Among the different natural remedies available for managing middle age, meditation for menopause has some unique benefits. It is a totally natural, completely free way to approach navigating the hormonal rollercoaster of midlife.

Even if you’re one of the lucky 20% of women who don’t experience undesirable physical or mental side effects of midlife hormone change, meditation can still add to your quality of life.

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Let’s look at are three meaningful ways you can benefit from practicing meditation for menopause:

• Shift your perspective

• Improve your sleep

• Reduce Stress & Anxiety

Meditation Helps Shift Your Perception of Menopause Symptoms

The side effects of menopause can be really hard on you after a while, from the hot flashes that occur randomly throughout the day, to having cramping similar to menstrual cramps, and various other body pains. The first way that meditation can help you during this phase of your life is to help reduce those uncomfortable symptoms.

Scientific studies show that a practice of silence, like meditation, can bring relief from common menopause symptoms. These symptoms range from annoying brain fog (what did I come into the kitchen for?) to really unpleasant hot flashes.

With meditation, you are relaxing your body and mind. By relaxing and letting go of unproductive though processes, you can to regain your focus and decrease the negative effects of perimenopause symptoms you experience. While you may still feel the physical symptoms, you are better able to handle them and even dissociate from them.

Meditation Helps You Get Better Sleep

Disrupted or fleeting sleep is another major symptom and side effect for women who are going through menopause. While there are many different natural remedies out there to help with your insomnia, like herbal supplements and listening to certain music, meditation can also provide relief from common sleep problems.

Meditation helps you to de-stress and relax, which is going to be useful in helping you to get better sleep as well. This is incredibly useful for those women over 40 who have a hard time mentally letting go to slip into sleep each night. Spending a few minutes in meditation is a great addition to your bedtime routine.

If your hormonal sleep woes come in the form of middle-of-the-night wakings, meditation can help you get back to sleep. By encouraging your mind to empty your mind of buzzing thoughts, you’ll be more likely to fall back to sleep.

Meditation Can Help Reduce Stress and Anxiety

While many women think about the physical experiences of perimenopause, like the hot flashes, night sweats, and muscle cramping, midlife hormonal changes also affect your mental health.

Feeling increased stress is very common during perimenopause. Heightened anxiety is another common perimenopause experience. For women who have never experienced anxiety before, it can be very unsettling.

Rather than start to question everything about your life, give meditation a try. By turning off your brain, you give your whole sympathetic nervous system a rest. Meditation fires up your parasympathetic nervous system, which means your whole body shifts into a calming state.

You also should take a look at these 3 steps to less daily stress to see if you can lower your stress levels. Lowering your stress in perimenopause is a key factor in reducing unpleasant physical effects.

Stress is a also well-known risk factor for cardiovascular disease, the leading killer of post-menopausal women. One study shows that meditation reduced levels of the stress hormone cortisol that often correlates with heart disease risk. Since heart disease is the top killer of women over 50, controlling cortisol is a strategy for better health.

(Know you have a lot of stress and meditation sounds a little too woo woo for you? Try these 9 ways to reduce cortisol naturally and give your health a boost.)

So if you are dealing with a lot of stress that is keeping you from good sleep or your anxiety is affecting your personal or professional life, then meditation just might be the answer. The heart health benefits meditation in menopause delivers are a great bonus!

Meditation for Menopause Is a Form of Self-Care

One of the lesser known effects of the hormonal changes of perimenopause is an increased desire to be by yourself. As estrogen levels fall, your body shifts away from its nurturing tendencies. Instead, your hormones are telling you to take more time for yourself and focus on your goals.

The challenge with this is likely obvious: women who are going through perimenopause are in the thick of raising kids and/or caring for ageing parents. Just when our bodies want us to finally prioritize ourselves, we are sandwiched with family obligations. It is an unfortunate reality that our body’s physiology is out of sync with modern reality. The mental workload created by responsibilities at home greatly affect how women experience menopause.

By meditating each day, you are making sure to schedule some time all to yourself. This practice delivers both mental and physical benefits. Meditation in menopause is a way to give yourself a break from the challenging realities of modern life and live in harmony with your biology.

Having some time to yourself each day is really important for your self-care and well-being. Honoring this need to be by yourself and live life according to your priorities is one of the exciting growth areas of midlife.

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How to Start Meditating for Menopause Symptom Relief

Meditation should be done in a way that your body can relax. Don’t think that you have to look like a monk or light tons of candles or ring any bells. Just get comfortable and give it a try!

For some people being comfy means sitting upright. Using a meditation cushion and sitting on the floor helps you feel the grounding aspects of meditation. Other people feel they can surrender to the practice more easily if they meditate lying down.

Meditation is often a solo practice, where you embrace silence and relax into your thoughts.  If you feel unsure of yourself at first, using a guided meditation can allow you to melt into the process. A book like Practical Meditation for Beginners may give you just enough structure to keep you going through a 10-day daily meditation challenge.

If it is hard to find time alone, think of other times during the day when you have a few minutes to yourself, like walking during your lunch break or in the shower each morning. Keep yourself present and mindful during those everyday activities.

Starting with closing your eyes and taking ten deep full breaths is another great option for beginners. Focus your mind on the bodily experience of the inhale and then the exhale. You can even attach a personal mantra to your breath pattern. I like “I breathe in peace; I breathe out joy.” Find a mantra that works for you!

Keeping a life journal near you when you meditate offers you the chance to capture some of your feelings and thoughts that arise during this self care practice. Seeing what you write over the course of months and years is a beautiful way to see your personal growth.

Some people find visiting a meditation center helps them get more comfortable with how to meditate. Often these guided, communal meditation sessions include singing bowls or other sound therapy to create a full sensory experience.

However you choose to use meditation for menopause, I hope you find it brings you comfort and peace.

The Well Balanced Women blog is for educational purposes only and is not medical advice. Please discuss your health issues with a licensed medical practitioner.