5 Fantastic Ways That Spending Time Outside Will Help You Survive the Menopause (AND feel great!)

It’s that time of the year again when we spend the most our time inside trying to stay warm. Or we’re dashing between our homes, the car, work and the supermarket, trying not to get soaked to the bone or shiver to death! Winter in Britain can be grim.

But this horrible weather doesn’t just ruin our moods (and our hairstyles!), it can also have a devastating effect on our hormonal balance, our mood, our bone health, the quality of our sleep and even our experience of the peri-menopause or menopause.

The truth is, none of us are getting the levels of natural light that our body needs, and it’s playing havoc with our hormones and our happiness. We should all make it a priority to get outside, enjoy the fresh air and feel great.

To help persuade you to throw on that coat and get outside, here are the five fantastic ways that spending time outside will help you survive the menopause.

#1: You’ll help rebalance your hormones

Did you know that daylight naturally regulates your brain, nervous system and endocrine system, and helps to rebalance your hormones?

You see, when you get outside into the fresh air, the natural light hits a part of your eye known as the retina. From here it’s transmitted to a place inside your brain close to your hypothalamus and in turn, boosts the function of this which then boosts the function of this endocrine organ.  

This is wonderful for your hormones because your hypothalamus is responsible for regulating your hormone-producing glands, including your pituitary, thyroid and adrenal glands. These glands produce many of the hormones which maintain our bodily processes and are essential for our overall health, including our hormonal health.

Fresh air and sunlight exposure helps promote optimal function of these organs and get your hormones back into balance- perfect if you’re suffering from PMT, the peri-menopause or menopause.

#2: You’ll beat insomnia and sleep like a baby

Sleep deprivation and insomnia are common symptoms of the menopause (and early parenthood!). I’m yet to meet a woman who hasn’t suffered at least a broken night’s sleep or two in the process. However, getting more sunlight can make a massive difference to your life and help you to sleep through the night again.

This is because natural daylight boosts production of the hormone melatonin which regulates your body clock. You’ll drop off to sleep easier, wake less and feel much more refreshed in the morning.  

As you know, great quality sleep is also vital for optimal hormone balance as many of our sex hormones are released or regulated during the night, including HGH, cortisol, testosterone and the fertility hormones, follicle-stimulating hormone and luteinizing hormone.

Of course, when you’ve had enough sleep, you feel more energetic, able to cope with any challenges that life throws at you, suffer with fewer food cravings, and feel a whole lot happier too.

#3: You’ll feel great! (and beat the winter blues!)

There’s nothing like getting some fresh air when you feel fed up or low- it has an amazing ability to lift your mood and make your feel amazing, especially if you’ve been cooped up inside all week!

This is especially useful when it comes to beating depression and anxiety and boosting self-esteem. In fact, there’s a name for the feel-good factor associated with fresh air ‘Eco-Therapy’!

These comes from natural light’s ability to boost your production of the happy-hormone serotonin. This stabilises your mood, helps overcome PMT and irritability and can even boost your energy levels, which makes it perfect for those long winter days when you feel sluggish and want to sleep all day!

#4: You’ll build stronger bones and avoid osteoporosis

We all worry about our bones when the menopause approaches- lower levels of oestrogen leave our bones vulnerable to the ravages of time and we are more likely to develop osteoporosis.

The great news is that getting enough natural light will actually help boost the health of your bones. This is because, when sunlight hits your skin, your body produces a form of vitamin D called Cholecalciferol which works with calcium and magnesium to build those healthy bones and teeth.

Additionally, fresh air and sunlight help lower levels of the stress hormone, cortisol (which can cause us to lose calcium from our bones) and maintain our bone health.

#5: You’ll feel calmer and more in control of your life

If you’re feeling stressed, angry, under the grip of brain fog or you’re not being as productive usual, just take a walk outside.

In a study conducted by the mental health group mind.org, 71% of participants said they felt less tense after taking a walk in the fresh air. This surely is all the evidence we need! Not only does the fresh air and reconnecting with nature do us good physically, it also provides a great opportunity to take vital ‘brain space’ from the stresses and strains of the day, and feel calmer and more relaxed.

As you can see, for the sake of our mental health, or hormones, our happiness, our bone health, and our sleep patterns, it’s essential that we make time outside a priority.

But it doesn’t have to be long- enjoy as much time outside as you can. Why not try eating your lunch outside, grabbing 20-minutes daylight over a lunchtime, going out for a walk, doing some gardening or just relaxing outside? The more direct exposure to sunlight you can get, the better (although it’s not often easy in the UK!) 

Now it’s over to you: how could you increase your amount of daylight exposure to improve your hormonal balance and heal your health?