Preparing for perimenopause.

Perimenopause the journey

Did you know that collectively, the symptoms of perimenopause, and later menopause, can impact a women’s life for up to 20 years?!

In this post, I explain what happens in your body during perimenopause and what you can do to prepare for this big transition.

So, what is perimenopause?

As women age, hormone production declines and eventually our periods stop. This does not happen all of a sudden, this is a gradual transition we call perimenopause. Generally, it happens in one’s mid-40s. On average it lasts 4-6 years before menopause begins.

What happens inside your body?

The main thing is the hormone progesterone (responsible for preparing the lining of the uterus for pregnancy) begins decline in the body.

Oestrogen (produced by the ovaries and responsible for regulating the menstrual cycle) can fluctuate wildly. You might experience the following symptoms:

- Lighter, heavier or more scattered periods.

- Disturbed sleep.

- Difficulty concentrating.

- Fluctuation in mood and energy levels.

- Joint stiffness.

What can you do to prepare your body for perimenopause?

1. Strength train

Physical symptoms are reported as being less intense in women that regularly strength train. Why? It improves your mental health and mood and prepares your body for the future because it reduces the risk of sarcopenia (muscle loss), osteopenia (loss of bone mass) which makes you more resilient to hormonal changes.

2. Self care

I found it interesting to learn some women don’t know they are in perimenopause! How could this be? Because poor self care and perimenopause impact a woman’s life in similar ways. Both can cause irregular periods, impact mood, energy and sleep. It is harder to see that you are experiencing stress when you’re in the middle of it, so having mechanisms in place to manage stress will be a massive help.

3. Think positively

Don’t assume that all symptoms will impact you negatively. There is a huge bias on social media towards over reporting negative symptoms which is causing younger women to feel frightened. BUT the positive news is your periods may become lighter which may be a very welcome symptom for you! Or fluctuating energy levels may force you to reconsider how many things you say ‘yes’ to so you protect yourself from burning out. It really isn’t all bad!

4. Speak to your mum

How was her journey through it? There are some known genetic links.

Can your workplace do anything to help?

There is a trend of workplaces in the US & UK educating staff on perimenopause and menopause, which should mean other countries follow. Speak to your HR department, the more demand they have, the greater the likelihood it will happen.

How can a Holistic Women’s Health Coach help?

You can train with me or have an online consult to address your questions. I can also come to your workplace to talk to your employees or your HR department to raise awareness.

What other questions do you have about perimenopause?

Let’s talk.