5 natural solutions to beat perimenopause fatigue

If you've hit perimenopause, you'll know just what a hormonal rollercoaster ride it can be. There are multiple symptoms to contend with, but feeling wiped out with low energy is common in over two-thirds of women. However, perimenopause fatigue is a symptom that goes way beyond tiredness. Draining energy, disrupting sleep, and affecting mood, fatigue in perimenopause can seriously impact the quality of your life making daily functioning difficult.

Signs and symptoms of perimenopause fatigue

Described as “wading through treacle,” common signs include constant tiredness, daytime napping, waking up exhausted, low energy levels, longer recovery from exercise, irritability, and mental lows. However, perimenopause fatigue can be emotional too, and it’s common to be more irritable and to feel down for inexplicable reasons. However, if you suspect your fatigue is not due to perimenopause and might be connected to an underlying health condition, then it pays to get it checked out by a medical practitioner. 

Natural solutions to beat perimenopause fatigue

If taking early nights and relaxing baths have failed to quell the yawns, then it’s time to start taking steps to replenish your energy levels and consider the following natural remedies:

1. Expend energy to gain energy

It might sound counter intuitive, but expending energy on exercise will actually give you MORE energy. Exercise, like walking, swimming, and gentle running, all help boost cardiovascular health, mood, and energy levels. Likewise, exercise increases oxygen and endorphins, helping to reduce mental fatigue.

Yoga is arguably one of the best remedies for fatigue as it’s gentle on the body and helps offset stress and replenishes energy levels at the same time. But it needn't be strenuous. A simple 10 minute morning yoga routine practiced at home just three times per week can dramatically reduce symptoms including perimenopause fatigue and low energy levels. Why not check out our online yoga for menopause platform and enjoy a 7 days FREE trial?

 2. Enjoy deep relaxation with Restorative Yoga

You can’t pour from an empty cup, and left unchecked perimenopause fatigue is capable of draining your cup dry. Thankfully, there are ways to replenish energy levels WITHOUT overexerting your body and that’s by practicing a gentle and passive style of yoga known as Restorative Yoga.

Restorative Yoga requires no movement, instead using props to support the body in a series of relaxing poses. All it requires is letting go and surrendering to deep relaxation. But appearances can be deceptive, for whilst seemingly doing very little, this style of yoga activates the parasympathetic nervous system to reduce stress and cortisol levels. Specific poses like ‘Legs-Up-Against-The-Wall’ are renowned for their calming effects and can help ease insomnia or restless sleep. 

Boost your energy levels with this soothing Restorative Yoga sequence for stress relief:

3. Breathing to offset perimenopause fatigue 

Shortness of breath can leave you feeling weak and exhausted. When you're feeling stressed, your breathing automatically switches to short shallow breaths from the upper part of the chest. This then sends a cascade of signals to the brain that you're under threat and all your energy is diverted to making an escape. The end result? You become more exhausted and fatigued.

However, by simply breathing long, slow, deep breaths into the bottom of your lungs, you not only increase your oxygen consumption and improve your lung capacity, you reduce fatigue too. Breathing techniques such as Belly Breath (Diaphragmatic Breathing) enable your body and muscles to perform at their best. By allowing more oxygen to reach the organs and issues, your body responds by creating more energy.

4.  Refuel with Yoga Nidra 

Imagine listening to a short guided Yoga Nidra meditation and enjoying the EQUIVALENT OF DEEP QUALITY SLEEP. That would certainly reduce perimenopause fatigue and top up your depleted energy levels, wouldn't it?

Yoga Nidra is a guided meditation practice in which you’re taken on a journey through various stages of relaxation and breathing techniques which serve to completely relax both mind and body. This induces deep relaxation on a whole new level whilst removing cortisol (the stress hormone) from your system.

A daytime Nidra will also leave you feeling completely restored with boosted energy. And, because you don’t technically ‘sleep’ in Nidra, you won’t have that horrible groggy feeling on waking from a daytime nap. Plus, it won’t spoil your evening sleep later.

Try this short Yoga Nidra mediation to banish daytime fatigue:

5. Reduce perimenopause fatigue with meditation

Meditation is renowned for calming the mind but did you know that it helps reduce cortisol levels and regulates the body’s stress response too? In doing so, it helps activate the parasympathetic nervous system to promote relaxation and counter the fight-or-flight response. This leads to a much calmer state of mind and body which is conducive for alleviating perimenopause fatigue.

Practiced before bedtime, meditation also makes it easier to fall asleep and stay asleep. And, by reducing stress and improving sleep, meditation leads to increased energy and vitality during the day. When practiced regularly, meditation can also alleviate many other menopause symptoms too.

The good news is you don’t have to spend hours sitting in an uncomfortable cross-legged position to experience the benefits of meditation. Just 5-10 minutes daily can make a significant difference. Never practiced meditation before? Try this 10 minute mediation for cultivating calm:

Natural solutions that require little effort 

Who knew that managing fatigue in perimenopause and replenishing your energy levels could be so simple? Try implementing as many of these natural solutions as possible and see the difference for yourself. These practices not only enhance physical energy but also support emotional wellbeing too, and they offer a robust holistic approach to navigating perimenopause. Practiced together, they will help you combat perimenopause fatigue, regain your energy, vitality, and take back control of your life. 

Need more help with understanding what perimenopause is all about? Learn tips and advice from the queen of perimenopause Emily Barclay, Founder of the Perimenopause Hub:

Have you taken our FREE Menopause quiz?

To discover other natural solutions will best help your symptoms, we invite you to take our FREE Menopause Quiz. In in just under 5 minutes, this quick and insightful quiz will unveil essential insights across four key dimensions of your menopause wellbeing – physical, mental, emotional, and future self - providing you with your personalised wellbeing score and recommendations for your menopause journey.