I don’t know about you, but everyone around me is talking about Menopause lately… it seems to be the new thing as we encroach on our 50’s and instead of talk about the latest handbags and shoes or what party we’re going to – it’s now moving around the topics of skin sagging, jowls starting to appear on our faces, wrinkles, fine lines, sleeplessness, kids growing up, clothes feeling too tight, the dreaded night sweats, hot flushes, feeling brain fog, feeling tired all of the time, and all the other dreaded signs of ageing that women must put up with as we start to get closer, or embark on peri-menopause and menopause and general ageing.... Well, stop suffering, and read on for some basic tips regarding the top 5 symptoms of menopause and what you can do to relieve and reduce these......

Having hot flushes & night sweats from Menopause?

So where does it end?
Do we try our hardest as we age, to age gracefully and just try our best by not sitting in the sun, not smoking, not drinking, not eating sugars, drinking lots of water, eating foods and supplements for our gut health, drinking collagen tea and getting our 8 hours sleep a night?
Or – do we try and live through it – enjoy these years and just make the most of it and see ageing as a gift, a blessing that we’re still here and be grateful of what we have achieved and where we are in life!
To me, that sounds like the way to go, remaining positive and enjoying every day and doing the best we can.

However, menopause is a natural biological process that occurs with the permanent cessation of menstruation due to loss of ovarian activity and the drop in estrogen levels. Did you know that the mean age of menopause is 51.4 years of age…. So if it's starting to come towards your time, or you want to know more about menopause, and the symptoms of menopause, particularly the night sweats and hot flashes, as well as the impending consequences of ageing which seems to occur at the same time as menopause - adding more for us to consider at the same time - then let us take you through the top 5 symptoms of menopause so you can learn how to reduce these issues, and so you can find out more…

The Top 5 Signs of Menopause

Menopause Hot flushes

Are you having sudden feelings of warmth or heat, usually most intense over your face, neck and chest, and in some circumstances - experiencing profuse sweating, commonly due to menopause?  Hot flashes are considered to be an early and common symptom of menopause. This is normal… why? Because hot flashes occur from a decrease in estrogen levels. In response to this, your glands release higher amounts of other hormones that affect the brain's thermostat, causing your body temperature to fluctuate.
One of the most natural options available is the herb black cohosh, which has been used for centuries to help alleviate the intensity of hot flashes, as it’s a vasodilator and helps the vasomotor symptoms in postmenopausal women. 
A study was conducted to test the results of using black cohosh in menopausal women, and found the severity of vasomotor symptoms and the number of hot flashes recorded during the pre-intervention phase, and the 4 and 8 week phases during and after the trial, showed the intensity and significance of hot flashes was considerably lower with a significant difference between the placebo group and the group using black cohosh in terms of severity and the number of hot flashes in weeks 4 and 8 by controlling the intensity of vasomotor symptoms and number of hot flashes before the trial commenced.
So, i hear you asking "how do i get myself some of this black cohosh?" Well, we've made that easy for you - try our new Menopause Tea With Collagen, it's got black cohosh in it, as well as the boost of collagen to help with ageing, as well as help relieve and reduce hot flashes and night sweats.....

Menopause Night Sweats

Hot flashes and night sweats occur before and during menopause because of our changing hormone levels, including estrogen and progesterone, affecting the body's temperature control. Changes in these hormone levels affect the action of other hormones that are responsible for regulating the body's temperature. This is the main reason you’re experiencing night sweats when you are going through peri-menopause and menopause….
If you're at that stage in your life, simply making a few changes may help reduce these frustrating and annoying, and usually very uncomfortable symptoms. Start exercising a bit more, steer clear of certain spicy foods, reduce or avoid alcohol, incorporate meditation, try a cool shower before bed, don't wear heaps of clothes to bed or socks, try deep breathing excercises, and even try drinking our Menopause Tea With Collagen – including multiple herbs specifically blended to help support and reduce night sweats and hot flushes, especially having a cup just before bed.
The night sweats that women experience during menopause are usually a sign of decreased estrogen levels, as estrogen is a vital hormone that controls many physical processes, but as you approach menopause, your body gradually produces less estrogen which in turn causes the brain (which was used to higher estrogen levels), to react to this new decrease, by releasing the stress hormone norepinephrine, which causes altered temperature responses. This in turn gives you those night sweats. Not fun huh?

