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#18 - Baby Brain & Brain Fog – What’s Really Going On?
29 Plays1 month ago
The Bean Talk – Episode 18: Baby Brain & Brain Fog – What’s Really Going On?
This week, Rhiannon and Jeremy dive into the all-too-relatable topic of baby brain and brain fog. Whether you are a new mum forgetting what day it is, or a dad wondering why you put the milk in the pantry – brain fog is real, and there are reasons behind it!
They break down the key contributors, including hormonal shifts, sleep deprivation, nutrient deficiencies, and thyroid health. Plus, they share practical strategies to support your brain health – from diet and supplements to herbs and simple lifestyle shifts that can boost your focus and mental clarity.
Rhiannon and Jeremy also chat about life behind the scenes, juggling exercise, kids, and some exciting upcoming Mungbean Health updates!
Links Mentioned:
- HydraMama Electrolytes: https://www.hydramama.com
Connect with Rhiannon & Jeremy:
Follow on Instagram @mungbean_health
Visit www.mungbeanhealth.com for appointments and more info.
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Transcript
Introduction and Birthday Surprise
00:00:00
Speaker
Welcome to The Bean Talk with me, Rhiannon, your fertility fairy godmother, joined by my trusted partner in life and in the mission of Mungbean Health, Jeremy.
00:00:24
Speaker
Welcome back to the podcast with Rhiannon and Jeremy, The Bean Talk. welcome So nice to have you here.
00:00:35
Speaker
It's actually someone special's birthday today. Are they in the room with us? Yes. Beautiful wife's birthday. 32 years. 32 today. Thought we'd jump on. We didn't get any time yesterday. So we thought we'd jump on and get a podcast in. Yeah. Because we love you guys.
00:00:51
Speaker
And this one is on...
Main Topic: Brain Fog and Baby Brain
00:00:54
Speaker
Brain fog. Actually, we wanted to talk a little bit more around brain fog and some of the contributing factors of baby brain, because it's obviously a huge thing for a lot of our clients and not only just the mum, but also the dad, because there's a lot of factors that can play a role, which we'll go over today.
00:01:14
Speaker
But first, I want to talk a little bit more about some of the wins we've got to our little bean and big bean. So tell me, what's your big bean? My big bean. ah What's your little bean? Let's start small.
00:01:25
Speaker
Oh my goodness. I've been exercising. Brain fog. Actually brain fog kicking in. Yeah. i've I've been doing my little exercises about five times a week. and i'm going to say every day. yeah About five times a week, maybe four some and then five the other. But yeah, I can already feel like I'm getting a little bit stronger again.
00:01:45
Speaker
Postpartum is no joke once you have a baby and you just, if you're not working out religiously throughout that, you just become a little bit soft. But I'm getting my strength back. Yeah. 32 and strong. Yeah.
00:01:58
Speaker
We're meant to be in our prime, right? Actually. I can feel that. I can actually feel that. yeah What's your? Yeah, have the exercise is good. just Yeah, I've been trying make Jeremy do that with me as well. Yeah. I think I need a bit more heavier weights to train Yeah, yeah. Better than nothing. Yeah, I need that something more to try and build that strength up for me. I'll have to put a little video of Jeremy doing his workout out the back on Instagram. yeah The kids love it. The kids will join in with the exercise. They love doing exercise. I'm right, I'm going to go do exercise. They're like, can I come?
00:02:35
Speaker
Let me come and do it. So cute. Big Bean. Oh, we're working on some things behind the scene. One of them that's going to be released quite soon, Black Friday around. Like we don't usually participate in
Clinical Insights on Baby Brain
00:02:50
Speaker
Black Friday. If we do, it's very small, but we're going to do a couple of things this year, hopefully, if it all works out. That's what our goal is.
00:02:57
Speaker
Just to be a part of it. I know a lot of people like to shop around that time for Christmas, whether it be getting a gift for someone or whatever it might be. So in that way, I'm like, okay, a health is a nice thing to be able to give. So stay tuned on that.
00:03:11
Speaker
That warm warmer weather coming up too. Oh, yes. It feels like it's just around the corner. I know. It's getting sweaty, isn't it? Yes. Absolutely is. Heating up. So definitely, yeah, baby brain.
00:03:25
Speaker
It's real. I think the worst or the most silly thing that I've done is I put the stove, this is when we were living in an old place, I put the stove on the wrong one.
00:03:36
Speaker
so like I put the wrong burner on and then I put the had the pot on the other one and i came back i was like why isn't this cooking? But it wasn't a gas stove so it's not like you could see the flame. It was like an electric. Right.
