills. Thus, our brain gets fogged and functions differently than usual days.

Not all girls or women experience Brain Fog. But I am one amongst those who are more sensitive to hormonal changes occurring inside my body and thus, I face Brain Fog on the first day of my periods. And like me, there are many girls and women. 

I don’t remember having brain fog during the early years of my menstruation cycles, that is the time I was in school and college. But since almost ten years, I have been experiencing episodes of Brain Fog during my periods. Since the last two years, the symptoms started to grow or I would say that I got fed up with my brain’s behaviour on the first day of my periods in every monthly cycle.

So, I decided to tackle it. That’s when I read about Brain Fog and realized that it is a common phenomenon amongst many women. Even though it is normal, its symptoms can be managed.

Here are my Tricks and Tips to deal with Brain Fog-

Have your dose of Caffeine!

Well, it is generally advised to avoid caffeine during menses, so, I don’t engage in any over intake of it, but my brain does not start functioning sensibly on the first day of my period without one dose of a good cup of coffee.

I don’t take black coffee but a no-sugar coffee with little milk does wonder. It serves as an instant brain booster for me and that is what I crave for.

 

Set Reminders

If someone has Brain Fog during initial menstrual days, then it cannot be eradicated. So, it better to be aware of it and be prepared to handle it.

Revise your work, re-check things, keep reminders in your phone in advance, write down important things. Try not to multi-task. It is a matter of just a day or two in your monthly cycle and it is manageable.

 

Sleep Well

I have always realised that whenever I have had a good eight hours of sleep on my starting days of periods and a few days before, I have always felt more active during periods, both physically and mentally.

With good sleep, you can avoid symptoms of Brain Fog from aggravating.

 

Eat Healthier Food & Stay Hydrated

Foods rich in Iron provide Iron to our blood which supplies oxygen to the body and brain. Women need Iron-rich food, more than men. Why? Because women lose iron in their blood every month and this affects our brain’s power to perform activities. Anaemic women are more prone to Brain Fog.

Similarly, water is highly essential for proper functioning of the brain. So, staying hydrated is very important.

 

Keep Stress Away

This is easier said than done. But regular physical exercise has proved to be significant in reducing stress because it promotes the growth of cells in brain and helps in the supply of oxygen to the brain.

However, doing physical exercise on starting days of your periods may not be a very keen idea for many like me. Doing other activities like listening to music ( not the sad one 😉 ) or watching some of your favourite movies or pending movies/shows can take off your mind from the periods for a while. I sometimes reserve watching all episodes of a web series for my menstrual days.

If possible, take a break from your daily routine and do more of what you like on your brain foggy days to prevent stress from affecting your brain.

 

Don’t succumb to Periods induced Brain Fog, be a Smarty 😉

The Gist of Periods and Brain Fog

While hormones in your body may not always give you a pleasant time, with your willpower, you can fight the ‘Period Blues’. All you need to do is boost your brainpower externally because your hormones will try to affect it.

Eat dark chocolate, dance, do anything which is good for your brain’s health.

Avoid anything that can affect it.

And Brain Fog is not a disease of women on periods. It can happen to all men and women due to lack of sleep, some medicines, diabetes, ageing or even a jet lag or a hangover.

Since women get accustomed to Brain Fog due to their monthly bouts, they can become a PRO at handling it in any other situation with their honed tactics. 😊

You may also check more posts with Insight on Periods on the link mentioned below-

Periods – No Hush Up

You may also check Instagram account of No Hush Up for interesting content on Period Enlightenment & Women Empowerment. Link Below –

No Hush Up on INSTAGRAM

Let’s talk Women!!

 

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