Do This Now to Thrive During Menopause

Menopause marks the end of your childbearing years, and you enter menopause when you haven’t had a period for 12 consecutive months. However, the journey to menopause can start several years earlier, and it’s referred to as perimenopause. 

During perimenopause and the months or years that follow, your official entrance into menopause can be fraught with many unpleasant symptoms. Thankfully, many of them can be managed effectively with various treatments and healthy lifestyle habits.

If you’re in your 30s or early 40s, you’re probably not worried about perimenopause and menopause management, since that phase of life typically happens in your late 40s and 50s. However, it’s actually incredibly beneficial to start practicing some healthy habits now that will make your transition to menopause a much more seamless one. 

Karen Mass, MD, FACOG, and the rest of our team at Women’s Specialty Care in Lake Forest and Grayslake, Illinois, are passionate about helping women thrive during menopause, since declining estrogen levels have the potential to make life miserable. 

So, in this month’s blog, we’re highlighting things you can do now to thrive later. 

Change your diet

Your diet is a huge component of effective menopause management. By practicing healthy eating habits now, you set yourself up for success once perimenopause rolls around. 

A diet that includes a variety of foods packed with nutrients helps reduce the severity of several menopausal afflictions, including weight gain, hot flashes, night sweats, loss of bone mass, and increased risk of heart disease and type 2 diabetes. 

While any nutrient-dense dietary plan that you can follow consistently is great, a diet that’s menopause-friendly includes high amounts of calcium, vegetables, lean protein, and soy. It also needs to exclude or severely limit alcohol, caffeine, simple carbohydrates, and processed sugar and fat. 

In addition, drinking lots of hydrating fluids can help minimize future vaginal dryness. 

Move your body 

Just like your diet, starting a consistent exercise routine now will benefit you greatly when those menopause symptoms show up. 

Doing moderate-level exercise for about 150 minutes per week is crucial for managing mood swings, loss of bone mass, and weight gain associated with menopause. Find a variety of exercises that you enjoy doing and try to include strength-training exercises wherever you can to protect your bones. 

You may also want to include pelvic floor exercises (Kegels) to strengthen your pelvic floor and reduce your risk for future urinary incontinence. 

Practice good sleep habits

A common complaint during the transition to menopause is poor quality sleep. Low estrogen can make it difficult to fall asleep or stay asleep, but you may also struggle to sleep well due to frequent night sweat episodes. By prioritizing good sleep habits now, you can reduce fatigue and sleep troubles later. 

Healthy habits for enough good quality sleep at night include:

• Follow a consistent bedtime routine 
• Go to bed and wake up at the same time every day 
• Avoid taking naps in the late afternoon
• Avoid caffeine and alcohol right before bed
• Don’t use screens or sources of blue light in your bedroom
• Keep your bedroom at a comfortable temperature

Try having a few relaxation strategies on hand, such as meditation or progressive muscle relaxation, to quiet your mind and body if you’re struggling to fall asleep. 

See our team regularly 

Our Women’s Specialty Care team specializes in women’s health. By seeing us for regular appointments, we can get to know you and your health history, making it easier for us to recommend treatments that will work best for you when perimenopause hits. 

To schedule an appointment with us, simply call your nearest office location, or use our online booking feature today.