00:03:47
Speaker
And didn't turn red or anything. It just stayed like black. So that's my excuse but yeah I don't normally do that so that was like a big one for me. Any other that you can think of that I've done?
00:03:58
Speaker
I can't remember. honestly can't remember. Brian Fogg's kicking in for you. Yeah. I think it's just little things. You walk into a room or you go in, what was I about to do? Like just them little things. And it's just, oh, and then you go do something else. You're like, oh my goodness, I can't believe I just forgot that. Yeah.
00:04:13
Speaker
Yes. Yeah, absolutely. Yeah. There's some... I have some clients and that that it get hit with it really bad, which could be from a number of different factors. Obviously, things like hormonal changes, also thyroid, sleep deprivation is real. So it depends on your baby and your lifestyle as well and how much support that you've got.
00:04:32
Speaker
But yeah, it's essentially around memory lapses, like forgetfulness or cognitive changes that can happen when you're pregnant or new mothers as well so once you've got babies so baby brain is a real thing you can go until your hobbies out there that it is a real thing. If you're ever blaming things on but baby brain, and they're like, no, it's not true.
00:04:54
Speaker
It's real. Clinically, baby brain is essentially when a combination of hormonal, neurological, and physiological factors impact cognitive function. It can be experienced during pregnancy, around second trimester especially, and early motherhood.
Life with Three Kids
00:05:10
Speaker
Although first trimester can be real as well because you honestly are in survival mode. And usually your diet changes because you're not eating all the foods that you were before, especially if you're nauseous. So also that can play a role.
00:05:21
Speaker
So lack of nutrients. Lack of nutrients? Is that what you're saying? Oh, it can, yeah. Yeah, I just mean I guess it's such a big change. So many hormones changing, lack of nutrients, the thyroid's overworked, so many different factors.
00:05:35
Speaker
Can they say the baby's like a parasite for the first couple of months? Oh, the whole time. The best kind of parasite, though, yeah essentially just sucking the life out you. Literally sucking the life.
00:05:46
Speaker
Right. That's why you've got to have enough life left for yourself because the baby's going to take it all, so you've got to have enough in your storage. So have all those nutrients optimised. Yeah. Just one important thing about why it's important to do preconception care.
00:05:58
Speaker
Studies indicate that pregnancy is associated with declines in working memory, potentially due to intense pregnancy hormonal fluctuations. They found that up to 80% of pregnant women reported difficulties with memory and concentration, especially when it came to higher or executive functions like problem solving and multitasking.
00:06:20
Speaker
These changes, while subtle, can impact daily tasks and overall mental clarity. Now, chuck another kid in there. You've already got, say, a toddler and then you have another pregnancy and then newborn. That can be a hard time. Yeah.
00:06:36
Speaker
Because your hormones are crazy when you first postpartum and then you still also try and look after the toddler as well. So I feel like definitely just. You're in the deep end. You're the thick of it. Seriously. I feel like that's where we are at. Yeah. In the thick of it. We are in the thick of it. We've got a lot of angles happening. Obviously we've got yeah beautiful babies and that side of things, which is a lot. Like three kids is no joke. It's lot.
00:07:00
Speaker
But still I want four. Yeah. More the merrier, right? i always tell Jerry, think about when we're older and we've got our kids and we want them all at the Christmas table. Think about that.
00:07:12
Speaker
Don't worry about now. Don't think about the nappy changing and the sleepless nights. Just think about the Christmas table later on. Yeah, exactly. Is it working? Of course. It's nice having a big family.
00:07:24
Speaker
It's good. Absolutely. So here's a few reasons that may contribute to the baby brain. um As I mentioned before, hormonal changes. So evidence shows that baby brain is linked to the increased levels of sex hormones that occur during pregnancy.
00:07:38
Speaker
Hormone levels rise dramatically in pregnancy, as we know, particularly we're looking at estrogen and progesterone here. These hormones can influence the baby's structure especially in areas related to memory and emotions.
00:07:52
Speaker
Also, high levels of cortisol, the stress hormone, can also interfere with memory and cognition.
Impact of Sleep Deprivation on Cognition
00:07:59
Speaker
So I guess you could say the more kids you have, the higher the stress and the worse the baby brain, right?
00:08:05
Speaker
Oh, absolutely, yeah. i feel it. Yeah. Tired. Yeah, yeah, yeah. yeah I feel all right. That's good. But I definitely have my days. I wonder what I would feel like if I could have a day back in my old shoes, though. Like you go back for a day and just have obviously pre-kids. Amazing. So much energy. yeah But I feel like we work quite well under pressure.
