Menopause seems to have come into the spotlight recently, and finally there is more good quality information available.
But, as with everything, a huge amount of information often overwhelms us. And while menopause certainly can be complicated, there are some key basics which are an important place to begin.
Self care is super important during menopause, and making sure we’re eating well and getting the right nutrients as well as adapting some lifestyle habits can provide long lasting benefits and make the transition through menopause easier.
So, here are four key things to put in place as the foundation of your approach to menopause:
Manage your stress
During menopause, our ovaries are retiring and passing the baton to our adrenal glands. Our adrenal glands are responsible for producing stress hormones, so it makes sense to manage stress better to take load from your adrenals.
You could try breathing exercises or meditation, take more down time and go for a gentle walk more often.
Focus on sleep quality
Now is the time to really hone in on your bedtime routine. Turn screens off at least an hour before bed and really wind down well.
On a similar line, it’s worth remembering that getting at least half an hour of natural daylight before midday will help you get good quality sleep at night.
Include resistance exercise in your routine
Whether you’re already in an exercise routine of not, making sure you’re including some load bearing exercise now will help to maintain bone strength
Pay attention to your diet
Making sure you’re eating a healthy diet full of protein and veg can help balance your hormones and maintain a healthy gut. Likewise, getting enough omega 3 in your diet will help keep your skin hydrated and offers some potential benefits to brain and heart health.
Of course, there are a lot more nutritional and lifestyle strategies you can use to optimise your transition through menopause, but make sure you’re starting with these key basics first as they form a super base for your other strategies to build on.
If you’ve already got these basics in place and would like to discuss how you can bring more strategies in and personalise your own nutrition and exercise routine to help you through menopause, I’d be delighted to have a chat, so please send me a message.