Changes in mood

Feeling some anxiety or some changes in mood - such as low mood or irritability – is perfectly normal, and can be a sign of menopause for many women. During menopause, lower estrogen levels may lead to irritability, fatigue, anxiety, sleep problems, and other factors that can affect mood. Hormonal changes may also affect levels of serotonin and norepinephrine, which may have links with depression. About 4 in 10 women may experience mood changes during peri-menopause that are similar to PMS, or premenstrual syndrome – where you may start to feel more irritable, or have low energy, feel tearful and even plain old moody. Also, many women describe feeling ‘brain fog’ or have a hard time concentrating. The hormone changes that affect your periods during peri-menopause can also possibly affect your emotions, as well as the physical menopausal symptoms which may also acerbate and lead to feeling more stressed, tired and fatigued, intensifying emotions further due to lack of sleep or feeling hot all of the time. Unlike PMS, these emotional changes and symptoms may come at times unrelated to your menstrual cycle, and may occur for years with no pattern. This type of mood change is known as peri-menopausal mood instability.
 

Changes in skin conditions and hair loss

It may be frustrating to notice how the skin changes during menopause, but it's very typical. As estrogen levels fall, which occurs during menopause - it can cause the skin to get thinner and more delicate, meaning it is more easily damaged, and is more susceptible to wrinkles, fine lines, sagging or loose skin and slower healing.  As estrogen depletes, you may start to see more thinning skin which can also lead to more frequent and noticeable bruising and scarring.  
Collagen is what gives skin plumpness and structure, and as we age, we start to lose 1% to 2% of our natural collagen production per year from our mid 20’s, so the rapid loss of collagen production during menopause can lead to fine lines and wrinkles or cause sagging in the cheeks and jowls. Loss of collagen, and skin changes during menopause may also cause dry skin and saggier skin which are also common during menopause. You may also experience changes in your skin’s texture and some new skin conditions, including dryness or an increase in oiliness and even the onset of adult acne.
Menopause, which officially begins one year after your last period, can bring with it some noticeable changes to your skin AND your hair. As hormone levels plummet, your skin can become dry, slack, and thin. You may notice more hair on your face and less hair on your scalp and less hair growth, more greying hair or thinning hair.  
However, with the right care, you can lessen these effects by ensuring you’re ingesting your collagen daily – like our Menopause Tea With Collagen – which has the added benefits of hydrolyzed collagen peptides and herbs to help reduce menopausal symptoms.  Common concerns for women during menopause for their skin include: a loss of elasticity and volume, acne and breakouts, dryness, dullness, sensitivity, a thinning of the skin, dark under-eye circles and an uneven skin tone and texture. Conditions such as rosacea and hyperpigmentation may also become worse.
Please note, it is essential to use an SPF 50 sunscreen every day, even when not spending a lot of time in the sun. As mentioned, because low estrogen levels decrease the skin’s collagen content, and therefore the skin's structure and texture - this can result in reduced skin thickness. Ageing skin is characterized by thinning, wrinkling and fine lines, sagging (looseness) – are the main results of decreased production of collagen and elastin as we age, and in particular more so as a significant skin concern during menopause.

