A week or so ago an email came from everydayhealth.com with a link to an article titled "Should 'No' Be the New 'Yes' for Women?"
The gist is that middle-aged women are some of the most stressed-out people in the country. It is in their best interest to say "no" every once in a while instead of trying to do and have it all.
In the article, Kelley Connors, a women's health advocate and host of the online radio show Real Women on Health, is quoted as calling midlife a "club sandwich."
"Women are the middle piece of toast, squeezed between meaty obligations with children and parents," the article notes.
Midlife, Connors says, is a cultural term. It doesn't always mean 55 or 45. And for many women, the gear shifts into midlife with menopause, according to the article.
In her book, The Female Brain, neuropsychiatrist Louann Brizendine writes about the often bumpy ride of menopause. It starts with perimenopause, which usually begins around age 43 and can last up to a decade.
It is marked by erratically cycling estrogen, progesterone and testosterone. These chemicals, which once launched our "urge to merge" and "mommy brains," are slowing down and producing fluctuating moods and sleep patterns, increasing worry and often decreasing interest in sex. It's during this time that we tend to be mainly interested in daily survival and just staying on our emotional roller coaster without falling and crashing.
We continue riding that roller coaster through menopause and on to postmenopause. Our hormone levels finally begin to even out and along comes estrogen's sister hormone, a cuddly, snugly, nurturing brain chemical called oxytocin.
This hormone shift brings on inner calm, less stress. Our brains can become more focused on staying healthy, embracing new challenges and focusing on what we want instead of compulsively trying to fix everything and take care of everyone except ourselves.
The website of the North American Menopause Society at www.menopause.org has sound information on the topic of menopause and diabetes, too.
According to their article "Diabetes Hits Women Hard at Menopause: Beat It Back," midlife can be hard for diabetics.
Diabetes is the No. 6 killer of women ages 45 to 54 and the No. 4 killer of women ages 55 to 64 in the United States.
Diabetes increases our risk of so many diseases and conditions, most of which I've mentioned here before -- stroke, heart disease, blindness, kidney disease and nerve disease.
When they team up, diabetes and menopause can create changes in blood sugar levels, weight gain, infections, sleep problems and sexual problems.
Does menopause increase diabetes risk? The North American Menopause Society says it's hard to separate the effects of menopause from the effects of age and weight. But women over 50 are especially vulnerable.
Women lose more years of life than men with diabetes do. The death rate for women with diabetes has risen since the 1970s while it has not for male diabetics.
To help combat these statistics, the American Diabetes Association recommends getting tested every three years starting at age 45. That's a way to help nip diabetes in the bud.
The best way to prevent diabetes or to improve the situation if you have it is a healthy lifestyle. Try things like exercising more, eating more healthfully, limiting alcohol intake and increasing sources of Omega-3 fatty acids.
If women take care of themselves in midlife they'll reap the benefits now and later, Connors says. Steadily build healthful habits -- little yeses -- into our daily schedule. Every club sandwich needs toothpicks holding it together.
Middle age and menopause are inevitable. But we should look at the aging process in terms of new potential instead of old limitations.
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ActiveStyle on 10/24/2016