This is funny!
But in all seriousness, it’s not that funny when you’re going through it wondering what the heck is happening to your body, your mind and your health.
What you do during this period of your life, usually women between age 45-55, can have a huge effect on your post-menopausal life. Not sure if your there yet? Here are some signs that you are starting or are in the premenopausal stage of your life.
Missed or Irregular Periods
Hot Flashes
Weight Gain (specifically around the mid-section)
Sleep Deprivation
Vaginal Dryness
Mood Swings
Sore Breasts
Chronic Headaches
Decrease Sex Drive
Incontinence
Night Sweats
Memory Problems
Chronic Urinary Tract Infections
Changes to Hair and Skin
Increase Sensitivity to alcohol
Metallic taste in your mouth
There is no cure for Menopause it’s a fact of life. With some small changes you can make it through to the other side with your health and sanity in check.
Here are 5 things you can do right now to decrease the severity of the symptoms you may be experiencing:
1. Get some sleep. Have a regular sleep and bedtime routine. Sleep disturbances are common during these years and the better your sleeping habits the better you will fair. Even if you have no sleep disturbances getting a solid night sleep will help with many of the above symptoms.
2. Watch your alcohol consumption. Sorry to be the barer of bad news but alcohol can exacerbate hot flashes and night sweats. It can also lead to increased feelings of anxiety and depression, not to mention a few extra pounds that will be really hard to shed. Many women also report that their tolerance for alcohol has become surprisingly low which can result in some embarrassing situations.
3. Watch out for sugar! Sugar (we are talking the processed kind here) is not your friend and has a direct impact on the above noted symptoms.
4. Move your body. You don't need to run out and get a gym membership, but going for a daily walk will have surprising results when it comes to symptom management.
5. Breathe! A few minutes a day of mindful breathing, breathing deeply, with a slow and steady inhalation to exhalation ratio, signals our parasympathetic nervous system to calm the body down. Long, deep breaths can not only manage our stress responses to help decrease anxiety, fear, racing thoughts, and a rapid heart rate but also extinguish some of the very unpleasant symptoms we are talking about.
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