Menopause is often described in terms of physical changes—hot flashes, restless nights, and shifting hormones. But there’s also a quieter transformation happening within, one that touches the heart and mind just as deeply.
This season of life can bring emotions, forgetfulness, or feeling a little less like normal yourself. But it can also be a time of reflection, renewal, and deeper connection—to your body and mind.
In this post, we’ll explore the emotional landscape of menopause, and offer simple, supportive ways to care for your mental well-being—through calming routines, supplements, and everyday choices that help you feel more balanced, present, and whole.
Understanding Menopause + Mood
As you move through your 30s into your 40s, your body begins a natural, gradual transition. Estrogen and progesterone levels start to slowly decrease, setting the stage for perimenopause. Eventually, your period stops completely—and you officially enter menopause, typically around age 52. At that point, your estrogen levels dip further.
Estrogen plays an important role in regulating feel-good hormones like serotonin and dopamine, which can influence your mood, energy, and sense of well being. It also supports brain functions like cognition. So when your estrogen levels start to change, you might notice your mood changing along with it.
If that sounds familiar, know this: you’re not alone. A 2023 study found that 15% to 50% of women navigating perimenopause and postmenopause experience mental health symptoms like forgetfulness and insomnia. The same study also found that the more severe the menopausal symptoms, the greater the degree of mental health symptoms the participants experienced.1
But this season isn’t something to fear—it’s a time to nourish, reconnect, and realign with what makes you feel whole. As your body transitions and adapts to new rhythms, embracing menopause with grace can lead to a renewed sense of freedom and empowerment. There are gentle, effective ways to nurture your mood during menopause that can help support you during this journey:
- Enjoyable exercise can support a positive mood in a myriad of ways, and you don’t have to run marathons to achieve it. If you love to swim, hit the pool a few times a week. If yoga is more your style, make time for the mat in the mornings. Most importantly, find movement that you’ll look forward to so you’re motivated to stick with it.
- Nutritious food fuels your brain so you can stay calm in the moment and have the energy you need to tackle whatever the day throws your way. Meal planning is a practical and fun way to make sure you’re hitting your nutritional bases while enjoying lots of flavor and variety. When you have something tasty and easy to prepare at home, it’s less tempting to get take out food.
- Connections with family and friends can have a tremendous impact on mood. Make time for your loved ones and seek out new experiences with them. Something simple like gardening together or a big event like a family vacation can help you form deeper bonds.
- Supplements can help support your mood, especially if they are formulated specifically for menopause. Solaray’s herlife STAGES Perimenopause formula is carefully crafted to support a positive outlook and features scientifically backed saffron, shown in clinical studies to support perimenopause symptoms, including sleep and mood.‡*
Tackling Sleepless Nights During Menopause
Menopause can influence your sleep patterns, sometimes leading to nights that feel more restless and mornings that are a bit harder to greet. You might find that hot flashes, night sweats, and the natural shifts in hormones can interrupt your sleep, causing you to wake up more often and making it harder to fall back asleep. This cycle of disrupted sleep can sometimes make other menopausal symptoms, like mood swings and irritability, feel more difficult.
Interestingly, even women who don't have night sweats often notice that their sleep patterns have changed. Research suggests that some women who don’t experience hot flashes at night still report having more trouble sleeping than they did before menopause.2
It's important to be kind to yourself and pay attention to your sleep habits during this time, ensuring you get the rest you need to wake up feeling refreshed and ready to embrace the day. Remember, taking care of your sleep is a loving way to navigate menopause with grace and ease.
There are some tried-and-true ways to get better sleep during menopause:
- Create a nighttime ritual that helps you relax. You might do some gentle stretching, take a cool shower, or journal.
- A cool room can go a long way towards comfortable sleep. Keep the thermostat between 66-69°F and wear lightweight pajamas. A fan can provide cool air plus white noise to help you drift off.
- Get out of bed if you’ve been tossing and turning for more than 20 minutes. Read a book or meditate until your bed cools off.
