10 Ways to Increase Energy and Well-Being in Menopause

Women in midlife have a long, important list of action items. They do not usually want to have to take a nap to continue with their day. They much prefer to be productive. The family needs a healthy dinner. Work needs focus, and they look forward to those results and rewards. Friends and family relationships require time and energy. Community work is critical. Napping is probably last on the list. If a nap is wanted, it’s just an occasional, quick, refresher nap. No one wants to need a daily nap. 

Unfortunately, one of the natural symptoms of menopause is fatigue. It can feel like every day is a battle against your energy level. Taking daily naps may be something you currently feel like you have to do, or, maybe you are drinking excessive coffee to keep yourself awake and focused. The problem with too much coffee in menopause is that it doesn’t support hormone balance. It can actually make your adrenal hormones spike and cause an imbalance. 

If you are in menopause and take naps daily, or drink excessive coffee (more than 2 cups a day) then you may have a menopause-related energy issue. You may be missing out on time with your family, opportunities at work, and the personal satisfaction of completing projects at home. 

Be sure to give your body the rest it needs. Without plenty of quality sleep, it's hard to have the energy you need. Make sure you are getting 7-8 hours of good sleep per night. Go to bed at the same time every night and make sure your bedroom is cool and dark. You can also use window shades made for darkening and avoid TV, computer and cell phone screens starting at least 30 minutes before bedtime for improved sleep quality.  Take naps on the weekends if that’s what can also help recharge you. Try our Sleep Formula, which was formulated by Dr. Hotze, to support a restful night’s sleep by helping you not only fall asleep, but stay asleep, too. 

Get up and move! While this may seem counterintuitive, exercise is healthy for your body and your heart, and can also relieve stress and help you sleep better at night. 

Exercise causes your body to produce more mitochondria inside your muscle cells. Mitochondria are known as the powerhouses of cells, because they create fuel out of glucose from the food you eat and oxygen from the air you breathe. Having more of them increases your body's energy supply. Exercising also boosts oxygen circulation inside your body. This increase in oxygen not only supports the mitochondria's energy production, it allows your body to function better and to use its energy more efficiently. Plus, your body gets a boost from an exercise-induced increase in hormone levels that makes you feel more energized. (1)

Physical activity also helps increase the production of endorphins, your brain’s feel-good neurotransmitters. Find an activity you enjoy, such as walking, aerobic dance, or swimming, and try to do it at least 30 minutes several days a week.

The question here is whether or not your body is in a perfect nutritional state. If you are a coffee drinker or you work out regularly, then you are starting with a nutrient deficiency that needs to be replenished daily. Both of these habits speed up B vitamin metabolism. It doesn’t mean that you need to stop drinking coffee or stop working out, it just means that your body needs more nutrients to be perfectly healthy. If you drink alcohol, you are also starting each day (after you drink) with a nutritional deficiency since your liver requires large amounts of nutrients to perform detox functions. In this case, stopping the habit is advisable for optimal health, or at least slowing down to 1-2 drinks per week. 

A great example of how nutrition status can affect how you feel and how much energy you have is folate status. Having the right amount of folate in your cells means good energy, a clear mind and better moods. However, it’s not always easy to get what you need from food and feel great. First of all, anywhere between 30% and 50% of women have a MTHFR genetic mutation that makes it impossible to convert folic acid, or folate from food, into Active Folate. 

Active Folate is what your body actually uses to increase energy, improve brain function and boost moods. If you take a folic acid supplement or eat a food with folate in it, your body will require several nutrients and enzymes to complete the process of turning the inactive folate into active folate. If you do not happen to have all of the nutrients in your system at that time, or you have the MTHFR genetic mutation, then you will not feel more energy. You will actually still be folate deficient. 

Folate status and feeling great is not a simple issue, unless you take the right Active Folate supplement regularly. If you take it regularly, along with other basic vitamins and eat a mostly healthy eating plan, you should notice a difference in energy, especially during menopause. 

Folate is a salt or ester of folic acid. Active Folate is an advanced form of folate that is more bioavailable, even to those who have lack the reductase enzyme, and has copious health benefits. It’s exactly the form your body needs for optimal DNA synthesis and cell reproduction. It is the supplement that’s most likely to help improve moods, clear brain fog and increase energy. If you take naps too often and are generally fatigued, then you may have a folate deficiency. Taking Active Folate can correct the deficiency and help you feel great again. 

Rhodiola is another supplement that can help you feel better during menopause and help you win the energy war. Rhodiola is an adaptogenic herb that’s been shown to improve the body’s response to stress. Here is a note from a systematic review of 11 articles on studies involving the benefits of Rhodiola:

“Common indications pertaining to the adaptogenic and ergogenic capacity of R. rosea include performance enhancement, fatigue reduction and alleviation of depression symptoms.” 

Rhodiola can be a nice addition to your supplement regimen, especially during midlife when energy runs low, and life’s stress can be at its all-time high. Lower doses (500 mg twice daily) are energizing and higher doses (1,000 mg) are calming.