As women, we have a beautiful cyclical way about our lives. Whether it's how we change throughout the month as our hormones shift, or how we dance through the phases of our life- menarche, peri-menopause, and menopause. But many of these life changes are shrouded in mystery, leaving us feeling in the dark about the next phase of their lives. Further, so many doctors are completely ignorant about menopause, and how to support women - so we end up having to search out that information ourselves. I guess that's one plus of a sleepless night - more time to Google. But that can lead to misinformation, and worsen your insomnia! As we enter our late 30s (yup, that's right folks!), our ovarian function naturally begins to taper, we produce less estradiol and progesterone and we eventually stop ovulating. Somewhere in our forties, depending on our level of ovarian function (diet, environment, genetics, health status all factoring in there), we enter peri-menopause, a phase in which we begin to notice signs of these hormone shifts showing up in our menstrual cycles and more. Changes in your cycle include: 🌸Shorter or longer period length 🌸Irregular or skipped periods 🌸Changes in 🩸 flow amount These symptoms may (or may not!) be accompanied by hot flashes, night sweats, sleep problems, lower sex drive, vaginal dryness, mood shifts, and transient memory problems. There are no specific lab tests that tell you you're in peri-menopause -it's really symptom based. So listen to your body! Menopause officially begins after you've not had your period for 12 consecutive months. Peri-menopause and menopause don't have to be times of misery - there's so much we can do to ease symptoms and also reframe this new phase in life - because chances are you have as much time in your gorgeous body as a menopausal woman as you did a fertile woman! I'll be sharing so much more about this powerful time with you in more Menopause Minutes - and I want to make sure to answer YOUR questions. So please let me know in the comments what you've been trying to get answered or want to know all about! ❤️