Fatigue

We’re all about equipping you with the know-how to understand your symptoms, and we especially emphasize the specific, tangible ways to manage them. Our goal is to empower YOU to take charge of your menopause journey, starting today.

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Lifestyle

If your fatigue is overwhelming or negatively affecting your quality of life, identifying underlying causes is of paramount importance. In parallel, you might want to consider which lifestyle changes around exercise, diet, sleep, and stress are worth considering to pump up the energy level.

Nutrition & Diet

To boost our energy, we should be avoiding high-glycemic foods that cause blood sugar levels to spike — the two most common culprits are sugar/artificial sweeteners and refined carbs (i.e. things made with white flour) that quickly convert to sugar in our body. When sugar levels spike, they subsequently crash, leaving you tired.

Instead, we should focus on getting sufficient supplies of whole, unprocessed foods with adequate protein and healthy fats, which you can read more about in our nutrition guide.

Here are a few important things to remember:

• Inadequate nutrition via extreme caloric deprivation over weeks for longer will cause fatigue.
• Be thoughtful with breakfast! You want a combo of complex carbs, protein and fat through foods like oatmeal with nuts, overnight oats with yogurt, or a spinach omelette.
• If you can tolerate caffeine, be our guest with that morning cup ‘o Jo! But be careful about drinking it in the afternoon and evening. It’s a stimulant with a half-life of 5-6 hours (or longer if you’re on certain types of medication). This is the amount of time it takes for the quantity of caffeine in the body to be divided in two, which means after 5-6 hours, you’ll still have half the original amount of caffeine in your body. Only after 10-12 hours will it be completely eliminated…there’s more on this in our sleep guide.
• Skip the energy drinks. Trust us on this one. They’re basically just sugar and caffeine, which will lead you to crash even harder.
• Hydrate, hydrate, hydrate! Dehydration contributes to fatigue. Drink enough so your urine is pale and clear.

Lifestyle & Holistic Practices

Let’s start with the obvious:

Sleep is, understandably, SO important when it comes to fatigue. We should be targeting 7-9 hours, and yet studies show that 1 in 3 adults is not getting enough shut-eye. Sleep needs to be prioritized — we can’t stress this enough. If you’re not getting adequate sleep, you owe it to yourself to address it. Today. For more information on the science behind why sleep becomes so difficult during menopause — and what you can do about it — refer to our complete guide.

Because stress can manifest as fatigue, it’s right up there alongside sleep on the list of integrative interventions — although easier said than done when everything and everyone seems to be competing for our attention. Taking steps to manage stress is a form of self-care.

One way to manage is to schedule in some “me time” and treat it like you would another *very* important appointment. There’s nothing “selfish” about taking time for yourself, especially when it supports your mental health and overall wellness. Think of it as putting your mask on first in an airplane, so you can be better equipped to help others. For more tips on stress management – check out our guide to anxiety.

Exercise

Scientists have found that regular movement decreases overall levels of tension, elevates and stabilizes your mood, improves sleep, and boosts self-esteem. Not too shabby, right? According to the World Health Organization, 150 minutes per week of moderate-intensity movement (a brisk walk counts!) is enough to support your health.

In addition to supporting stress management, regular exercise can also play a direct role in boosting energy. This may sound counterintuitive, but hear us out. If you avoid over-training and instead focus on moderate to low-intensity movement by walking, bike riding, or practicing yoga, it will act directly on the central nervous system to help with symptoms of fatigue. In fact, one study showed that normally-sedentary people who frequently experienced fatigue were able to boost their energy levels by 20% and decrease fatigue by 65% *just* by engaging in low-intensity exercise for 20 minutes, 3 days per week.

Not sure where to start? Here’s what we suggest.

1. Kick things off with small goals. A 20-minute walk three times per week seems doable, no?
2. Team up with a friend for some company and accountability.
3. Always do something you ENJOY. It has to be fun — or at least tolerable — otherwise you won’t want to do it!

We’re always keeping an eye out on emerging research and the latest clinical studies. Subscribe to our weekly Elektra Digest for the latest, science-based info direct to your inbox. Something work well for you that’s not listed here? We want to hear it! Shoot us a note at [email protected] (We’re human, promise.)