00:08:29
Speaker
Yeah. of Yeah, reckon. Yeah, definitely. Here's a baby brain moment for you that I've just noticed on Jeremy's laptop. So he's filling in something for a legal document, essentially. And it's just typing in so he can change it.
00:08:42
Speaker
I don't even know if you notice what you've done there. Anyway, he typed in the names of the witnesses and ourselves to sign it, and he's put me down as my maiden name.
00:08:54
Speaker
I can just see his laptop here looking at that and obviously being a woman doing two things at once. I was just looking and I'm like, oh, that's weird. He's put my maiden name. And I'm like, that's meant to be my married name.
00:09:05
Speaker
Definitely random page, but it's all right. There's baby brain in the flesh for you. Another big one, which I'd say is Jeremy's main issue, which Jeremy doesn't do well without much sleep anyway, be honest with you. Yeah. Even before kids. Yeah, yeah. I feel like sleep wasn't isn't a strong point of yours. Like it's always a struggle to get to sleep.
00:09:26
Speaker
And then, yeah, like when you've got to get up in the morning, that's like your best time of sleep. Yeah. Yeah. cortisol stress hormones probably but sleep deprivation yeah yeah i'd say that's the main yeah for me yeah 100% a lot of the dads out there so sleep as we know too well is often disrupted during pregnancy due to physical discomfort of the woman hormonal shifts and anxiety and then postpartum what is sleep really whether it's for you're up feeding
00:09:58
Speaker
or your little one can't sleep through the night, and so you're up with them and comforting them, or if you've got toddlers, there's a lot happening. So sleep deprivation is known to impair cognitive function.
00:10:09
Speaker
And for new parents, this lack of restful sleep can quickly impact that memory and attention. So I look after the baby and Jeremy essentially looks after the other two.
00:10:20
Speaker
They're pretty good. We can't complain too much. They're not up all night. But if Tatey now, he's at the stage where sometimes he can miss a nap and he's okay, still pretty grisly when he's ready to go to sleep and he'll be falling asleep on the lounge. But if he sleeps for too long in the day,
00:10:36
Speaker
Then he'll be up till late. Like the other night, he was up. He had for two hours sleep or an hour and half sleep yeah with his grandma and in the day. And then he was up until 12 o'clock. yeah So it's good for Jeremy is the night owl. I was already asleep.
00:10:50
Speaker
Jeremy was out there with him. But yeah, that's not good. Yeah. Luckily, they're young enough. They don't have to go to school or be up at a certain time. So we let them sleep in the morning until 8, 8.30. Yeah.
00:11:01
Speaker
yeah But still, that can't be. That's not fun. That can't be happening. Especially when he like wants to WWE you. Yeah, like full wrestling at 12 o'clock at night.
00:11:12
Speaker
I saw a funny meme and it was like, Whenever ah a boy mum lays down, it's like her laying down and then it's just oh, all the boys are jumping. They love it. So, yeah, sleep deprivation is real. Obviously, they still wake up throughout the night. I'm still breastfeeding Rome and then Jeremy will be up with the others. And Evie will sleep through.
00:11:31
Speaker
tate will wake up Evie and then they'll both be like, we want a bottle. Give us a bottle. Or usually you can get away with it now where you're just like, yeah, I'm going to get you one and they'll go back to sleep without actually getting them one. Yeah.
00:11:44
Speaker
Tricky. But, yeah, still it's annoying when they wake up. Yeah. Hopefully one day we'll be able to sleep through the whole night. It'll be nice. nice, yeah. No time soon, I'm sure.
00:11:56
Speaker
There's lots we can do to support this though. So obviously prioritizing rest and sleep. Sleep can be hard to come by for new parents especially, but it's so important for that cognitive function side of things.
00:12:07
Speaker
If possible, taking naps or working with a partner to alternate night shifts can help. Like how I look after the baby. If we had a baby that maybe didn't sleep at all, like Evie when she was younger, she really would struggle.
00:12:20
Speaker
then obviously it was just us and and
Nutrition and Hydration for Cognitive Health
00:12:22
Speaker
her. So we could go, I'm going to do it tonight and then you're going to get up tomorrow and then I'll do tonight and then you're going to alternate that way. Also lean in on those around you. So if you've got parents that can help or grandparents that can support you, there's that.
00:12:36
Speaker
There's nannies and night nurses and stuff like that as well if you're really struggling. But yeah, studies show that even short naps can enhance muscle retention and focus. It'd be nice to have a nap throughout the day. Yeah.
00:12:49
Speaker
How can't we schedule that in? Yeah, it would be good if we could. a nap forever on, but anyway. In the old siesta. Yeah. have the My mum used to talk about back in Uruguay in South America, they would have lunch and after lunch they have a little nap.