- Supplement your sleep efforts with a menopause formula designed specifically for night sweats and sound sleep.*† STAGES Menopause is a doctor-formulated supplement for menopausal women who want to support their sleep, mood, and more.*
Supporting Cognitive Health in Menopause
During your menopause and postmenopause journey, you may notice your cognitive health shifting in ways that make everyday tasks feel a bit more challenging. Many women find themselves navigating changes in memory, concentration, and mental clarity as the years go by.3
Recalling names, dates, or where you placed your keys might become a bit more difficult. These cognitive changes are often influenced by hormonal fluctuations, especially the decline in estrogen levels. It’s important to remember that these are natural signs that your body is adjusting, and to be gentle with yourself during those moments.
Some simple shifts in your routine can help support your mind during menopause:
- A brain teaser in the morning helps kick off a sharp day. A crossword puzzle or number game is a fun way to get your brain in gear.
- Daily exercise increases blood flow to the brain, which is vital for cognitive health. Aim for at least 30 minutes of exercise every day, plus strength training 2-3 times per week.
- The Mediterranean diet may contribute to better cognitive performance, according to some studies.4 Fruits, vegetables, nuts, and whole grains also benefit heart health and weight management, both of which are important during menopause and beyond.
- Supplement your healthy lifestyle with STAGES Postmenopause formula. It’s specially formulated for cognitive support, as well as sleep and mood support, to help keep your mind functioning at its best as you wind down your menopause journey.*
Managing Occasional Stress During Menopause
Throughout your menopause journey, the fluctuating levels of estrogen and progesterone can sometimes make your stress response feel more overwhelming. This can lead to mood swings, making it more difficult to handle life's stressful moments with ease.
In addition, physical symptoms like hot flashes, night sweats, and disrupted sleep can further elevate your stress levels, making this time feel even more challenging.
But here's the comforting news: you're not alone. Many other women are experiencing similar challenges, and there are gentle, effective strategies for managing stress. Here are some ways to bring more calm and balance into your life.
- Educate yourself and the important people in your life about menopause. Mental health and awareness go hand-in-hand; arm yourself with information that illuminates the challenges so you know what to expect and feel less stressed when symptoms appear. Talking openly about menopause also helps the people you love support you in the ways that you find most helpful.
- Have a plan for occasional stress and create a “toolkit” for difficult moments. Your toolkit could include physical things like a fan for hot flashes, as well as skills you build over time like breathing exercises and relaxation techniques.
- Prioritize rest and set aside the idea of laziness. Listen to your body—do you need extra sleep, an afternoon by yourself, or quiet time in nature? Give yourself permission to take care of yourself.
- Supplement your efforts with a nootropic formula designed to support you through occasional stress.* SharpMind Stress is made with a blend of mushrooms, ashwagandha, L-theanine, and GABA to help you maintain a peaceful mind.*
Enjoying a Balanced Life with Menopause
Menopause is not the end of anything—it’s just the next step in your beautiful evolution. This phase of life is a natural progression, a time of transformation that brings with it new opportunities for growth and self-discovery. Embracing menopause means recognizing the strength and wisdom that come with experience, and understanding that this transition is a testament to your resilience.
With grace, care, and the right supplements, you can navigate this chapter feeling more grounded and empowered. Taking the time to nurture your body and mind can make all the difference in how you experience menopause.
Remember, menopause is a path that many have walked before you, and you are not alone. This is a time to honor the incredible journey you have been on, and to look forward to the new adventures that lie ahead.
‡ As experienced in conjunction with perimenopause.
† As experienced in conjunction with menopause.
Resources:
1 “Can menopause cause anxiety?” Cleveland Clinic health.clevelandclinic.org/is-menopause-causing-your-mood-swings-depression-or-anxiety.
2 “How does menopause affect my sleep?” Johns Hopkins Medicine hopkinsmedicine.org/health/wellness-and-prevention/how-does-menopause-affect-my-sleep.
3 Metcalf CA, Duffy KA, Page CE, Novick AM. “Cognitive Problems in Perimenopause: A Review of Recent Evidence.” Curr Psychiatry Rep. 2023;25(10):501-511. doi:10.1007/s11920-023-01447-3.
4 “Mediterranean Diet, Cognitive Function, and Dementia: A Systematic Review of the Evidence” ScienceDirect sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2161831322007761#cesec180.