Estrogen and progesterone are the primary sex hormones in women, Playing powerful roles Throughout life – from maturation and periods to pregnancy and ultimately menopause.
During puberty, these hormones enrich, starting the menstrual cycle. In adulthood, they hesitate from month to month, driving ovulation and menstruation. But at the age of 45 to 55 their levels begin to fall.
This signals the beginning of the perimenopause – the transition phase leading to menopause, which is officially marked when the woman has passed 12 consecutive months without a period. Then hormone levels settle in a lower, constant base line, introducing a stageopausal stage.
However, this hormonal journey is Far from one universal. Every woman’s hormonal profile is like An individual fingerprint as its fingerprint: pregnancy, breastfeeding, employ of contraceptives and the choice of lifestyle They can all affect the level of hormones in a unique way.
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Estrogen and progesterone not only affect the reproductive system, but also Act directly on the brain. Both hormones can exceed the blood-brain barrier and affect neural functions. Estrogen tends to arouse brain activity, Increasing vigilance and moodwhile there is more progesterone Calming and balancing.
When these levels of hormones begin to change during perimenopause, they can interfere with many regulating systems, especially in the brain. Typical symptoms such as warm, night sweats, memory problems, mood swings, penniless sleep and even depression are not only nuisance. These are signs that the central nervous system is affected.
These neurological symptoms may affect Domino on physical and mental health. In fact, Studies show this Women are more likely than men who experience fragility and cognitive inheritance in later life – a trend that can be associated with hormonal changes around menopause.
That is why it is so significant to approach menopause as the experience of the whole body, the whole brain, and not just reproductive events.
Menopause experiences
Together with colleagues from the universities of Nottingham Trent and Northumbria, i Conducted research This studied how women describe their personal experience of menopause. The discoveries were open.
Asked to summarize menopause in one word, the participants offered the answers: “fear”. “Frightening.” “Bizarre.” “Depression.” Many expressed frustration because of the lack of clear, trustworthy information and a sense of isolation. One woman said: “I don’t know what my body can do from one minute to another … Pain is just terrible.”
Another described the overwhelming fatigue: “I have no energy I had when I was newborn.” While others reported a deep struggle of mental health: “I had it where I hated”, “I would have been in the thread, which was not normally me”, “I had depressive episodes and I was very penniless.” One of the participants announced that “he feels overwhelmed and panicked by doing anything, even leaving the house.”
These stories reveal the reality of statistics – menopause can be deeply destabilizing, and for some women change their lives.
The more symptoms experience women, the more you can affect their quality of life. But there is hope. Studies show that a higher level of physical activity is associated with smaller and less severe symptoms of menopause.
That is why our research team went through our discoveries outside the laboratory. Thanks to public events and workshops, we aid women learn how nutrition, brain health and exercises can support them by passing menopause. And the influence goes beyond biology: it has been shown that gaining knowledge increases confidence and helps women feel more under control and less alone.
There is still a lot to know the full influence of menopause on the brain and body, but one thing is clear: supporting women in this main stage of life is not optional – this is necessary.
Continuing to sharing knowledge, breaking taboos and supporting each other, we can change the history of menopause with confusion and isolation to strengthen position, understanding and immunity.