There are several effective and safe mind-body training practices like meditation, yoga, tai chi, and qi gong, that can help improve women’s quality of life and decrease these risk factors during their difficult transition into menopause.
A recent study published in the US National Library of Medicine [1], and an equally compelling one published in the International Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology [2], suggest how these natural remedies can make the ride on the hormonal roller-coaster of menopause, smoother.
The first study conducted at the Korea Institute of Brain science, was aimed to understand the impact of meditation on menopausal symptoms and blood chemistry of 65 healthy women with their ages ranging from 25-57 years.
Here’s what the study found:
- Meditation led to a trend of a significant reduction in irritability in these women
- It reduced depressive moods
- It increased their HDL cholesterol levels and
- It decreased the disruption in their glucose regulation
In another research study published in the International Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology, conducted on 1016 menopausal women, it was found that mindfulness-based interventions significantly reduced the frequency and bother of hot flushes in participants.
This reduction is linked to reduction in stress levels. Since stress is believed to lower the threshold for heat dissipation responses and trigger hot flushes - these practices, by reducing stress, reduced the trigger, directly leading to a reduction in the frequency and bother of hot flushes.
In summary, there is evidence to show that meditation and mindfulness have a measurable, positive, beneficial effect on:
- Menopausal comfort - reduction in frequency and intensity of hot flushes
- Mental health parameters - reduced irritability, stress, depressive moods
- Metabolic parameters - increase in good cholesterol, improved glucose metabolism, reduced cardiovascular health risk
Other than the benefits that these studies have found, meditation also eases menopausal symptoms in these subtle, yet life-changing ways.