What's Noo Pussycat?
4 minute read
Midlife brain fog is a THING. For me, personally, I have at times felt like my brainpower is taking a distinct nosedive leaving me cognitively clambering for the most simple of words and phrases. I call my kids by the wrong names consistently. I have used entirely random words when meaning something else entirely. I recently told my daughter to put on her radiator instead of her coat for God’s sake!
And it was this symptom primarily that brought me to see menopause specialist, Dr Rachel Mackey, to discuss what was going on. I was sure, in my bones, that I had early-onset dementia. And when sitting in front of her I said through a mist of tears, that I felt I was losing my mind, she responded telling me that she was equally as sure that, in fact, I wasn’t succumbing to the clouds - I was simply perimenopausal.
And so, that began my journey on to HRT (oestrogen, and in the past two weeks, testosterone) which has been superbly helpful in alleviating brain fog, memory loss and lots of the other symptoms I’ve had too - tiredness, low mood, sadness - a basic loss of my mojo.
And now, as I await on the return of my motivation and memory, I am also researching natural supplements. I have always been a fan of supplements. Maybe this comes from my mother, my friends think it does anyway, as she always has what we call ‘her bottles and jars’ either in the fridge or beside her bed. And now I, in my middle age, am mirroring that dedication to their promises of increased health and wellbeing with an impresssive collection of my own bottles and jars. (Do we become our mothers? Well, that’s another article!)
And what’s in the lineup? CBD gummies from WellDoubleL, Vitamin C, Ashwagandha, Turmeric, a Perimenopause multi-vitamin and mineral, omega oils, probiotics, glucosamine…
There may be more, but I forget.
And there we are at the crux of this piece: that very statement - I forget.
Despite the support of HRT, I still forget from time to time. I take a while to reach for words, when usually, as a writer, they are right here with me. I mourn a certain sharpness I think I used to have - a sparkiness, a quick-wittedness. My mind feels sludgy; swamp-like and slow.
Another thing I mourn the lack of is productivity and afternoon energy. The 4pm slump is big and real. Like a lightswitch being flicked, all energy disappears right on cue and the fog falls fast. I am basically good for nothing in the hours of 4-7pm. I’ve stopped scheduling work calls in that window, and instead have added a reminder to my phone to do yoga at 4pm - hoping for the mind and body boost that would inevitably give me. Do I do it? Not at all - I’m far too tired.
So, after a few articles I’ve read about so-called ‘smart-drugs’ and their supposed ability to power up the mind, increasing clarity, productivity and energy, I researched the new kid on the supplement block: Nootropics.
SO WHAT ARE NOOTROPICS?
Nootropics are one of the wellness industry’s new frontiers along with anxiety relief and sleep improvement. They are the tech-bro in the supplement space. In fact, you may have heard of them in that vein as they first gained popularity among the super-smart, technology driven communities in Silicon Valley. Very much a part of the bio-hacking conversation, where people ‘hack’ their own wellbeing by using nutrition and lifestyle tweaks to optimise sleep and overall health - all in a mainly natural way. There’s no pharmaceuticals here, it’s progressive wellness 2021-style. And it’s interesting.
The word Nootropics is derived from the Greek words nóos, meaning ‘mind’ and tropé meaning ‘a turning’. In essence, these are specifically designed pills to improve your mental function, but are not reliant on any forms of stimulant such as caffeine, which leads to peaks and troughs we just don’t care for anymore.
As everyone knows, caffeine causes the jitters, then the slump, Instead, Nootropics include calming amino acids such as L-Theanine, or various adaptogens such as ashwagandha, mushrooms, ginseng and ginkgo biloba - all miracle workers for the mind when used solo. When added to a nootropic cocktail, they claim to be even better.
Basically, nootropics are the newest approach to add focus to your day and all in a calm, steady way. They claim also to improve mood and sleep depending on what brand you look to and what particular cocktail they have blended.
It’s all very interesting and there is no doubt that taking a pill is a super-easy way to hopefully enhance your life experience, but as with all things, they are being made with a dual intent - to help people and to make money. Sometimes the pursuit of money overrides the principle of purpose so I guess the lesson is always to do your research on what’s behind the company you support. Oh and read the reviews! I’ve just purchased a jar of nootropics to try out from a company called Motion Nutrition as I saw only positive comments and their intent seems impressive.
Bear in mind too, it is said that regular exercise is the very best thing you can do to increase mental function, and it is the most endorsed course of action by almost all doctors for human longevity and contentment. It remains to be seen whether the new kids in wellness can raise the game to help clear our brains - and give us the energy to actually do the exercise!
I’ll report back. If I remember.
Ellie Balfe, August 2021
do you Relate? Tell us in the comments below…
join the conversation
share and comment below, we’d love to hear your thoughts…