It just makes sense that being in good shape will help you navigate the sometimes-turbulent waters of the menopause transition. But let’s get real. If you’re a couch potato and you start going to the gym, will it really make a difference?
Now we have the answer—yes. Definitely.
The best part—it doesn’t take a big fitness commitment to cool down hot flashes, fight the battle of the bulge, enhance mood and make your quality of life better. That’s especially good news for women who don’t want to use hormones to ease symptoms.
Background: There is growing evidence that an active lifestyle reduces symptoms such as hot flashes and enhances health, quality of life and fitness in postmenopausal women. But there has been surprisingly little research to determine what benefits are realistic to expect from a modest exercise program.
Study: Researchers at the University of Granada in Spain recruited 166 women aged 45 to 64 (average age 56). Each woman had had her final menstrual period at least 12 months before—that is, she had hit menopause and was postmenopausal. None were using hormone therapy, and all had been sedentary for at least a year. About half of the women were asked to keep living their lives with no changes (the control group), while the other half were entered into a structured exercise program.
The exercise requirement wasn’t huge—three one-hour sessions per week for 20 weeks. Each session included cardio/aerobic fitness, strength training and stretching.
But that was only part of the program. To help them stick with the fitness plan, the women also got 15 sessions of psychological counseling. They learned how to set goals, track progress, get social support and deal with setbacks.
Fitness levels, cardiovascular health and menopause-related symptoms were tested before and after the program—and one year later.
Results: Compared to the women who kept their sedentary ways, the active women improved in many ways. They had fewer hot flashes and better moods. They lost weight, reduced their blood pressure and heart rates, increased flexibility and could walk or run faster. While there was a little back-sliding after the program ended, they wound up keeping most of those positive changes a year later.
Bottom line: Three hours a week of cardio and strength training can make a significant difference in how you feel and how healthy you are in the menopausal transition. This is especially good news for women who are looking for safe, nonhormonal ways to manage menopausal symptoms. And while this study focused on one-hour gym sessions, there’s plenty of evidence that breaking your workouts into smaller, more manageable time chunks as short as 10 minutes confers similar benefits.
But don’t ignore the social and psychological support that helps you make healthy lifestyle changes—and sustain them. While you may not be able to afford to comprehensive psychosocial program such as this (or even find one), you can rely on your spouse or friends to get fitter together. One plus, note the authors, is that “the adoption of some healthy habits may encourage the practice of other healthy habits.”
