Addressing the 'change' in memory. A herbal self-care approach to cognitive problems in the menopause transition.

更年期是女性衰老过程的一个自然部分。它通常发生在45岁到55岁之间，是激素水平变化的结果。女性不再有月经，也不再能够自然怀孕。然而，对许多女性来说，这种“生育状况”的变化只是冰山一角。更年期与一系列不愉快的生理和心理症状有关，这些症状可能会在女性经历“变化”的过程中持续数年。最常见的症状包括潮热、盗汗、阴道干燥、睡眠问题、情绪低落、焦虑以及记忆力和注意力的问题。纵观历史，女性被期望“笑着忍受”，即使在今天，有一系列的医学和心理干预措施来支持更年期妇女，许多人仍然觉得寻求帮助是尴尬和不合适的。更年期在工作场合是一个禁忌话题，这一事实可能对这种情况没有帮助。雇主很少或根本不提供支持，经历更年期的职业女性可能会感到不舒服，因为她们可能会发现这个问题会对她们的工作表现产生负面影响，因为她们担心会危及自己的工作。在更年期过渡期间，许多女性发现学习和记忆新信息的问题在工作场所尤其具有挑战性。想象一下，被给予新的指示或事情，却无法回忆起来；或者盯着数字表格，无法集中精力做你应该做的事情。这些都是女性在经历更年期时报告的事情。而且不仅仅是一天或一周。这些问题可以持续数月甚至数年，并会影响工作表现，对自己能力的信心，以及对出错的焦虑。所有这些事情都会影响工作满意度，并可能导致在试图从这种自然生活中恢复过来的时候请假。对收入、家庭生活和整体福祉的相关影响可能是相当可观和令人不快的。激素疗法是可行的，但它与乳腺癌风险增加有关，不建议用于解决认知问题。我们想看看迷迭香这种最受欢迎的草药是否有帮助。它已经被证明可以改善没有问题的人的记忆力和注意力。迷迭香是否能降低记忆力和注意力问题，目前还不清楚。这项研究将解决这个问题。首先，我们想要准确地衡量正在经历的问题。我们将使用一套专业的在线测试和问卷来进行测试。然后，我们将比较两种不同的迷迭香管理方法，以及它们对参与者在随后几周内完成相同测试的影响。一种方法是每天饮用含有迷迭香提取物的水。第二种会通过呼吸散发迷迭香精油的香气。我们之前发现，这两种方法都可以帮助人们在没有问题的情况下提高智力表现。我们也知道迷迭香含有能对大脑化学产生积极影响的天然分子，我们认为这就是迷迭香有助于记忆的原因。我们的目标是确定这些方法中的任何一种是否比在未治疗的对照组中观察到的更能产生更好的客观表现和/或更积极的主观感受。如果迷迭香能减少更年期期间的记忆力和注意力问题，那么接受治疗的女性可能会对工作表现感觉更好，这可能会对工作满意度和情绪产生积极影响。因此，他们可能会发现他们的生活总体上更好了，因为他们已经消除了与记忆问题相关的压力和担忧。这可能是因为当自然事件带来挑战时，大自然可以伸出援助之手。

The menopause is a natural part of the ageing process for women. It usually takes place between the ages of 45 and 55 years of age, and is a result of changes in hormone levels. Women stop having monthly periods and are no longer able to get pregnant naturally. However, this change in 'fertility status' is only the tip of the ice berg for many women. Menopause is linked to a wide range of unpleasant physical and psychological symptoms that may persist for a number of years as women go through the 'change'. The most common symptoms include hot flushes, night sweats, vaginal dryness, sleep problems, low mood, anxiety, and problems with memory and concentration. Throughout history, women were expected to 'grin and bear it', and even today, with a range of medical and psychological interventions available to support menopausal women, many still find it embarrassing on inappropriate to seek help. This situation is perhaps not helped by the fact that menopause is a taboo subject when it comes to the workplace. Employers offer little or no support and working women experiencing the menopause may feel uncomfortable raising an issue that they may find to be negatively affecting their work performance for fear of putting their job at risk.During the menopause transition, many women find problems in learning and remembering new information is particularly challenging in the workplace. Imagine being given new instructions or things to do and being unable to recall them; or staring at a spreadsheet of numbers and not being able to concentrate on what you are supposed to be doing. These are the sorts of things women report whilst going through the menopause. And it isn't just for a day, or a week. These problems can continue for months and years, and can affect work performance, confidence in one's abilities, anxiety about getting things wrong. All these things can affect job-satisfaction and can lead to time off work whilst trying to recover from this natural time of life. The associated impact on income, family life and overall wellbeing can be considerable and unpleasant. Hormone therapy is available, but this has been linked to an increased risk of breast cancer, and is not recommended for addressing cognitive problems. We want to see if help might be found in one of our most popular herbs, rosemary. It has been shown to improve memory and concentration in people who are not experiencing problems. It is not yet known if rosemary is able to reduce memory and concentration problems. The research will address this. First, we want to measure exactly what problems are being experienced. We will do this using a specialist online set of tests and questionnaires. Then we will compare two different methods of administering rosemary and what effects they might have on later completions of the same tests that participants will take over subsequent weeks. One way will be through the daily drinking of water that contains rosemary extract. The second will be through the breathing of rosemary essential oil aroma. We have previously found that both methods can aid mental performance in people without existing problems. We also know that rosemary contains natural molecules that can positively affect brain chemistry, and we think this is how it can help memory.We aim to identify if either of these methods produces better objective performance and/or more positive subjective feelings than that observed in a no treatment control group. If rosemary can reduce the problems with memory and concentration experienced during the menopause, then the women taking the treatment might feel better about work performance, and this might positively affect job satisfaction and mood. As a result, they may find their life generally is better, because they have had the stress and worry associated with the memory problems removed. It could be that nature can offer a helping hand at a time when a natural event is providing a challenge.