Could you be experiencing menopause?

Everyone experiences menopause differently, but some of the early signs and symptoms will typically include irregular periods, mood changes, hot flushes, and night sweats.^1,2

So if you’re currently experiencing these symptoms, this could be because your body is undergoing the hormonal changes that typically mark the beginning of menopause.¹

Menopause simply means your last menstrual period.¹

While the timing and symptoms that you experience will affect everyone differently, anyone who has a period will eventually experience menopause, often between the ages of 45 and 55.¹ In the UK, for example, the average age of menopause is ^51.1

Menopause might occur after a medical treatment such as an oophorectomy (surgery to remove the ovaries) or hysterectomy (surgery to remove the uterus), or as a result of chemotherapy.³

For most women, however, menopause is an entirely natural transition triggered by hormonal changes.^1,3

During menopause, your ovaries stop releasing eggs, and levels of oestrogen and progesterone start to drop. It’s these low levels of oestrogen that could then go on to cause many of the common menopause symptoms.⁴

Menopause symptoms can be wide-ranging, affecting you both physically and mentally. However, they affect everyone differently.^1,4

Some people find that menopause symptoms can be highly disruptive, for instance, while others may be less affected. You can also experience several symptoms, few or none at all.⁵

Some of the most common symptoms of menopause include:^1,2

Although we often use the term ‘menopause’ to refer to the entire journey from start to finish, menopause includes three distinct stages: perimenopause, menopause and postmenopause.¹

Let’s take a look at all of these in more detail.

Otherwise known as the menopause transition, perimenopause covers the start of menopause symptoms and ends after you have your last period.¹

There are no set times when it comes to perimenopause. It commonly starts during your mid-to late-forties.^1,5 The duration of perimenopause also varies, with most people experiencing it for three to four years.

Often, the first sign of perimenopause is irregular periods caused by declining oestrogen levels. When this happens, you might find that your periods are heavier or lighter than usual, more or less frequent or accompanied by more severe PMS symptoms.^1,4,7

As perimenopause progresses, the symptoms are the same as menopause. It’s at this time that you may start noticing symptoms that affect your mental health, including low mood, anxiety, and brain fog, as well as vasomotor symptoms like hot flushes and night sweats.⁸

When you enter the latter stages of perimenopause, you might start to experience symptoms like vaginal dryness or pain when having sex.⁵

As mentioned, menopause specifically refers to your ‘last menstrual period’. Although the term is used more generally, medically, you’ve reached menopause 12 months after your last period.^1,3

The average age of menopause varies from person to person. Reaching menopause before the age of 45 is called ‘early menopause’, for example, which affects about one in 20 people. Whereas menopause before the age of 40 is called ‘premature menopause’ or premature ovarian insufficiency (POI) and only affects one in 100 people.⁹

Many factors affect the age at which you might naturally reach menopause.¹⁰

Genetics can appear to play a role. For example, if your mother had an early menopause, you may have a higher chance of experiencing an early menopause too.^5,11

However, there are several other influencing factors thought to be at play, including the age you got your first period, whether you smoke, how much you drink, how much you exercise, the number of children you’ve had, and your use of oral contraception.^10,12

Postmenopause describes the time after you have reached menopause (12 months after your last period). You’ll no longer have periods or be able to get pregnant during this phase.¹

You may even find that your menopause symptoms diminish or disappear entirely. However, it’s not unusual that you may continue to experience lingering symptoms as a result of low hormone levels.⁷

Decreased levels of oestrogen during the postmenopause stage are associated with new health challenges, including an increased risk of cardiovascular disease and osteoporosis.^4,13 You may also continue to experience symptoms like vaginal dryness and decreased libido, and be at an increased risk of urinary tract infections (UTIs).^14,15,16

Menopause symptoms can be highly disruptive to your life. So if you think you might be entering menopause, consider making some healthy lifestyle changes to help ease the transition.

Here are some of our top tips for managing menopause:

If sleep disruption and mood changes affect your quality of life and healthy lifestyle changes are not enough, make sure to speak to your GP about any additional treatments or gentle interventions they might recommend.