 

Sleeplessness and difficulty sleeping

Menopause seems to also cause some women to have much sleeplessness and difficulty sleeping – this may make you feel even more tired and irritable during the day, adding to mood changes and frustrations from regular night sweats causing you not to sleep through the entire night, and wake up even more groggy. Hot flashes, and especially night sweats, and then changes in mood, can all help to contribute to poor sleep quality and getting a full night’s sleep - which right now most women say that they desperately need. It’s a full circle.  
Why is happening? The main reasons for poor sleep quality during menopause seem to be caused by changing estrogen levels which can cause night sweats, heat intolerance, insomnia and even vivid dreams and nightmares. 
The good news is that sleep issues during menopause are usually temporary and there are treatments and practices available to help you get to sleep more quickly and stay asleep – so, yes, there is hope!
You could try our Menopause Tea with Collagen – which will help alleviate the night sweats and hot flushes, or try our Collagen infused Sleep Tea Cloud Nine blend, which helps you relax and unwind into a good night’s sleep with the added boost of collagen to help your skin wake up glowing.
Other methods to help sleep is to keep the bedroom cool, meditate before bed, practice deep breathing techniques, take a cool shower before bed, don’t wear socks to bed or heavy layers of clothing, read a great book before bed to unwind and relax better and take your mind off going to sleep, try melatonin to help with a deeper sleep, and also try improving your sleep preparation -  including getting daylight first thing when you wake up in the morning, avoiding light late at night, avoiding caffeine a few hours before bed, or even from lunchtime onwards for some people, and also try avoiding alcohol late in the day, which has also proven to disrupt sleep.
It should also be noted, that stress is the body’s mental and physiological response to a perceived threat, likely to rear up when we feel anxious, worried, under pressure, overwhelmed, or in danger. When you feel stressed, your brain kicks into fight-or-flight mode, flooding your body with hormones including adrenaline and cortisol to prepare you to fight, flee, or freeze, and that response can trigger an array of physical symptoms, such as a quickened heart rate, dizziness, or a dry mouth. Cortisol may be best known as the body’s stress hormone, but it also plays a pivotal role in managing our sleep “architecture”.  Studies of our circadian rhythm — your 24 hour body clock — have shown that cortisol levels naturally begin to increase between 2am and 3am. If you’re already stressed or anxious from menopause and the associated symptoms, and your cortisol levels are naturally rising, it’s not surprising that you’d wake up during the night from both stress and night sweats. When we’re experiencing menopause, we may also be feeling more anxious or stressed with the natural changes happening in our bodies, and this stress or anxiety means our body’s sympathetic nervous system kicks into gear with an increase in heart rate and blood pressure which may also make it harder to fall back asleep.

 

So what’s the take-out on Post-Menopause?

Post-menopause refers to the final stage of the menopause process, and marks the end of the reproductive stage of life. During post-menopause, your body learns to function with low hormone levels, and symptoms caused by fluctuating hormones may become less troubling — or disappear altogether.
The signs and symptoms experienced in peri-menopause and menopause may persist for a few years into post-menopause, but women overwhelmingly report feeling much better in post-menopause, feeling boundless energy, laser focused, and increased libido as well as much healthier and energised, and many other joyous feelings, which are all waiting on the other side of menopause.

In post-menopause, symptoms of menopause have eased or stopped entirely, but the change in your body's hormones however means it's still the time to keep looking after your health and wellbeing, and be mindful to listen to your body, take care of your body, look after yourself, make time to slow down, eat well, sleep well and exercise. If you’re asking “does life go back to normal after menopause?” – the answer seems to be a resounding - yes!!!
Feeling stronger, more confident, energised and clear-minded are all waiting after menopause is complete for you. As hormone levels stabilise, either naturally or through various remedies or therapies, the symptoms of menopause disappear and many women feel better than they have in years!

So, it seems we have much to look forward to post-menopause – as it’s reported that women may find that they are sleeping better and feeling healthier overall as their hormone levels even out. This can also lead to improvements in mood, energy levels, and cognitive function.

If you’re looking for a natural remedy for the dreaded night sweats and hot flushes, please consider trying our Menopause Tea With Collagen. You can read all about the ingredients and how they may help to benefit you and your symptoms by clicking HERE.