About Menopause Fatigue and Low energy

Menopause can be a difficult time in women’s lives. With 80 percent of women reporting fatigue, restlessness, and irritability, because of this mid-life change, these commonly experienced symptoms destroy the quality of life. With persistent wakefulness, anxiety, and frustration, these menopause-related fatigue symptoms can be difficult to describe.

Frustrating and debilitating, fatigue often remains untreated. Symptoms such as irritability, lack of concentration, and memory lapses, cause women to suffer from embarrassment, in addition to fatigue and low energy. Some health professionals may describe these as normal and passing symptoms of menopause.



As women enter menopause, between 44 and 55 years of age, hormone imbalances are common. In addition to waxing and waning estrogen and progesterone chemical levels, habits and lifestyle can influence fatigue, too. There are options to combat fatigue, however including treatments to boost energy and relief from symptoms of irritability and inability to concentrate.

Fatigue – Signs and Symptoms

Symptoms of fatigue include muscle weakness, inability to sleep or remain sleeping, irritability, and restlessness that remain constant. Drowsiness, alternatively, feels similar to the need to sleep. Fatigue does not induce sleep but rather prevents it. Menopause-related fatigue is also different from chronic fatigue syndrome.

This complicated disorder finds women with increased symptoms of fatigue that worsen with activity, bed rest or increased physical exertion. Some women report a lack of energy that lasts all day, while others describe experiencing short bursts of fatigue combined with brief bursts of energy. Other women ignore physical symptoms of fatigue but find emotional fatigue debilitating.

Symptoms of apathy, irritability, poor attention span, inability to concentrate, forgetfulness or memory lapses. Creating an incapacitating effect on the mind and the body, fatigue disrupts quality of life. In search of relief, women turn to herbal supplements, dietary changes, and alternative therapies to address the source of these menopause symptoms.

Fatigue – Causes and Conditions

The hypothalamus, located in the brain, signals the pituitary and endocrine glands to release estrogen and progesterone. These chemical hormones control and regulate energy levels deep within the body. Responsible for sleep/wake cycles, stress hormones, body temperature, as well as thyroid, adrenal hormones, and melatonin, fluctuating hormones levels throw many of these systems off balance. Ebbing estrogen and progesterone reduce energy levels. These chemical changes also influence women’s inability to get restful sleep. Decreasing hormones during menopause increase symptoms of fatigue that begin early in the morning and can last through the night. All of these changes and fluctuating hormones cause persistent fatigue.

Other conditions that cause fatigue include thyroid disorders, narcolepsy, depression, chronic fatigue syndrome, heart disease, anxiety disorders, adrenal dysfunctions, and sleep apnea. As women approach menopause in their mid-life, these hormonal changes can result in dysfunctions and disruptions, in other parts of the body.

Additional habits and lifestyle can engage and increase fatigue symptoms. Untreated allergies, jet lag, an inactive or sedentary lifestyle, poor nutrition, excess stress, and boredom can exacerbate menopause-related fatigue symptoms. Excess caffeine, alcohol, recreational drug use or prescription drug abuse will disrupt sleep/wake cycles and increase restlessness throughout the day. Some women report limiting caffeinated beverages after 6pm and drinking alcohol sparingly, has an immediate impact on fatigue, wakefulness and irritability.

Relief From Fatigue

There is a variety of treatment options to manage menopause symptoms. Changes in nutrition, diet, and exercise are the safest options. Getting a restful night’s sleep combined with an hour of daily exercise will also boost the metabolism. Alternative therapy treatments such as therapeutic massage, acupuncture, yoga, and stress reduction techniques can boost energy levels.

Combinations of alternative therapy and lifestyle changes may increase energy levels, concentration and memory, drastically. Herbal supplements that do not contain plant estrogens is also recommended as they enhance the body’s production of estrogen and progesterone, naturally.

Treating low energy symptoms individually may ease fatigue, temporarily. Hormonal imbalances during menopause, however, respond well to natural and alternative supplements that pinpoint the imbalance at the source. Whole-food cooperatives and business that specialize in herbal remedies, vitamins, and supplements can provide a variety of information regarding supplements that stabilize hormone imbalances at the source.

Women experiencing cramping accompanied by pain, increases in blood pressure, psychosis related to lack of sleep or continued inability to function in daily activities should consult a medical health professional for further diagnosis and treatment. Prescription medications and surgery come with increased health risks, be sure to discuss these risks with the doctor.