The Impact of Alcohol on Menopause Health!
Why alcohol and menopause are a toxic mix
Lucy Blenkinsopp, yoga teacher and health & wellness coach specialises in menopause, yoga, meditation, nutrition, ‘grey area’ drinking and recovery.
Lucy’s a passionate advocate about the positive effects individual lifestyle choices and healthy habits can make to every area of a woman’s life.
In her guest blog she shares with us her personal thoughts on the impact alcohol has on women’s health in menopause, her own experience as a ‘grey area’ drinker and why she stopped drinking.
Anxiety, alcohol or menopause … you decide!
I was a Grey Area Drinker. Not a moderate drinker nor an alcoholic but I was in that spectrum in between where I drank a couple of glasses of wine on a very regular basis. Never to the point of being drunk or blacking out but I guess it was pretty much in my system most of the time.
“Alcohol is not a black and white problem. You don’t have to have a problem with alcohol for alcohol to be a problem”.
What I noticed as I hit menopause was that alcohol no longer served me. It made me tired, disrupted my sleep, gave me brain fog, anxiety and back fat. Yes, exactly the same symptoms as menopause yet I guess dealing with these symptoms may be a reason that women continue to drink.
We have menopause to account for our symptoms but perhaps, in reality alcohol is affecting us in a different way now that hormones are changing.
One of the biggest, most common complaints of menopause is anxiety. Hormones and alcohol have a big impact on anxiety and as we spend thirty per cent of our lives post-menopausal, it is critical to consider how best to support the health of our brain.
There is consistent evidence that low-grade inflammation of the brain is related to the development of cognitive decline and even Alzheimer’s.
Inflammation can hasten the process of cognitive decline and may act as a trigger. Plus, platelets of dementia can start to form in our brain from forty onwards, around the time of peri-menopause just as our hormones are being disrupted. We don’t need alcohol to disrupt our brain or our hormones/HRT anymore than nature intended!
We need 25% REM sleep for optimum health - alcohol plays havoc with our REM sleep
If you are drinking alcohol the chances are that you are having deep sleep but not the healing, restoring REM sleep and therefore you may feel exhausted the next day.
I gave up drinking for many reasons, dementia was a big driver, but also I wanted to wake up feeling refreshed and strong. I needed clarity to be more productive and I wanted to make more things happen. I can honestly say that I was still feeling the rewards of being alcohol-free for more than six months after I stopped - not drinking alcohol is the gift that keeps giving.
Don’t compare how much you drink to friends or family. Men produce testosterone for many more years than we do. It doesn’t affect men in the same way.
I have completed certified training in menopause, alcohol grey area drinking and recovery, yoga, meditation and nutrition and I can assure you that your lifestyle choices and healthy habits will make a big difference to every aspect of your life.
I offer a 90-day coaching programme online 1:1 to ensure that all your pillars of wellbeing are strong so that you can feel aligned and empowered in your 50’s and beyond.
Lucy Blenkinsopp
