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Strong Women
In your 30s? Then you might be pre-perimenopausal – here’s how to eat, move and relax for a happier, healthier life
Updated 2 years ago
7 min read
If you’re in your mid-30s, then you might want to start getting your ducks in a row ahead of perimenopause, says PT and women’s health expert Shakira Akabusi.
Would you ever get in a car for a long-haul trip without charging your phone or filling up your tank? For most of us, the answer is no; without doing the necessary prep, the chances of making it to your destination are minimal. And yet, this is how millions of women live their lives in the decade leading up to menopause.
Our mid-to-late 30s can feel overwhelming and stressful for many reasons. We’re busy climbing the greasy poll at work, our family might be growing, and we’ve got a hen do or wedding every other free weekend. Oh, and we’re also focusing on our own health and fitness goals. It’s no surprise, then, that a paper by the Health and Safety Executive has found that stress, depression and anxiety peak at around the age of 34, while a 2020 study found that the average worker experiences career burnout by 32.
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So far, so expected. But having that sustained period of stress in our 30s goes way beyond needing a glass of wine the moment we get home. It can have a real impact on our menopause journey later on.
The higher our stress levels, the lower our ability to prioritise and manage our health – and that’s why we’re seeing so many women enter the menopause transition already depleted. They’ve not had the time to refill the tank, check the air in their tyres or charge their phones; they were too busy getting everyone else ready for their own journeys. The thing is, however, going into perimenopause with no energy is a recipe for disaster.
Why do women go through menopause?
Before we go any further, it’s worth exploring the purpose of menopause. You might be thinking it’s the ‘end’ of fertility (next stop: retirement? Death?), but menopause has had a really important role in past.
Humans are just one of five animal species that go through this life stage (narwhals, killer whales, belugas and short-finned pilot whales make up the rest). And while we can’t know for sure, scientists believe that women go through menopause now as a sort of evolutionary tool. Back in the mists of time, women over 50 were apparently brilliant hunter-gatherers, as well as experienced nurturers for younger generations – a phenomenon known as the ‘grandmother hypothesis’.
Humans are one of five species to go through menopause
Researcher and anthropologist Kristen Hawkes studied the modern hunter-gatherer tribe of the Hadza (in northern Tanzania) and found that “an energetic group of older women brought more food into camp than any other age and sex category”.
Her extensive research supports the theory that perhaps menopause, rather than being a sign to slow down, is actually a time of great power and strength.
How to prepare for perimenopause
You may read plenty of guides to the menopause transition itself, but we’re talking about getting in the best shape before perimenopause even begins. There are four main elements to this: movement, nutrition, unwinding (stress management) and investigation.
Movement
“Resistance training, flexibility and pelvic floor exercises are hands down the most important types of exercise for women, as they approach and move beyond the menopause transition,” says menopause coach Kim Vopni, also known as The Vagina Coach.
Keep working on your cardio fitness with walks and jogging, and have a go at pilates and yoga. For equipment-free home exercises, think:
- Squats
- Lunges
- Push-ups
- Glute bridges
- Hip thrusts
- Inchworms
- Step-ups
They’re all brilliant for improving muscle tone, core strength and boosting our overall fitness level. Best of all, they’re pretty easy to squeeze into an already-packed day. Going for a jog? Warm up with 10 minutes of inchworms, squats and lunges. Habit-stack push-ups on top of brushing your teeth – aim to do 10 before you brush every morning.
Vopni recognises that “unfortunately, many women avoid weightlifting because of incontinence, organ prolapse or back pain”. That might be because of childbirth, the weakening of our core support muscles as we age or the fact that many people become more sedentary with time. However, “pelvic floor muscle training is effective at overcoming those symptoms when done correctly and consistently”.
In fact, when kegels are done just before resistance training or as part of resistance training, they can have greater benefits than when done alone. “Incorporating kegels into whole body movement also helps improve bone health and cardiovascular health,” Vopni claims.
Most importantly, she highlights that we lose 10% of our bone mass in the first five years post-menopause – so ensuring that you do plenty of muscle and bone-building exercises in the run up to perimenopause is vital. That’ll reduce the risk of developing osteoporosis later in life.
Nutrition
Our nutritional needs do change at certain points in our lives and if we’re working long hours, looking after little children or burning the candle at both ends, it’s more than likely that we’re not prioritising nutritional health in our 30s.
“I see a lot of women entering perimenopause with sub-optimal iron, vitamin D, folate and B12 levels, which means they could feel fatigued, anxious, have low mood and suffer palpitations and thinning hair,” says Emma Bardwell, author of The Perimenopause Solution.
She says that the most important nutrients for prepping for this period include:
Protein
According to researchers from the University of Sydney, prioritising protein during perimenopause can help prevent lean tissue loss and obesity.
Fibre
Key for managing cholesterol, most us are only getting around half the recommended intake of fibre a day. “This needs to be something we home in on – it’s usually a fairly quick win,” she says.
Calcium
Vitamin D and calcium are particularly important when it comes to bone health. “We need 700mg of calcium a day before the age of 50 and almost double – 1200mg – after that,” says Bardwell. “It’s always best to get calcium from your diet where possible: dairy, sardines, kale, broccoli, dried figs, calcium-set tofu and fortified plant milks.”
Omega-3 fatty acids
All women over 35, Bardwell believes, need to eat for heart and brain health. For the heart, think about eating lots of non-saturated fats like avocados, oily fish and seeds. The brain, on the other hand, needs plenty of omega-3, which our bodies can’t make. As such, it’s essential that we consume it in foods such as oily fish or for those who don’t eat fish, algae-based supplements.
Unwinding
When we talk about reducing stress, we’re often told to incorporate small acts of self-care, like having a bubble bath, lighting a candle or taking a nap. While these things are certainly nice things to do, they’re not really getting to the nub of the problem.
Aside from tackling the cause of stress (easier said than done if the cause is external), the most important thing to do is help prime your body to better deal with it.
When we experience stress, we release cortisol and adrenaline – the ‘stress hormones’. We need a certain amount of them to survive on a daily basis; they set in motion a series of events that can give us more energy and power to deal with stress or danger when it occurs.
But if we’re not tackling a grizzly bear or having to survive a famine, then excessive amounts of these hormones can disrupt our body’s natural balance. So, we need to trigger our parasympathetic nervous system, which helps to relax our body after stress. And one of the best ways to achieve this is via sleep.
Credit: Getty
Research has already shown that the ideal bedtime for stress and rest is around 10pm, which means winding down in good time. When we get ready for bed, our melatonin stores increase and then start to replenish once we’ve hit the hay. Melatonin is important for regulating our circadian rhythm, balancing our mood, energy and digestive processes.
Investigating
This final piece of the puzzle is arguably the most important. We’re all unique and so too is how we’ll transition towards menopause. Finding the right resources for you is probably one of the best meno-prep things we can do.
Vopni explains: “Finding a care provider who is trained in menopause and is up to date with the latest research and guidelines is very helpful. I’d also recommend women get a full thyroid panel, including the antibodies, so they can see their thyroid function and see if there is any sign of autoimmunity. Many women are diagnosed with hypothyroidism in perimenopause, while the majority are not screened for autoimmune thyroiditis – despite the fact that both conditions have many of the same symptoms as perimenopause.”
There are loads of great resources out there, either online, as podcasts or in books. It’s really important to know that perimenopause is a journey and that a few years of prep leading up to it can make it a smooth process. With the right information and support, we can look towards our midlife as a time to thrive.
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