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Whatever phase of life we’re in, being physically active brings huge benefits to both our physical and mental health. And there’s evidence to suggest that exercise has particular upsides during perimenopause, menopause, and beyond.

From immediate benefits such as reduced symptoms and better mental health, to longer term advantages like stronger bones and lower risk of heart disease, there are plenty of good reasons to make movement a daily priority during your menopause journey.

In this blog post, we examine some of the benefits of exercise for peri- and post-menopausal women. We also give you some ideas for how to get moving in a way that works for you.

The benefits of exercise in menopause

The journey through menopause and beyond brings a wide range of symptoms that can affect us both physically and mentally. Disturbed sleep, mood swings, memory issues, joint pain, and hot flashes are just some of the common problems that women experience during this phase of life.

Hormone replacement therapy (HRT) is one option for alleviating these symptoms, but not all women want or can take this route. And whether you opt for HRT or not, there are still plenty of benefits to prioritising movement during peri- and post-menopause.

Why? Well, being physically active has been linked to a range of benefits – some directly related to menopause symptoms, others more generally helpful as we progress through menopause and beyond.

Here are a few of those benefits:

1. Reduced menopausal symptoms: There’s a growing body of evidence to suggest that regular physical activity can reduce some of the symptoms of menopause, including vasomotor symptoms like hot flashes and insomnia, as well as urogenital symptoms such as vaginal dryness and urinary issues.

For example, one 2019 study found that women with high and moderate physical activity levels report less severe menopausal symptoms than those who are inactive. This study is particularly interesting because it looked at the impact of overall activity levels, including household chores, work, and transportation (e.g. commuting), not just planned exercise.

However, studies that look specifically at different forms of exercise have come to similar conclusions. A 2024 review of the effects of resistance training found that it reduced the frequency and intensity of hot flashes, while a 2018 meta-study concluded that yoga is effective in alleviating a range of menopause symptoms, including both vasomotor and psychological issues.

It’s worth noting that some research is less optimistic about the benefits of exercise for vasomotor symptoms, such as this 2015 study that found exercise had no effect on the frequency of hot flashes. 

Regardless, most women say that being physically active helps with menopause symptoms, reporting improved sleep, better physical health, and increased psychological wellbeing, as well as improved night sweats and hot flashes.

2. Stronger bones and muscles: Being physically active doesn’t only help with the immediate effects of menopause. There’s also evidence that it can protect against some of the longer-term impacts of falling oestrogen, such as reduced bone density.

Weight bearing and high impact exercises strengthen both bones and muscles, helping to reduce the risk of osteoporosis and maintain your mobility post-menopause. 

For example, researchers found that 24 weeks of aerobic dancing helped to significantly increase bone mineral density in post-menopausal women with osteopenia (reduced bone density), as well as increasing their overall physical fitness.

3. Protected cardiovascular health: The link between keeping active and cardiovascular health is well known and the benefits are, of course, not limited to menopausal women.

However, it’s something that is worth bearing in mind as you journey through menopause. Oestrogen appears to protect against heart disease, meaning the risk of issues can increase as your oestrogen levels drop.

Fortunately, plenty of studies show that regular exercise can help to protect against the effects of falling oestrogen on our heart health by improving our blood pressure and supporting a healthy metabolism.

4. Lowered stress: If you’ve experienced stress, depression, and anxiety during menopause, you are not alone. Many women report the impact of changing hormones on their mental health.

Again, this is somewhere physical activity can be hugely beneficial. Whether you prefer Pilates and yoga, or aerobic exercises like running or cycling, research shows that regular movement can reduce stress, anxiety, depression, and sleep disturbances during menopause.

5. A sense of community: So far, we’ve concentrated on the more measurable benefits of exercise during menopause. But we think it is important not to overlook some of the other ways getting active can support you during this stage of life.

One of those is helping you build your community of other women experiencing similar symptoms. Exercise is something you can enjoy on your own, but it is also a fantastic way to spend time with others.

Whether that’s buddying up with some of your existing friends or joining a group or class to meet new people, exercise can open new opportunities to socialise and have fun.

How to get moving in menopause

As you can see, there are plenty of reasons why regular physical activity is a must during menopause and beyond. 

For those who already have a solid exercise routine and love nothing more than to be physically active, this is great news.

But let’s face it, that’s not the case for all of us.

Many women have a tricky relationship with exercise. It’s so often associated with weight loss or competition – which can be challenging if your body doesn’t look or perform the way you think it should.

Plus, most of us are time-poor, juggling work and caring responsibilities. This can make it harder to set aside time for movement.

And menopause itself can make finding the motivation to exercise more difficult too. Broken nights, fatigue, aching joints, and low mood can all make it harder to prioritise physical activity.

If you struggle to get moving, here are some tips that may help:

1. It’s OK to start small: When we think of exercise, we often picture a long run or a sweaty gym session.

But exercise doesn’t have to be high intensity or last hours to be effective.

