From Emotion to Memory: How Your Thyroid Affects Your Brain Health

Hyperthyroidism (Hyperthyroidism): Causes "out-of-control" emotions and "fragmented" memories.

◆ Emotional Level: A trigger for anxiety and irritability.

In hyperthyroidism, excessive secretion of thyroid hormones accelerates brain neuronal excitability, leading to overactivity of the amygdala.

Sufferers often experience inexplicable anxiety and irritability, and some also experience insomnia and palpitations, creating a vicious "emotional-physiological" cycle.

Clinical data show that approximately 40%-50% of patients with hyperthyroidism experience mild to moderate mood disorders, and severe cases may trigger anxiety or manic tendencies.

◆ Memory Level: Distracted attention and short-term memory impairment.

Excessive hormones interfere with the hippocampus's "memory encoding" process—everyday events that were once clearly remembered become elusive, making it difficult to focus, resulting in a significant decrease in the efficiency of learning new information.

For example, patients with hyperthyroidism may frequently miss important details at work or suddenly forget what they intended to say during a conversation.

Hypothyroidism: It causes "low" moods and "fuzzy" memories.

◆ Emotional Level: The "invisible shackles" of depression and fatigue.

In hypothyroidism, insufficient thyroid hormone secretion slows brain neural activity, leading to a decrease in serotonin levels. Patients often experience low mood and loss of interest, accompanied by symptoms such as fatigue, intolerance to cold, and lethargy, which can be misdiagnosed as "simple depression."

Studies have shown that the incidence of depression in patients with hypothyroidism is two to three times higher than that of the general population, and the degree of low mood is positively correlated with the degree of hormone deficiency.

◆ Memory Level: Long-term memory "fades" and cognitive speed slows.

Hyperthyroidism deficiency can affect the repair and regeneration of hippocampal neurons, leading to difficulties in retrieving long-term memories—for example, difficulty recalling important events from years ago and even a "fuzzy" memory of recent events.

At the same time, the brain's processing speed will significantly slow. For example, when reading an article, you will need to reread it repeatedly to understand the content.

When solving simple math problems, your reaction speed will be much slower than before. In severe cases, this may lead to "hypothyroidism-related cognitive impairment," increasing the risk of dementia.