00:13:05
Speaker
Yeah, they sleep for a couple of hours. Yeah, and then they go back to work and then work till 11 o'clock at night. So they go home for an hour and a half. Just like. And relax and have a nap and recharge. It'd be hard to get back up and then get back into Yeah, but they've had the power nap in the day. Yeah, true. Like they've caught up on some sleep. How good?
00:13:22
Speaker
Australia. I can't make that in Australia, a little siesta. I'm surprised Australia didn't. We're a pretty lazy culture, so we would have liked that. Yeah, I know, but then you're working through the evening again. Yeah, back at night. hard with the kids.
00:13:34
Speaker
Yeah. Anyway, nutrition and hydration is a big one. Hydration is huge. So. Hydra Mama, shout out, saving both of our lives probably.
00:13:45
Speaker
It definitely helps with that hydration side of things because water, like especially when breastfeeding, like I struggle to get in three litres of water and I know a lot of my clients do as well. Like it is what it is, just one of those things.
00:13:57
Speaker
Jeremy over here will struggle to get in one litre of water. We love you. But it's a struggle. Oh, yeah, it's 100% a hundred percent struggle, yeah. I could go off a drop of water. I'm fine. I know. I'm not for kidneys like it. I Actually, the poor kidneys are give me some The poor kidneys are like, give me some water. Like, one little and they're like, thank you. Yeah.
00:14:17
Speaker
They're like, we could do with some more. And he's here, I'll have a coffee. No, only one coffee a day, but still. The Hydra Mama just helped to enhance that water because they've got the beautiful electrolytes. So we try and have at least one a day, I'd say. oh yeah. We miss a day here and there, but at least one, sometimes two.
00:14:34
Speaker
And in pregnancy, I was doing two to three day. Diet is definitely important here. So not only saying so hydrated, but also eating a well-balanced diet in omega-3s, antioxidants and B vitamins can help with brain function.
00:14:48
Speaker
So omega-3s are found in flaxseed, chia seeds, walnuts and other nuts and seeds and are crucial for brain health. So making sure we're
Mindfulness and Stress Reduction
00:14:57
Speaker
eating healthy. enough of those ah handful of nuts a day is great the walnuts are actually i don't know if you've seen that thing i don't know what it's called exactly but it's like where the fruit or the vegetable looks like what it's good for yes i have seen that yeah so walnuts look like a brain yeah so they're good for your brain which is true they actually are because they're high in those fats figs testicles
00:15:22
Speaker
I think the avocados, I think they are. They say on the tree they hang. But, yeah, don't know. Figs, they've got to be testicles. don't know. They look like ovaries too. Yes. little furry bits in the hand, like inside. Yeah, the little follicle. Like the you in fallopian tube fingers.
00:15:38
Speaker
No, I mean. Like the grabbers. Yeah, yeah. Yeah, something like that. Ovaries are there and then there's those little hands that grab on the sides. And then you like a carrot down there, like it looks Isn't it an eye?
00:15:48
Speaker
Yes, It's weird. It is. And then kidney beans, the little kidneys. I guess they got the name kidneys. So, yeah, have your walnuts, a handful of organic walnuts. Nothing to fish oil.
00:15:59
Speaker
Yeah, fish oil, so omegas being in those fats. But also supplementing is great. Yeah, yeah. We take our fish oil every night. It's yeah it's a staple of our supplement regime. Absolutely. as enjoy that So important not only for brain health, also really important for mood, good for joints and anti-inflammatory, important for your hormone health.
00:16:18
Speaker
Good for your kids as well and their brain development. Super important. yeah yeah are Mindfulness and stress reduction. So practicing mindfulness or engaging in stress-relieving activities can help boost focus and memory.
00:16:33
Speaker
Studies have shown that mindfulness practices can reduce stress and improve memory and concentration. little bit of yoga, walk in nature, What's that app? God, here we go. Brain Fog.
00:16:45
Speaker
That app. That is good for mindfulness. Oh, the one you used listen to? Yeah. Meditation. got a pretty calming voice. Is it the the guy who's talking in the app?
00:16:57
Speaker
Yeah, that you can pick a guy or girl. Yeah, we were doing it together at one point as well. What's called? Health something. Mindspace? No, is it that? No, it's something like that though. Mind. Gosh, the old brain fog. We'll come back to it Yeah, we can come back to i might just do a little Google. Let's go meditation apps.
