Fatigue is a common experience during perimenopause and postmenopause. It can happen for a variety of reasons, including changing hormone levels and sleep disruption. People may feel physically or mentally tired, or both. Hormone therapy may help to improve sleep quality and energy levels.
It's a feeling of constantly feeling drained, zapping your energy and motivation, and causing issues with concentration and your overall quality of life. Fatigue at this level impacts your emotional and psychological well-being, too. Many women experience symptoms like these while they're going through menopause.
Like so much else in perimenopause, fatigue is likely temporary, but that temporary can be years long. Here are some ways to feel more energized in the meantime. Get moving. It's probably the last thing that you want to do, so start with just a simple walk.
You may find that during menopause and perimenopause a persistent lack of energy or feelings of weakness can be experienced both physically and mentally. Your sense of exhaustion may seem unexplainable and can include feelings of: Decreased wakefulness. Lowered attention span.
Most of the time fatigue can be traced to one or more lifestyle issues, such as poor sleep habits or lack of exercise. Fatigue can be caused by a medicine or linked to depression. Sometimes fatigue is a symptom of an illness that needs treatment.
Mental laziness and lack of motivation can also be caused by one simple problem: not having enough exercise and nutrients in the body. One should consider eating healthy food high in protein, such as green, leafy vegetables, and fatty fish. Research also suggests eating berries and walnuts and drinking coffee or tea.
The transitional phase that leads up to menopause, known as perimenopause, can start as early as in your 40s and can last 7-10 years. These symptoms you are experiencing are hallmarks of the perimenopausal stage of life. The good news is that perimenopausal fatigue is completely normal and treatable.
Fatigue during perimenopause and menopause may be caused by a combination of factors. Changes in the levels of hormones like estrogen, progesterone, thyroid hormones, and adrenal hormones can make you feel extremely tired. That is because these hormones are involved in regulating cellular energy within the body.
Common physical symptoms of menopause and perimenopause include: hot flushes, when you have sudden feelings of hot or cold in your face, neck and chest which can make you dizzy. difficulty sleeping, which may be a result of night sweats and make you feel tired and irritable during the day.
Very early perimenopause, when periods are still regular. Early menopause transition, from the onset of irregular periods. Late menopause transition, from the first cycle of more than 60 days. Late perimenopause, which is 12 months from your final period.
Perimenopause can begin in some women in their 30s, but most often it starts in women ages 40 to 44.
Perimenopause is a process — a gradual transition. No one test or sign is enough to determine if you've entered perimenopause. Your doctor takes many things into consideration, including your age, menstrual history, and what symptoms or body changes you're experiencing.
Hypersomnia means excessive sleepiness. There are many different causes, the most common in our society being inadequate sleep. This may be due to shiftwork, family demands (such as a new baby), study or social life. Other causes include sleep disorders, medication, and medical and psychiatric illnesses.
Fatigue and Sleep Issues
Estrogen is intimately linked to serotonin, and serotonin makes melatonin. Melatonin is the primary sleep hormone. This means, if you've been sleeping less and feeling fatigued, you could have low estrogen.
Many women experience sleep problems during perimenopause , the period of time before menopause when hormone levels and menstrual periods become irregular. Often, poor sleep sticks around throughout the menopausal transition and after menopause.
And the consensus was that the majority of women feel better once they're through the menopause. They have a much better life and lots of other aspects tend to be more positive as well. So really, really take that on board when you're feeling miserable and that it's never ending, there is an end to it at some point.
Symptoms said to be due to adrenal fatigue include tiredness, trouble falling asleep at night or waking up in the morning, salt and sugar craving, and needing stimulants like caffeine to get through the day.
“Perimenopause is the time leading up to that, and it's characterized by hormone levels that are starting to change.” Perimenopause can last 10 to 12 years, but the worst symptoms are usually in the five years leading up to menopause.
Possible culprit: A vitamin or mineral deficiency
One possible reason for feeling tired, anxious, and weak is having low levels of iron, vitamin D, or B12. Many experts believe that a significant percentage of the U.S. population is deficient in vitamin D.