Even 10 minutes a day can make a difference to your health and may feel less daunting than trying to find time for a longer workout.

If you hate physical exertion, low intensity exercise like walking, yoga, or a gentle swim can be a better option.

And even if you want to work up to more, starting slow can help you build a consistent habit instead of trying to do too much, too fast. Programmes like Couch to 5K are built on this principle and are a great option to help you get started.

2. Focus on personal progress, not comparison: Many of us are put off exercising when we concentrate too much on trying to match the physical feats that we see others achieving – whether that’s people we know in real life or follow on social media.

If you are starting a new exercise regime, you can build both confidence and enjoyment by tracking your personal progress instead of comparing yourself to others. The same goes for if you are coming back to exercises you’ve not done for a while – celebrate what you are achieving now, instead of comparing to your younger self.

3. Routines can help: For the time-poor especially, building time for exercise into your daily routine is crucial to make sure you can actually get some movement in. Maybe that’s a 20-minute walk on your lunch break, a 10-minute yoga routine before bed, or a Saturday morning swim – whatever you can consistently make time for is the best form of exercise!

Routines are also vital for overcoming periods of low motivation. Willpower can only take us so far, but good habits can make the difference by removing the need to decide whether to exercise. 

4. Have fun, get curious: According to the Journal of Midlife Health, the best exercise regimes for menopause include aerobic, strength, and balance exercises. 

This might sound like a daunting list, especially if you are just starting out. Not only do you need to get moving, but you also need to do a range of different types of exercise?

However, you can also see this as an invitation to get playful and try out different forms of exercise. Perhaps you’ve always wanted to try samba dancing, or circus classes, or badminton. Maybe you can rediscover a childhood love of cycling, or hockey.

Exercise doesn’t need to be a chore. In fact, it is often a lot of fun. And you can try plenty of different options to discover what works for you.

5. Find your community: Exercise has benefits whether you get moving alone or with friends. But there’s also some evidence that those benefits are enhanced when we work out in groups, especially as we age.

This may be partly because we’re more likely to stick to exercising if we make plans to do it with others – regardless of whether that’s meeting up with friends or booking a group class. But it’s also because group exercise offers added opportunities for socialisation and fun, which can add to the mental health benefits of movement.

During peri- and post-menopause, taking part in exercise classes or other physical group activities that are specifically aimed at women in this phase of life can also help you build your support network while keeping fit and active.

A win on both counts.

References

Dąbrowska-Galas, M., Dąbrowska, J., Ptaszkowski, K., & Plinta, R. (2019). High Physical Activity Level May Reduce Menopausal Symptoms. Medicina (Kaunas, Lithuania), 55(8), 466. https://doi.org/10.3390/medicina55080466 

Choudhry, D. N., Saleem, S., Hatim, S., & Irfan, R. (2024). The effect of resistance training in reducing hot flushes in post-menopausal women: A meta-analysis. Journal of Bodywork and Movement Therapies. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbmt.2024.03.018 

Cramer, H., Peng, W., & Lauche, R. (2018). Yoga for menopausal symptoms-A systematic review and meta-analysis. Maturitas, 109, 13–25. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.maturitas.2017.12.005   

Daley, A. J., Thomas, A., Roalfe, A. K., Stokes-Lampard, H., Coleman, S., Rees, M., Hunter, M. S., & MacArthur, C. (2015). The effectiveness of exercise as treatment for vasomotor menopausal symptoms: randomised controlled trial. BJOG : an international journal of obstetrics and gynaecology, 122(4), 565–575. https://doi.org/10.1111/1471-0528.13193 

Thomas, A., & Daley, A. J. (2020). Women’s views about physical activity as a treatment for vasomotor menopausal symptoms: a qualitative study. BMC women’s health, 20(1), 203. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12905-020-01063-w

Yu, P. A., Hsu, W. H., Hsu, W. B., Kuo, L. T., Lin, Z. R., Shen, W. J., & Hsu, R. W. (2019). The effects of high impact exercise intervention on bone mineral density, physical fitness, and quality of life in postmenopausal women with osteopenia: A retrospective cohort study. Medicine, 98(11), e14898. https://doi.org/10.1097/MD.0000000000014898 

Menopause and your heart, British Heart Foundation, https://www.bhf.org.uk/informationsupport/support/women-with-a-heart-condition/menopause-and-heart-disease, consulted 28/05/2024

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Aibar-Almazán, A., Hita-Contreras, F., Cruz-Díaz, D., de la Torre-Cruz, M., Jiménez-García, J. D., & Martínez-Amat, A. (2019). Effects of Pilates training on sleep quality, anxiety, depression and fatigue in postmenopausal women: A randomized controlled trial. Maturitas, 124, 62–67. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.maturitas.2019.03.019 

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