Many women reach midlife knowing menopause will bring hot flashes and broken sleep. Fewer are warned about the quieter shifts in mood, energy and daily well-being. When the low days arrive, the options can feel narrow.
A new systematic review from University College London points to a simple, front-line response. Regular physical activity was linked to real improvements in mood and quality of life during the menopausal transition. The clearest effects came from aerobic exercise.
The researchers pooled 12 randomized controlled trials with 1,003 women aged 40 to 65. The trials were run in seven countries, including Brazil, China, India, Iran, Korea, Tunisia and the United States. The paper was published in Menopause, the journal of The Menopause Society.
The team grouped the trials into two kinds of exercise. Aerobic-based activity covered walking, dance, Zumba, general aerobic sessions and taekwondo. Mind-body activity covered yoga, tai chi, Pilates and stretching.
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Aerobic exercise had the clearest effect on depression
Aerobic sessions showed the strongest effects for easing depressive symptoms and lifting overall quality of life. A common pattern in the included trials was three sessions a week. Each lasted between 30 minutes and one hour.
In the walking trials, that often meant a brisk 30 minutes, three times a week. The improvements in depressive symptoms were most apparent among women in early postmenopause. That is the period that begins once a woman has gone 12 months without a menstrual period.
The researchers point to a plausible mechanism. Aerobic movement increases endorphin release, which can lift mood. That matters in a stretch of life marked by shifting estrogen levels.
Mind-body sessions helped psychological quality of life
Yoga, tai chi, Pilates and stretching produced strong improvements in what the researchers called psychological quality of life. That measure covers mood, outlook and the mental side of daily functioning.
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The programs ranged from two weekly 75-minute sessions up to daily one-hour classes.
Lead author Simone Saidel, a clinical psychologist, noted that treatment options for the menopausal transition remain limited. Many women cannot take hormone therapy, or choose not to. That makes a credible non-drug option useful to put on the table.
The authors are cautious about overclaiming. The evidence base is still small, and the included trials varied widely. Many were also judged to be at high risk of bias. The direction of the finding is consistent, but the exact size of the effect is not pinned down.
For readers, the pattern that comes out of the review is modest and doable. Three brisk walks, dance classes or aerobic sessions a week of 30 to 60 minutes is a reasonable starting point. A couple of yoga or Pilates sessions can be added for the mental side.
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If menopausal mood symptoms are weighing on daily life, talking to a doctor is still the right next step.
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This article is made and published by Jesper Bengtson, who may have used AI in the preparation.