According to a study, published in Climacteric: The Journal of the International Menopause Society, mindfulness may be related to fewer symptoms of menopause for women. Scientists discovered that being mindful may be helpful for menopausal women struggling with menopausal symptoms.
Anxiety, night sweats, hot flashes, irritability, and depression are just some of the many symptoms related to menopause. There are several women who have struggled with the side effects of this huge hormonal shift. If you are a woman, it is normal to feel some anxiety and irritability at this time in your life.
Mindfulness allows people to be aware of the present situation without any concern for past or future consequences. Mindfulness involves concentrating on the present moment and observing thoughts and feelings without any judgment.
Previous research has exposed that practicing mindfulness can reduce stress and improve your quality of life. It might change not the number of signs you experience but your ability to deal with them.
Findings of the study
Researchers of the study found that midlife women with higher mindfulness scores experienced fewer menopausal symptoms and overall stress. These findings propose that mindfulness may be a promising device to help women decrease menopausal symptoms.
Each day in the U.S., an estimated 6,000 women reach menopause. And by 2020, the number of women of age 55 and older is expected to top 46 million. If a woman has gone one year without a menstrual cycle she is considered to be in menopause. Generally, experienced menopause symptoms can include mood swings, hot flashes, night sweats, and vaginal dryness.
The study collected dates from 1,744 women ages 40 to 65. These women received care at Mayo Clinic’s Women’s Health Clinic in Rochesterfrom 2015 to 2016. Participants completed surveys which rated their health related-quality of menopause, mindfulness and perceived the level of stress.
Researchers found that women with higher mindfulness scores had less menopausal symptoms. The higher a woman’s perceived stress levels, the greater the connection between reduced menopausal symptoms and higher mindfulness.
One surprising result of the study is that higher mindfulness scores were not related with lower hot flash and night sweat symptom scores. One theory suggests that the distress from night sweats and hot flashes may depend upon individual personality traits instead of the symptoms themselves.
An interesting finding of the study was the association of higher mindfulness and lower symptom for irritability, anxiety, and depression in middle-aged menopausal women. While more research needs to be done, doctors can consider mindfulness a potential treatment option for menopausal women.
How do you practice mindfulness?
Luckily, mindfulness is a skill which can be learned. Mindfulness is something which can be cultivated through yoga, meditation, journaling, breathing exercises or other practices.
Basically, the first phase in being mindful is to become conscious that most of the time our minds are on autopilot. The goal during mindful instants is not to empty the mind, but to observe the mind’s activity while being nice to oneself.
The second phase is to make a pause. Take a deep breath, and see one’s own space, emotions and, thoughts nonjudgmentally. The subsequent calm helps lower your stress.
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