Perimenopause Power

Wahoooooh! Well, if the title didn’t get your attention then I hope the energy of my whoop did.

It’s taken me years to find the grove of my perimenopause power and I want to share with you today what it is I’ve learnt and you find your perimenopausal power.

You may be questioning my use of the word power, especially if your struggling like I did with numerous perimenopause symptoms and getting through the day feels like a struggle, but bare with me and keep reading, I promise you’ll find some gold.

MY TOP PERI POWER TIPS:

1. The power of NO. Oh my gosh, say no as much as you can (I’m not kidding). This is a time when you need to rest and really focus on what feels good and right for you. Don’t want to go to the ptfa meeting. DON’T. Don’t want to go for drinks on Friday night. DONT. Don’t want to be pulled here there and everywhere by commitments. DONT. Just start saying no, say, thanks so much for the invitation but it’s a no from me this time, or I’m afraid I can’t help out because I’m busy. I know this can feel scary as you might worry that you won’t get invited again (FOMO calling) but you will, trust me and if you don’t then the invitation wasn’t from true friends. Remember, if it’s not a full bodied YES during perimenopause, then it’s a flat out NO!!!!!!!

2. Say YES to what you want to do. As women we’re kick ass at putting others first, so don’t worry about that for a movement. It’s time to put yourself first. Say YES to the things you love, whatever they may be. Do more of them. More girly nights in, more sauna’s and swims, more yoga, more walking, more reading, more naps in the afternoon. More yes yes yes to what you want and love to do. This is so soothing for your souls and will reduce your stress levels (helping ease those peri symptoms) and boost your enjoyment of YOUR life. Trust me, do it now. Cancel something your not looking forward to and book something you are!

3. DO LESS. You are going through a huge transition and having a jam packed life does not leave any space for your body, brain and being to do that. You need time doing nothing. Honestly if I could persuade you to do one thing today it would be to do less. You are not superhuman, so stop trying to be. You’re a beautiful woman who needs rest just as much as everyone else. You’re going through a huge transition and you need downtime for that to happen. The emotions that arise at this time need space to be sat with and listened too and you can only listen to your inner wisdom when you have the time to sit and do nothing.

4. EMPOWER YOURSELF. That’s what my blog is all about really, I want you to learn more about what’s going on during perimenopause and find tools that support you through this incredible, if sometimes challenging, transition. And you can do this by reading books about this subject, check out My top perimenopause books. Learning about the Hormonal changes during Perimenopause and how they affect you at different times during your cycle. What you can do to support yourself and your friends during this transition, like ways to improve your sleep Top 6 tips - Perimenopause and Sleep and how Yoga can help you today 3 reasons why you should practice yoga during Perimenopause.

Start right now.

1. Cancel something

2. Book something lovely in

3. Stare into space for a bit

4. And then order that perimenopause book

Lets grow Happier, Older and Wiser together ladies.

Love and hugs as always, Heather*

Top 6 tips - Perimenopause and Sleep

Waking up in the middle of the night and being unable to get back to sleep is a common experience during the perimenopausal years (unsure when this is, click here.)

Firstly please know that you are not alone. And also know that there are different tools you can use to help you though the emotionally and physically exhausting experience of disrupted sleep.

Here are my top 6 tips on how to cope with and hopefully improve your sleep and find more rest.

1. Acceptance Did you know that waking for a few hours in the middle of the night, known as biphasic sleep, is actually a very natural thing to do. In Medieval times (and before) everyone in the community would be awake for 2 hours in the night (usually between 11 and 1am), doing whatever they wanted, eating, household chores, chatting to family and friends (there was a lot of bed sharing going on!)

   So don’t worry, nighttime waking might not be normal for you, but it is normal, so don’t let it stress you out. If you’re awake, your awake. The forgotten medieval habit of 'two sleeps' - BBC Future

2. No phones in bed Numerous studies have shown that turning off or stopping looking at hand held devices, particular phones 1.5 - 2hrs before you go to bed has a huge impact on how quickly you fall asleep and the quality of your sleep.

   If it’s hard for practical reasons to turn your phone off in the early evening. Try just not looking at it in bed and see how that helps. 6 Ways That Night-time Phone Use Destroys Your Sleep | Psychology Today Canada

3. Stick to a set wake up time Even at the weekends, the more you can stick to waking up at the same time the better your sleep will be as your body and especially your brain loves to follow a pattern.

   Establishing a regular sleep pattern helps improve the bodies circadian rhythm and leaves you feel well rested - good sleep is so important for good energy levels and mood. Even when life is busy don’t let this slip as it really serves you well. Consistent Wake-Up Time: Sleep’s Surprising MVP - Headspace

4. Meditate Whenever you can but especially before you go to bed, or at 2am when you wake up and can’t fall back to sleep, try meditation or Yoga Nidra. There’s loads of free classes online (hmmm breaks the phone rule though, life is nothing if it’s not contradictory!)

   Keeping the body in a calming meditative state, where you can tap into your parasympathetic nervous system (rest and digest,) helps to slow down your heart rate, breathing and helps you to feel calm and relaxed. Even if your not asleep you can rest deeply in meditation so when you do wake for the day at 6am you don’t feel exhausted.

   Also, if you meditate or practice Yoga Nidra during the day, it can give you a even brief period of deep rest which will boost your energy levels for the rest of the day.

5. Exercise and nutrition Think about eating well and exercising regularly. I highly recommend for nutrition you look to experts in the Menopause field like Lara Briden, Rachel Boon and Karen Newby. Women I’ve found to be great sources of accurate advice on eating well during perimenopause.

   And for exercise, well firstly do exercise, don’t worry if things aren’t quite the same as they used to be, your changing and that aerobics class isn’t going to do what it did for you in your 20’s. Gentle to moderate yoga is a wonderful practice to adopt at this time, when you find the right teacher you’ll find not only do you grow more flexible and stronger, it will also more peace and calm into your life, giving you the tools you need to enjoy your perimenopausal life.

   Think about when is the best time for you to exercise - they’re isn’t a one size fits all answer to this, here’s a link to a great article which will help you The Best Time of Day to Exercise for Sleep | Sleep Foundation although generally speaking don’t do crazy cardio and then expect to just drop off to sleep

6. Magnesium Is known to reduce cortisol, which is a stress hormone, levels and have a calming affect on the brain, which helps to improve our sleep.

   Try to eat magnesium rich foods, such as nuts, leafy greens, legumes, soy products (organic if you can) avocadoes, banana and even good quality dark choclate Foods rich in magnesium: 11 to eat for better sleep | Woman & Home

   Or you could consider taking a supplement (please get advice from a trusted source, ie a nutritionist as to a good supplement.)

There are more things I could add to this list, cut out alcohol (not a perimenopausal woman’s friend trust me) reduce caffeine intake, get out into daylight as soon as you can when you wake up, but these 6 are a great place to start and I’ve seen them support so many of my own yoga students to a place where they feel happier and more in control of their sleep and night-time waking’s.

Until next time, I hope you are enjoying growing Older, stepping into your Wisdom and finding deep Happiness.

With love,

Heather*