Menopause Mental Wellbeing & Destress Symptoms

4 Ways To Help Menopause Mood Swings

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Feeling happy one minute and down the next? Here are the best things to do for mood changes in menopause.

As you go through menopause, your moods can rapidly change. One minute you’re up and the next minute you’re down. So why does this happen? As your ovaries produce less of these hormones, your body and brain may experience changes that relate to your mood.

Estrogen helps to regulate several hormones which have mood boosting properties. These include serotonin, norepinephrine, and dopamine. Estrogen also helps to support certain types of brain functioning, such as cognition. When estrogen levels change, your mood may change with it.

The decrease in estrogen can also cause some women to have occasional episodes of forgetfulness or brain fog, which can be super frustrating and negatively affect your mood. Menopause and perimenopause can also create physical changes that may negatively affect your mood. These include trouble sleeping and issues with intimacy. Many women also experience anxiety about aging and stress about the future, which can upset and create mood swings.

So what can you do? You might be able to reduce your mood swings by making proactive lifestyle changes. And here’s some of the best things to do for mood changes in menopause.

1. Move Your Body

According to a study, performing 50 minutes of aerobic training four times a week can help to alleviate several menopausal symptoms including night sweats, irritability and mood swings, exercise and physical activity, release endorphins, and other feel good chemicals in your brain.

2. Eat Healthy Foods

Eating healthy foods could be just as good for your mood as it is for your body. You may simply feel better after eating a protein rich salad than you would after downing a quart of fudge ice cream. A healthy and varied diet containing foods like fruits, vegetables, lean protein and fish is really essential. The fish will provide you with omega-3 fatty acids, folate from the vegetables and the greens, the leafy greens. All of these and other nutrients may help improve your mood.

3. Let Go Of Stressors

For some women, destressing may be as easy as losing themselves in a page turning mystery novel. For others, gentle yoga, meditation, quiet walks in nature (that’s what works for me) may help improve mood and decrease stress and anxiety. Try experimenting with deep breathing exercises or yoga poses that can help cleanse your mind and make you feel like you’ve had a mini vacation. I have a lot of videos on these exercises.

4. Get Enough Sleep

I can’t stress how important this is. Not getting enough shut eye can actually add to irritability and mood swings. Create a nighttime routine that supports drifting off into a comfortable sleep. Shut off your electronic devices. Make sure your room is cool in temperature, and make sure that you eliminate any light sources that are disrupting your production of melatonin. That’s going to help you get to sleep. Also avoid caffeine and alcohol. And this will help you immensely. You should sleep on average 7 to 8 hours to allow healing and repair of your immune system.