00:17:19
Speaker
It's got to come up. It's so popular. The Calm Headspace. Headspace. Headspace is really good. Calm is good as well. I know a lot of people use Calm, but Headspace, love. Headspace, got to listen to that again, got to get back into that mindfulness. Again, it's time factor, but in turn, helping with that cognitive function is good. But honestly, to my clients that are struggling and they don't have any time, and I'm dealing with a lot of beautiful women that deal with big businesses themselves, I'm like, in your lunchtime or when you're eating lunch or a snack or whatever, go outside and just stare at a tree.
00:17:51
Speaker
breathe and just look at the tree they're so beautiful you just look at them just relax and it just helps you to calm down rather than spending the time scrolling and that's easy you can always find a tree cognitive exercises are great as well so simple mental exercises like memory games puzzles or even light reading can help keep the mind sharp apps headspace that sort of thing as well. Offer short cognitive tasks that can be helpful in keeping the mind engaged.
00:18:22
Speaker
Great to do whilst you're pumping or breastfeeding instead of scrolling. Yeah. Really good. Seek support networks if you don't have one, especially. So speaking with other mothers, joining parenting groups or speaking to your friends.
00:18:38
Speaker
Know that you're not alone in this, especially when you're in the thick of new motherhood. These networks can be a great source of encouragement and practical advice on managing cognitive and emotional challenges. So it's a lot when you have a baby, especially the first one.
00:18:53
Speaker
Yeah. Second, third, fourth. Adjustment to the new life. Yeah. And that you've got this responsibility and you really don't want to mess it up.
Supplements for Cognitive Support
00:19:02
Speaker
And then obviously we've got our herbs and supplements.
00:19:05
Speaker
So this is your best. This is should have been number one, to be honest with you. But obviously diet ah supplements are an addition to your diet and lifestyle.
00:19:17
Speaker
Yes, exactly. And people just don't get enough from diet these days. So if you want to optimize your life and you want to have a leg up on everyone else, supplements are key. I was actually talking to someone yesterday about this and about how a lot of the supplements that we'll take are just additional stuff. Like obviously being a naturopath and being in the health world for so many years now, there's so many little things you learn along the way. There's certain nutrients you can take for longevity.
00:19:42
Speaker
So I'm already thinking about ways that we can essentially healthy age. And it's ah obviously about the basics as well, but there's some things that you can do different bio hackings and the NR that's amazing for longevity and anti-aging and Yeah, all those little things. So I'm hoping when we're 80, these things will definitely make a difference.
00:20:01
Speaker
The antioxidants. Yes, yeah absolutely. The supplements and herbs are an absolute lifesaver here. Our number one is DHA and choline for brain and brain function. It's not only supportive of Bob's brain development and also wonderful for mum in pregnancy and postpartum.
00:20:18
Speaker
So... Good for both parties, mum's brain, baby's brain. We also love B vitamins and magnesium for neurotransmitter production and brain health. Some but not all of our favourite herbs are things like withania, bacopa, such a good one, ginkgo, rhodiola,
00:20:39
Speaker
Romania and Siberian ginseng as well is a beautiful one. There's so many other herbs as well. Never self-prescribe them because they do different things for different cases, but they're some of our favorite, which are all actually beautiful adaptogens as well. so they help with your adrenals and help you adapt to different stresses. So if you're wanting support, if maybe brain fog's a thing, like honestly, baby or not,
00:21:02
Speaker
If you've got brain fog, sometimes it can come down to our thyroid, which also is a good note to mention there that it could be thyroid health because that's huge pregnancy and postpartum. Bub uses our thyroid as the mum. I think it's until between 6 and 12 weeks and then they start to form their own and use their own. But that's a lot of for the mum. Extra stress, yeah.
00:21:23
Speaker
Yeah. And then if the mum's thyroid was already compromised, It can be a struggle and that's a lot of brain fog, yeah cognitive function issues, weight issues like weight gain if underactive, if overactive, underweight. So weight, metabolism can be an issue.
00:21:40
Speaker
Bowel function, how fast or slow is it? Constipation or loose stool, just to name a few, hair loss, dry skin. It's got a
Conclusion and Contact Information
00:21:48
Speaker
lot, it's a lot there. And then also thyroid's obviously very important for helping us conceive. You want that thyroid to be in action. So If you are struggling with brain fog or anything that you need support with or baby brain, come and find us. We can definitely support you. and that's at www.mungbeanhealth.com.
00:22:05
Speaker
Or you can find us on Instagram at mungbean underscore health. And our DMs are always open and we can't wait to help you get that brain firing again. Yeah, thanks for tuning in.
00:22:16
Speaker
Thanks for listening, guys. See ya.
00:22:21
Speaker
And that's a wrap on today's dose of wellness. I'm Rhiannon, your fertility fairy godmother. Thank you for joining us. Stay connected with us on Instagram at mungbin underscore health.