Is Stress Making Your Perimenopause & Menopause Symptoms Worse? Here’s What Cortisol Has to Do With It
Minal Patel - Naturopath & Food Scientist | Bhimble Wellness
Do you feel like you’re constantly busy - rushing, doing, thinking, organising and looking after everyone else?
For many women, being busy and “just getting on with it” has become so normal that we don’t stop to notice how much our bodies are actually carrying. When perimenopause or menopause comes along, you might be asking yourself, “Why does everything suddenly feel so much harder?”
The ways you’ve always coped don’t seem to work anymore. Your patience is shorter. Your sleep is all over the place. You might be waking at 3am, feeling exhausted but wired, struggling with brain fog, gaining weight around your middle or finding yourself much less tolerant of stress.
When Life Stress Meets Perimenopause
A recent client came to see me after a stressful few years following the birth of her first child. She’s now going through perimenopause and wants to understand, “How is my body actually coping with everything life is throwing at me? and “How can I support my nervous system?”
We will start by looking at one of the body’s key stress hormones, cortisol.
What Does Cortisol do in Your Body?
Cortisol is one of your body’s main stress hormones. It’s made by your adrenal glands and is regulated by a communication system between your brain and adrenal glands called the Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Adrenal axis (HPA axis).Think of cortisol as part of your body’s built-in alarm system.
When your brain perceives a threat or stressor, it could be a danger or something like an overwhelming workload, lack of sleep, emotional stress or an ongoing health issue, your body responds by releasing cortisol. Cortisol helps make energy available quickly, increases alertness and helps you respond to the situation. That’s a good thing.
The problem isn’t having cortisol. The problem is when your body is constantly being asked to respond to stress without enough time to recover. Your modern life can give you plenty of reasons for your nervous system to stay switched on.
Your “stress” doesn’t have to be one huge traumatic event. It can be the accumulation of lots of smaller things.
Stress can come from many places, you might experience:
Physical stress: Surgery, injury, illness, infection, chronic pain, inadequate recovery or excessive exercise.
Emotional stress: Relationship difficulties, grief, work pressure, financial worries, caregiving, feeling like you’re never doing enough, anxiety or constantly being “on”.
Metabolic stress: Large swings in blood sugar, under-eating, restrictive dieting or not getting enough nutrients.
Environmental stress: Excessive heat or cold, poor sleep environments, pollution and other environmental factors.
Alongside these stressors, there’s the everyday mental load which includes remembering everyone’s appointments, meals, school activities, work deadlines and what needs to be done next.
What Does High Cortisol Actually Feel Like And Look Like?
It you have high cortisol, you might feel:
- Tired, wired and exhausted
- Restless or unable to switch off
- Anxious, irritable or easily overwhelmed
- Small things suddenly feel like big things
- Tired in the morning but getting a second wind at night
- Unable to relax, even when you have time to rest
- Mentally foggy or unable to concentrate
- Like you’re constantly rushing
- More sensitive to caffeine, alcohol or missed meals
- As though your resilience to everyday stress has disappeared
You may notice physcial changes in your body such as:
- Disrupted sleep
- Increased appetite or cravings
- Changes in blood sugar regulation
- Digestive symptoms
- Changes in body composition
- Headaches
- Muscle tension
- Feeling run-down.
These symptoms aren’t proof that you have “high cortisol.” Many of them overlap with perimenopause, menopause and other health conditions. That’s why it’s important to look at the whole picture rather than assuming cortisol is the cause of everything.
So, what do my hormones have to do with this?
During perimenopause, your ovaries gradually become less predictable in their production of estrogen and progesterone. Estrogen doesn’t simply decline in a straight line. It can fluctuate significantly, which is one reason you can have a month where you feel relatively good and another where you feel like you’ve been hit by a truck.
As menopause progresses, ovarian estrogen production eventually falls substantially.
Your adrenal glands continue to produce hormones throughout your life, including small amounts of adrenal androgens that can contribute to estrogen production in peripheral tissues. Cortisol and sex hormones are produced through related steroid hormone pathways, but your body doesn’t simply stop making estrogen or progesterone because it is making cortisol.
Estrogen interacts with the brain systems involved in stress regulation, so changes in estrogen during perimenopause may influence how your body responds to stress.
This may help explain why something that you previously handled with ease suddenly feels completely overwhelming.
Chronic stress and increased cortisol activity can interact with the reproduction hormones, sleep, blood sugar regulation and inflammation. At the same time, falling and fluctuating estrogen and progesterone can make some women more sensitive to stress and less resilient to sleep disruption.
In other words, during perimenopause you can end up with a bit of a perfect storm of hormone fluctuations, poor sleep, life stress and an already busy nervous system cna make your symptoms feel much more intense.
Other Things Worth Ruling Out
Perimenopause can explain a lot however it may not explain everything. If you’re feeling exhausted, gaining weight, experiencing mood changes, sleeping poorly or struggling with your energy, it’s worth talking to your general practitioner (GP) or qualified health professional.
Depending on your symptoms and medical history, some things to check include:
- Thyroid conditions, including hypothyroidism
- Iron deficiency or anaemia
- Nutrient Deficiencies
- Diabetes or insulin resistance
- Sleep apnoe
- Depression or anxiety
- Medication side effects
- Adrenal insufficiency
- Cushing’s syndrome
You don’t need to diagnose yourself. This is where a good healthcare professional can help you put the pieces together. I can also help with connecting the dots.
Simple Things You Can do to Reduce Your Stress Hormone Cortisol
Here are small, realistic steps that can make a real difference.
Get Morning Light - Try getting outside for some natural daylight within the first hour or so of waking. Morning light helps your body clock understand that it’s daytime and supports a healthy daily rhythm of hormones, including cortisol.
Prioritise sleep Cortisol naturally follows a daily rhythm and sleep disruption can interfere with that rhythm. Try dimming the lights in the evening, putting your phone away before bed, keeping your bedroom cool and give yourself 30–60 minutes to wind down.
Eat balanced meals – Your body interprets significant drops in blood glucose as a stress signal, hence have meals that include protein, healthy fats and carbohydrates (fruits, vegetables, wholegrains). This will help stabilise blood sugar.
Gentle Calming Moments - can help with reducing your cortisol levels. Take a slow walk, do some gentle stretching, take a few slow breaths, listen to music, laugh with a friend.
Are You Ready to Feel More Like Yourself Again?
If you’re struggling with your energy, sleep, mood, weight or just don’t feel like yourself lately, you don’t have to figure it out on your own.
Book a complimentary Hormonal Wellness Discovery Call.
Together, we’ll chat about what’s been going on and where you’d love some support. From there, we can explore a personalised, natural approach to help you feel more balanced, confident and in control in your body through perimenopause and menopause.
With love & understanding,
Minal xx