GLOW PM

As we get older, our body composition changes and our metabolism slows down. It’s a reality of life for most women. As your hormones decline, your lean body mass or muscle tissue decreases.

Losing muscle mass slows down your metabolism and how your body burns calories. This makes it more challenging to maintain a toned and trim figure, even when exercising.The good news is, there are some really simple ways to naturally accelerate your metabolism.

Cortisol is known as your fat-storing stress hormone. Declining estrogen and progesterone during menopause can trigger increased cortisol levels and a dysregulated cortisol pattern. Additionally, the symptoms of menopausal hormone decline such as hot flashes, insomnia and anxiety can magnify the impact of cortisol… Unfortunately, many of the things we do to combat our menopause symptoms can add even more stress, triggering more of a cortisol response (Yes, including those punishing workouts that leave nothing but metabolic stress on your body!)Dysregulated cortisol levels may result in difficulty sleeping, an increase in your appetite and it can signal your body to shift your metabolism to store fat. What’s more, excess or insufficient cortisol can wreak havoc on your thyroid health, which plays an important role in regulating your metabolism, mood, and energy levels.

With estrogen levels on the floor, cortisol tends to increase, which promotes fat storage around your waist (you know, the belly fat!). With less estrogen, you may also experience higher body temperature and thus lower quality of sleep. What’s more, you may also experience more intense hunger signals, encouraging more snacking which results in weight gain.

Night sweats, hot flashes, and anxiety associated with menopause can all make falling asleep or staying asleep more difficult.

We all know this feeling. You struggle to have healthy options the whole day, then here comes the rumbling tummy with sudden cravings that go wild! This may be the result of a lack of quality sleep (again!) and overly restricted daytime crazy diets, which can lead to hunger at night.

Your head can be very noisy. Trying to fall asleep becomes very difficult when a hundred things are rushing through your head at once, which keeps you up all night. The problem isn’t “in your head”, instead it is related to an abrupt decline in your calming hormone, progesterone.

You’ve probably heard of melatonin, the hormone that makes you sleepy. More importantly, if your body isn’t producing enough of the naturally occurring brain chemicals like serotonin and GABA, you will find it difficult to unwind before bed and achieve a deep night's sleep.Your body needs serotonin to produce melatonin. GABA is another brain chemical you need to help you fall asleep.

Imagine GABA as the ‘magical substance’ that soothes and calms your “busy brain”by blocking those racing thoughts that keep you up at night.