Anxiety is one of the many symptoms that can appear during menopause. Rosie Millen, Nutritionist and Spokesperson for Bio-Kult, reveals 5 ways to reduce anxiety during menopause
During the menopause, anxiety can be one of the biggest side effects to disrupt your everyday life, on top of the other symptoms.
Stress from the changes of menopause symptoms such as hot flushes or mood changes can also add to the heightened anxiety.
Anxiety can affect your mood, how you interact with other people and your sleep quality
As oestrogen levels fall throughout menopause, causing a myriad of health changes, a lack of oestrogen also plays an important role in contributing to anxiety as often the stress caused by the hormone imbalance can lead to anxiety.
Anxiety can affect your mood, how you interact with other people and your sleep quality, so it’s important to try and reduce the feeling so you can live life more normally.
If you’re often feeling nervous or worried throughout the day, it is possible you could be suffering with anxiety.
These five tips can help combat that anxious feeling and help to lift your mood during the menopause…
#1 Exercise, exercise, exercise
My top tip for reducing anxiety is exercising, which is paramount for our mental health overall.
It increases the levels of endorphins we produce, which are natural mood lifters such as dopamine which is the pleasure hormone.
Exercise also significantly lowers levels of depression and it’s one of the BEST ways to reduce anxiety because it literally diverts you from the very thing you are anxious about.
Exercise also significantly lowers levels of depression
Even doing simple, small amounts of exercise each day, such as yoga, can make you feel better and lower your muscle tension, which in turn reduces your anxiety levels.
Working out more regularly can also build a better resistance to anxious feelings and enjoying your work out outside can also be more beneficial to lowering your stress and anxiety.
#2 Limit your caffeine intake
Caffeine increases cortisol levels in the blood stream and increases heart rate and blood pressure, which worsens symptoms of anxiety.
If you’re feeling anxious already, caffeine can add to the blood restriction to the brain and can also increase menopause symptoms, so it’s recommended to limit your coffee intake to just one cup a day and try not to increase your caffeine levels more with fizzy drinks which can contain added caffeine.
caffeine can add to the blood restriction to the brain and can also increase menopause symptoms
Drinking coffee after 2pm or 6 hours before you’re trying to sleep can inhibit the release of melatonin and leave you feeling restless whilst in bed.
Melatonin is responsible for managing your natural sleep pattern, so swap coffee for chamomile tea after that time as it is much more calming!
#3 Have protein at breakfast
Protein-rich foods like eggs, salmon, turkey etc contain an amino acid called tryptophan which gets converted into serotonin, which will maintain and improve your mood and anxiety.
Starting the day with protein will also help to stabilise blood sugar levels and improves energy levels, which will encourage you to keep moving.
protein will also help to stabilise blood sugar levels and improves energy levels
Eating packed protein meals and snacks throughout the day can help you avoid eating high processed sugary food which can trigger an increase in anxiety and depression.
#4 Take probiotics
The gut produces many of the neurotransmitters in our body and that is down to the trillions of microbes living there.
A large proportion of serotonin is produced in the gut thanks to the microbiome so taking probiotics literally helps your body to produce the happy hormone!
Live bacteria has been shown to reduce circulating levels of stress hormones, so a product such as Bio-Kult Brighten, £19.94 is a great option.
A large proportion of serotonin is produced in the gut
Plus, thanks to the additional vitamins (including vitamin B6, B12 and vitamin D) and minerals that were specifically chosen for their role in mechanisms related to mood regulation, Bio-Kult Brighten combats anxiety and low mood.
#5 Make time for self-care and relaxation
Lying down and concentrating on your beathing can keep your anxiety levels under control. Breathing out slowly for just 5 seconds actually lowers levels of cortisol in the blood stream.
Getting out in nature and doing things that relax you (I call it green time) can instantly put your anxieties into perspective.
Whether you enjoy going for a walk in the park or sitting in the garden, feeling the fresh air and getting in vitamin D for 20 minutes every day is beneficial for everyone’s wellbeing.
Making sure it’s put in the diary otherwise it won’t get done, you could create an everyday self-care routine to help put the mind at ease.
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