It’s exhausting to sift through your social media feeds to find wellness tips that will actually help alleviate the symptoms associated with perimenopause. Tina Zhang, an assistant professor of medicine at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine who is a Menopause Society Certified Practitioner, shares a checklist that breaks down the five most important recommendations to add into your routine.
Eat a Healthy Diet
Many of us already strive to eat balanced meals. Now that you’re in perimenopause, it’s especially important to consider foods that support bone health, muscle maintenance and mood stabilization.
Foods to include in your diet during perimenopause:
- Salmon, eggs, spinach, yogurt and milk are rich in calcium, which helps maintain bone health.
- Protein-packed foods such as lean meats, fish, eggs and nuts help keep your muscle mass, which can decrease during the menopause transition.
- To aid in mood stabilization, add in fermented foods such as yogurt or kimchi. Healthy fats and magnesium, found in legumes and seeds, also benefit mood and healthy sleep. Here are more meal suggestions.
Practice Stress Management Techniques
During perimenopause, the decline in estrogen, a hormone that helps regulate cortisol, can disrupt the body’s ability to manage stress. Higher cortisol, sometimes referred to as “the stress hormone,” can lead to fatigue, anxiety, weight gain, insomnia and brain fog.
- Prioritize sleep hygiene. Hormonal fluctuations can impact your sleep during the menopause transition. Focus on keeping a regular sleep schedule and avoiding screens, caffeine and alcohol before bed.
- Maintain your healthy relationships. Spend time with loved ones, whether it’s grabbing a bite to eat or going for a walk. Studies have shown that even hugs can lower cortisol levels.
- Add in a few minutes of mindfulness meditation a day. Research shows that mindfulness from meditation is associated with lower cortisol. Here are some tips to get you started.
- Yoga can help reduce stress, improve sleep quality and reduce cortisol levels. Research studies show that yoga is linked to lowered cortisol levels, improved mood and reduced anxiety, and can benefit cardiovascular health.
Add Strength Training to Your Exercise Routine
Aerobic exercise has many benefits during perimenopause. It helps reduce the frequency and severity of hot flashes, improves sleep, boosts mood, and helps to maintain a healthy weight. Additionally, with declining estrogen levels during perimenopause, your risk of osteoporosis (a condition that causes fragile bones) increases. Weight-bearing exercises are crucial to help prevent osteoporosis and improve bone health.
Try any or all of the following to strengthen muscles and bones:
- Strength training. You can use your own body weight, weights or resistance bands. Pushups, squats, planks and lunges are all examples. Add in a barbell or kettlebell to increase the resistance.
- Yoga counts as a weight-bearing exercise, too!
Keep Up with Preventative Screenings
Breast Cancer
- Starting at age 40, get a mammogram every year if you’re at average risk.
Cervical Cancer
Bone Health
- Bone density scans are recommended if you have a family history or other risk factors for osteoporosis.
Cardiovascular Health
Consider Medication Options to Help Manage Symptoms
If perimenopausal symptoms are significantly impacting your daily life, or you’re experiencing heavy bleeding or other atypical menstrual symptoms, talk to your women’s health provider.
Menopause hormone therapy (sometimes called hormone replacement therapy) helps replenish estrogen levels that get lower during perimenopause. It may help:
- Reduce hot flashes and night sweats
- Improve mood
- Prevent bone loss
- Lower the risk of heart disease
Menopause hormone therapy is not without risks, so talk to your provider about what’s best for your symptoms based on your medical and family history. For women who cannot or choose not to take hormone therapy, there are many nonhormonal treatment options available to help manage symptoms of perimenopause.
Most importantly, perimenopause affects each woman differently. What works for a friend may not work for you, but incorporating these healthy lifestyle tips will help make the transition to menopause easier to manage.
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