Why is reducing stress so important for the perimenopause?
When we enter into the perimenopause, we see a natural drop in oestrogen and progesterone - this welcomes all those typical symptoms we know so much about e.g changes to your cycle, abnormally heavy or prolonged bleeding, mood difficulties, weight gain, hot flushes, night sweats, insomnia…
👇🏻 As progesterone starts to naturally plummet, it’s key that we do all we can to ensure we support our own ability to make this hormone. The thing is, cortisol, which is our stress hormone sits at the same table as progesterone. In simple terms they are made from the same ingredients, so they both fight for a seat at the dinner table. Why? Well your body is super smart at making decisions, and in this case, if you’re too stressed it deems that the environment might not be right for a baby. The body will always prioritise your defence mechanism from stress over just about everything, including fertility. This is why hormone replacement therapy can be so wonderfully effective for the menopause, alongside diet and lifestyle changes.
The body sees stress as stress - it’s all the same thing. A saber-toothed tiger, a deadline at work, a toxic relationship, an unrealistic to do list, financial worries, anxiety - it’s all the same thing to the body. So if we have naturally falling progesterone, which drives those common perimenopausal symptoms, if we are highly stressed those low levels of progesterone could be even lower. This is all because of the cortisol / progesterone ‘steal’…
❤️ Living POSITIVE can help ✨ Do things that you love. Carve out time for things that make you happy. Take more baths. Go for more walks in nature. Spend more time with the people who bring you joy. Meditate. Exercise. Laugh more. Whatever it is - reducing stress is imperative for everyone, especially anyone entering into the perimenopause phase 🌈
Remember, it’s never too late to talk to your GP about hormone support!
👩🏼🔬 References:
PMC3987489
pubmed./22849758
pubmed./29962247