7 Effective Ways to Manage Menopause Symptoms (Naturally & Medically)

Menopause is a natural stage of life, but the symptoms that come with it—hot flashes, night sweats, mood changes, sleep disruptions, and more—can be anything but easy.

Luckily, there are several effective ways to manage menopause symptoms that can ease the discomfort and help you take the first step toward finding relief and feeling like yourself again.

 

1. Focus on Vitamin-Rich Foods

The hormonal changes in menopause impact your body in more ways than you’d think. For example, lower levels of estrogen during menopause can weaken your bone structure and lead to osteoporosis. With this in mind, it’s important to ensure your diet includes vitamins and minerals that will help balance these hormones.

Calcium and vitamin D are particularly helpful during menopause as they will help with bone and overall health. Be sure to focus on foods rich in these nutrients, such as:

Milk
Yogurt
Spinach
Salmon
Tilapia
Orange Juice

 

Phytoestrogens also have a major impact on your hormonal balance. These plant compounds mimic the role of estrogen in your body, helping to supplement the lower level of estrogen your body produces during menopause. Eating phytoestrogen-rich foods such as soy products, tofu, beans, and flaxseeds can help give you menopause relief.

 

2. Avoid Trigger Foods

Just as some foods help you manage your symptoms, others can make them worse. Foods like alcohol, caffeine, and spicy or sugary foods can increase your blood sugar, which can make your hot flashes or night sweats worsen. Try to avoid these foods at least two hours before going to bed to minimize these effects.

 

3. Exercise Regularly

Maintaining a healthy lifestyle with regular exercise is a great way to ease menopause symptoms. While staying active in general can help, research has found that a few specific types of exercise can have a bigger impact on menopausal symptoms, including:

Strength Training: Shown to have a positive impact on menopausal symptoms by improving strength, heart rate, and bone density.
High-Impact Exercise: Studies show high-impact exercises help with bone density.
Cardio or Aerobic Exercise: Even routines as simple as walking can have an impact on menopausal symptoms.
Balance Exercises: Yoga, tai chi, and pilates can improve mood, fatigue, and hot flashes.

 

4. Stay Hydrated

Water helps your body regulate temperature and prevent overheating, which commonly leads to night sweats and hot flashes throughout the day. You should be drinking at least eight glasses of water every day in order to stay hydrated.

 

5. Add Relaxation to Your Schedule

Stress and anxiety can worsen your menopausal symptoms. Taking the time to include some form of relaxation in your day can make all the difference. Try breathing exercises, yoga sessions, journaling, or whatever else works for you. Even a few minutes every day can add up to a major difference.

 

6. Control Your Environment

You may not always be able to control what’s going on in your body, but you can control some elements around it. If you’re experiencing hot flashes, dress in looser, flowy layers to help with temperature control. Keep your space cool at night to help minimize night sweats.

 

7. Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT)

Hormone replacement therapy (HRT) is often one of the most effective ways to manage menopause symptoms. By restoring the body’s declining levels of estrogen—and sometimes progesterone—HRT helps stabilize the hormonal changes that trigger these symptoms. Since menopausal symptoms are closely linked to hormonal fluctuations, rebalancing these levels can lead to a noticeable decrease in how often they occur and how intense they feel.

 

While menopause can bring a wide range of physical and emotional changes, you don’t have to navigate it without support. From choosing vitamin-rich foods and exercising regularly to creating a calming daily routine and exploring medical options like HRT, there are effective ways to manage menopause symptoms and improve your quality of life.