WHU 98: Perimenowhattt? Your cycles after 40 and what you need to know.

Did you know that upwards of 20% of women at the age of 40 are perimenopausal? The stat makes way more sense if you actually know what perimenopause actually means! In this episode I explain what is actually happening to your cycles as you age, and why this causes you to feel differently. This episode is for you if you’ve noticed: Changes to your cycle length from your 28 day cycle.  Changes to your mood, sleep or energy levels. Hot flashes or vaginal dryness, even if you’re still having a period.  Changes to your PMS experience.  If you’re over 40 and things are (so far) going great with your hormones. I give you the (totally necessary) biology lesson that was missing from your sex-ed course and learning about your body from your mother. “When we are in our thirties and ovulation is easy, the brain sends a quiet signal to your ovaries to do their thing. “Hey ovaries, time to ovulate’ and your ovaries are like “yup, no problem, we have an egg right here”. As ovarian function decreases (for some women as early as 40) the ovaries don’t respond as well. The simple feedback loop that happened in your 30s starts to get more dysregulated. This is the beginning of the changes you feel.” This episode is brought to you by our Women’s Health and education program The Wild Collective. The Wild Collective educates and empowers women, teaches them about their hormones and experiences real change in their health. Sign up is open for limited spots for our fall semester.