In a recent study of 110 women affected by menopause, researchers were able to identify the worst symptoms.
Here’s what they found… and some tips to find relief.
What it feels like
The participants ranked how they felt the following severe symptoms:
- 94.5% – had difficulty sleeping
- 92% – felt forgetful
- 83% – had hot flashes
- 87% – experienced irritability
- 85.5% – had night sweats
The most severe symptoms were trouble sleeping, night sweats, and irritability.
1. Sleeplessness
In the early stages of menopause, lack of sleep is their biggest problem.
If this sounds like you, here are some tips to help get consistently better sleep:
- Maintain a regular bedtime schedule: going to bed at the same time every night and staying in bed. Try not to get up and move around if you’re having trouble sleeping
- Exercise regularly but not right before sleep. Focus your physical activity into earlier parts of the day. Burning off excess energy will help you tire out at bedtime.
- Avoid excessive caffeine. Cut out that third cup of coffee to make sure it’s all out of your system by bedtime.
- Avoid naps during the day, which can prevent you from sleeping well at night.
2. Irritability
If you’re suffering from mood swings and irritability because of menopause, you can do the following to ease the pain and misery: :
- Getting more aerobic exercise. Performing 50 minutes of aerobic training four times a week helped to alleviate several menopausal symptoms, including irritability and mood swings.
- Eat healthy food. The benefits of eating more fruits and veggies are well documented. Consider smaller portion sizes for meals.
- Let go of stress. The aerobic exercise and better sleep will help with this, but also consider finding a stress-relieving activity such as yoga or meditation.
3. Hot Flashes/Night Sweats
Nothing is worse than lying down in fresh, clean bedding only to find yourself sweating through in the middle of the night.
Here are our best recommendations for dealing with Hot Flashes and Night Sweats:
- Dress in layers, which can be removed at the start of a hot flash.
- Carry a portable fan to use when a hot flash strikes.
- Avoid alcohol, spicy foods, and caffeine. These can make menopausal symptoms worse.
- If you smoke, try to quit, not only for menopausal symptoms but for your overall health.
- Try to maintain a healthy weight.
- Try mind-body practices like yoga or other self-calming techniques. Mindfulness meditation, yoga, and tai chi may help improve menopausal symptoms.
4. Forgetfulness
A lot of the memory problems associated with Menopause may actually stem from the hot flashes.
This is good news since now you know how to combat those symptoms.
Here’s how to help with forgetfulness:
- Keep a Cool Head – women who experience many hot flashes during menopause may be particularly susceptible to a loss of the memory for words.
- Consider Hormone Therapy – Some women find Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) helps to alleviate of their menopause symptoms.
- Get brain exercise through physical activity.
- Physical activity also increases the production of chemicals that promote the repair of existing brain cells and the growth of new ones.
- 2 glasses of red wine a week may help keep memory loss at bay and keep your brain in shape. The truth is, anything packed with antioxidants will be beneficial.
- Use games to improve your memory – We all used tricks to remember things when we were studying in school. Try some of those games now to help improve your memory.
HRT on its own may not be enough, and that’s okay!
Supplementing your HRT with safe, natural remedies can boost your memory and reduce your menopause symptoms.
Embrace a New Way of Life
From our tips above, you can see that managing the suffering of menopause requires some significant life changes.
Remember to start small. You’re not going to craft a brand new lifestyle overnight.
One treatment to avoid is Black cohosh
It’s a perennial plant and a member of the buttercup family. Despite some positive results, studies that have investigated the role of black cohosh in reducing menopausal symptoms have been flawed.
Stay Cool, Stay Calm
Even though black cohosh may not be a good choice, there are helpful, safe supplements you can add to your daily routine that will enhance the positive effects of any medication, relieve the worst symptoms of menopause and help you feel like your best self.
The Cool and Calm Combo kit helps to balance out the peaks and valleys of menopause and compliments HRT by replenishing your body’s natural energy.
