When you start experiencing menopause, the effects can be frightening. Sometimes it can feel like you’ve lost control of your own body and even your mind.
Menopause occurs when your body’s estrogen levels decrease, leading to various symptoms like hot flashes to mood swings. It’s no surprise why the approach of menopause can be considered a frightening ordeal for many women.
The bright side to all of this is that there are ways to ease the symptoms of menopause – exercise. By working up a sweat, you can manage your menopause more easily. Let’s take a look at some ways you can take charge of your menopausal symptoms.
Cardio the blues away
With menopause, estrogen levels decrease, which can influence the action of serotonin, which is a “feel-good” brain chemical. With menopause, mood swings and “moodiness” can be more prevalent since serotonin levels aren’t as active.
When you dance and exercise, it triggers a release of chemicals such as endorphins, dopamine, adrenaline, and other ‘feel good’ chemicals that can help a lot!
As with dancing, cardio and other forms of aerobic activities can also trigger all of those feel good chemicals, so engaging in active exercise and aerobic activities will keep the mood swings at bay. It also has the added benefit of helping you keep in shape, which is great for your health!
Lift a little more
Menopause can lead to osteoporosis, a disease that results in weakened bones that are more susceptible to breaking. Make sure you do a little more strength training in your fitness regimen. Engaging in strength training will help you build bone and muscle strength. It also has burns body fat and increases your metabolism.
The easiest way to get started on this is to purchase a set of dumbbells or resistance tubes to use at home. If you’re comfortable with going to the gym or you’re willing to join a gym, choose weight machines or free weights and slowly work on your intensity.
Embrace the yogi in you
Everybody feels the symptoms of menopause differently. Sometimes symptoms will be different or more intense in other women. That’s why finding a form of relief for yourself is important. Yoga or meditation are two things that you can try as a relaxation technique.
Supported or restorative yoga poses can potentially provide some relief by easing any discomforts associated with menopause, such as stress or even physical pain. When you center your mind and eliminate distractions, you can potentially alleviate symptoms like irritability, fatigue, or hot flashes. For example, Ellen Dolgen uses Transcendental Meditation to ease her menopausal symptoms.
Do some house work
Engaging in some vigorous house or yard work can elevator your heart rate, which also serves as a form of aerobic activity. Aerobic activities can engage and release the feel-good chemicals in your body, easing the symptoms of menopause like irritability and moodiness.
Doing these kinds of work can also utilize larger muscle groups in your body, like your glutes, your core, and your quads.
Cleaning can be therapeutic for some people. The act of cleaning can make you feel in control of everything around you and can lead to less stress when you’re in your own house. You can scrub all of the stress and moodiness out of you. Bonus: you get a house that’s tidier than ever!
You are the ‘me’ in menopause
Even with all of the effects that menopause can have on a woman, it isn’t impossible to alleviate some of the issues. By taking up sports or exercise, you can get back into your normal habits without worrying about hot flashes or mood swings in the middle of nowhere. Remember, take charge of your own life!
Mike Jones became interested in fitness in college. After gaining a few pounds, basketball and fitness were his way of getting rid of them. He created https://defendyourhealthcare.us/ to help all those looking for information about fitness and losing weight healthily.