How to exercise in menopause to protect your long term health
If you are a menopausal woman who has continued with your past exercise routine to lose the menopausal belly, you may be finding that how you exercised before menopause is not working for you now. As our oestrogen levels decline over time, exercise in menopause must change, as our physiology and metabolism changes at midlife. The type and timing of exercise in menopause is important in this lifestage, to work with our hormone fluctuations, not against them.
Metabolism, hormonal changes and exercise in menopause
Metabolic changes and how our body uses and stores glucose and fat is largely driven by the hormonal changes that occur in menopause. Couple that with little sleep, low energy, high stress levels, eating on the run and continuous multi-tasking – it is a recipe for possible long term health issues as you age. Not only do our sex hormones change in menopause, but also other hormones such as cortisol and insulin. Cortisol is a stress hormone released from the adrenal glands in the fight or flight response, and insulin is the hormone that regulates our blood sugar, released from the pancreas. These hormones together with declining oestrogen have an effect on how fat and sugars are processed and stored in the body, as does how we exercise in menopause.
The type of exercise we do and what time of day is imperative to working with our hormone changes, to help alleviate menopausal symptoms, preserve energy levels, improve sleep and stress levels and our overall health and wellbeing.
The circadian rhythm and it’s role in exercise in menopause
We can’t be talking about the timing of exercise without understanding the circadian rhythm and the hormones involved. The circadian rhythm is a 24 hour cycle, 12 hours of daylight and 12 hours of darkness. Our sleep hormone, melatonin and our stress hormone, cortisol work against each other in our circadian rhythm, with melatonin being highest at night and cortisol lowest, and in the morning, melatonin is lowest while cortisol is highest.
Exercise is a form of stress on the body, if you would normally participate in a high intensity class at the gym at night, you will find that your sleep may be affected as your melatonin levels would not be optimum, as cortisol would be higher than it should be due to the exercise. When cortisol levels are chronically higher than they should be, due to stress, menopause symptoms and even dieting, the result is increased abdominal fat (cortisol is a fat storing hormone), muscle weakness, and a higher risk of type 2 diabetes (insulin is higher in a stressed state as we burn glucose rather than fat, which means insulin is a fat storing hormone in this state), osteoporosis and high blood pressure. It’s important to keep cortisol within the levels that naturally occur with the circadian rhythm for our longevity, health and menopause.
It’s because of the natural levels of melatonin and cortisol in the circadian rhythm that the type and timing of exercise in menopause is important to alleviate symptoms, decrease abdominal weight gain, sleep better and have more energy.
The type and timing of exercise in menopause
The type and timing of exercise in menopause is important in working with our hormones and our energy levels. With cortisol levels higher in the morning, that is the time of day you want to be doing those high intensity exercises, such and HIIT as this will optimise fat burning and energy levels for the day ahead. Leaving the more passive and calming exercises such as yoga or walking for later in the day will help with sleep, calm your system and help with melatonin production for sleep, and fat burning at night.
The best types of exercise to do in the morning are:
- High Impact Interval Training (HIIT)
- Aerobics or dancing
- Running/jogging
- Jumping rope
The best types of exercise to do at night or later in the day are:
- Walking
- Yoga
- Pilates
- Low impact aerobics
- Weight bearing and resistance exercises
The benefits of exercise in menopause
There are many benefits for exercise in menopause, but for some women it is harder to get moving due to symptoms and declining energy levels. In fact, the statistics for Australian women in 2017-18 (Australian Institute of Health and Welfare) showed that 44% of women aged 45-54 yrs met the Physical Activity guidelines of 150 minutes a week, and slightly less in the 55-65 yrs age group. There are many reasons for this including disruptions to routine, family commitments, and the many responsibilities at home and at work. It’s never too late to start, and always listen to your body and start slow to gain the following benefits:
- Consistent exercise will improve heart health. It lowers bad cholesterol (LDL) and triglycerides, increases good cholesterol (HDL), and reduces the risk of high blood pressure.
- Increases bone health, preventing osteoporosis
- Increases muscle mass and therefore decreases risk of sarcopenia (muscle loss in aging)
- Helps keep metabolism efficient (as muscle mass is increased)
- Decreases risk of type 2 diabetes
- Reduces joints pain and body aches
- Reduces stress and improves mood
- Improves sleep quality and quantity
Always choose exercise in menopause that you enjoy, but be sure to include a mix of high intensity that increases your heart rate, weight bearing/resistance and balancing exercises.
If you are needing help with your self care routine in menopause, book a Discovery Call to discuss further how this can be turned around.
References:
1 Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, The health of Australia’s females, Table S1 – Proportion of people aged 18 and over meeting the physical activity guidelines (including exercise at work) by sex and population groups, 2017-18
https://www.aihw.gov.au/reports/men-women/female-health/data
2 Cleveland Clinic, Cortisol
https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/articles/22187-cortisol
3 Dugan SA et al, Physical Activity and Physical Function: moving and aging, Obstet Gynecol Clin North Am, 2018 December; 45(4):723-736
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6226270/pdf/nihms-1506831.pdf
4 Hormones and Balance, How to optimise Movement in Menopause for Long-Term Energy and Vitality
5 McArthur D et al, Factors influencing adherence to regular exercise in middle-aged women: a qualitative study to inform clinical practice, BMC Women’s Health 2014 14:49
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3975263/pdf/1472-6874-14-49.pdf
6 Mishra N, Exercise beyond menopause: Do’s and Don’ts, J of Midlife Health, Jul-Dec 2011, Vol 2, Issue 2
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3296386/pdf/JMH-2-51.pdf
7 Positive Pause, Why does cortisol affect women in midlife: 7 Easy steps to balance cortisol in menopause
8 Sims ST et al, Changes in Physical Activity and Body Composition in Postmenopausal Women over Time, Med Sci Sports Exerc, 2013 August;45(8):1486-1492
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3715578/pdf/nihms452177.pdf
