Menopause Survival Tips

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Menopause can affect women both physically and emotionally—including how you connect intimately with your partner. Here are some tips to help you get through the transition with sexy confidence.

1. Stay cool

Intense hot flashes and night sweats are a clear sign of menopause and changing estrogen levels. Hot flashes are caused by the sudden dilation of the blood vessels in your skin, bringing warm blood from your body’s core to the surface. In seconds the temperature of your skin can rise as much as 5 degrees.1

Identify what triggers your flashes to avoid them. Common triggers are spicy foods, caffeine, hot drinks, and alcohol. Smokers tend to have more frequent and intense hot flashes, so now’s a great time to quit. Dressing in layers (especially in breathable fabrics like cotton, bamboo, and linen) makes it easy to shed clothes when you need to. And moisture-wicking pyjamas can help cool your body temperature for a restful night’s sleep. A frozen cold pack placed under your pillow ensures one side is always cool.

2. Squeeze and contract

Some menopausal women experience loss of bladder control2 and pain during sex.3 To improve the tone of your pelvic floor muscles, do Kegel exercises. Not only do they help reduce pain during sex and improve urinary incontinence, they also help increase the strength and awareness of the muscles involved in pleasurable sexual sensations. Here’s how to do them: with an empty bladder, contract the pelvic floor muscles—the same feeling you get when you stop peeing mid-stream. Hold for 2 to 3 seconds and release. Aim for 5 sets of 10 repetitions daily.4

3. Prevent bone loss

In our mid-30s, we start losing bone faster than we replace it. From the start of irregular periods in perimenopause until 4 years after the last period, most women lose bone even faster.5 Since bone loss is associated with an increased fracture risk,6 keep your bones strong with weight-bearing exercises like walking, yoga,7 and racquet sports.8
Calcium and vitamin D are also essential for healthy bones. While calcium helps build and maintain bones and teeth,9 vitamin D helps your body absorb and use the calcium, and it helps protect against osteoporosis.10 For people over age 51, Dietitians of Canada recommends 1,200 mg of calcium (or 3 servings of milk and alternatives)11 and 600 IU of vitamin D per day.12 If you aren’t getting enough from your diet, you may need a supplement.

4. Make sex more comfortable

Is vaginal dryness an issue for you? It’s a common symptom caused by—you guessed it—the decline in estrogen. About 50% of post-menopausal women experience vaginal dryness, which can make sex uncomfortable and unsatisfying.13 But don’t let it get in the way of staying close with your partner. Use a personal lubricant to ease vaginal dryness and discomfort.

Feel comfortable and discover a whole new way to connect with your partner with the versatile range of K-Y® intimacy products. They help ease vaginal dryness and discomfort by helping to restore the natural feeling of carefree excitement during sex. For discreet relief of dryness that’s safe to use regularly, K-Y is the brand most trusted by couples and the #1 brand recommended by doctors.14 So you can feel sexy and keep your connection with your partner going. And going …

1 Chris Crowley and Henry Lodge, Younger Next Year for Women (New York: Workman Publishing, 2007), 276.
2 The Society of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists of Canada, “Menopause,” http://sogc.org/publications/menopause/
3 The North American Menopause Society, “Vaginal and Vulvar Comfort: Lubricants, Moisturizers, and Low-dose Vaginal Estrogen,” http://www.menopause.org/for-women/sexual-health-menopause-online/effective-treatments-for-sexual-problems/vaginal-and-vulvar-comfort-lubricants-moisturizers-and-low-dose-vaginal-estrogen
4 The North American Menopause Society, “Yoga, Kegel Exercises, Pelvic Floor Physical Therapy,” http://www.menopause.org/for-women/sexual-health-menopause-online/effective-treatments-for-sexual-problems/yoga-kegel-exercises-pelvic-floor-physical-therapy
5 Boston Women’s Health Book Collective, Our Bodies, Ourselves (New York: Touchstone, 2011), 528.
6 Boston Women’s Health Book Collective, Our Bodies, Ourselves (New York: Touchstone, 2011), 528.
7 Boston Women’s Health Book Collective, Our Bodies, Ourselves (New York: Touchstone, 2011), 528.
8 Osteoporosis Canada, “What types of exercise do you need?” http://www.osteoporosis.ca/osteoporosis-and-you/exercise-for-healthy-bones/what-kind-of-activity-is-best/
9 Dietitians of Canada, “Calcium,” http://www.dietitians.ca/Your-Health/Nutrition-A-Z/Calcium.aspx
10 Dietitians of Canada, “Food Sources of Vitamin D,” http://www.dietitians.ca/Your-Health/Nutrition-A-Z/Vitamins/Food-Sources-of-Vitamin-D.aspx
11 Dietitians of Canada, “Calcium.” http://www.dietitians.ca/Your-Health/Nutrition-A-Z/Calcium.aspx
12 Dietitians of Canada, “Food Sources of Vitamin D.” http://www.dietitians.ca/Your-Health/Nutrition-A-Z/Vitamins/Food-Sources-of-Vitamin-D.aspx
13 The Society of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists of Canada, “Sexuality,” http://menopauseandu.ca/health-concerns/sexuality_e.aspx
14 Wolters Kluwers Quarterly Survey 2009.