Menopause and the years after it

Step by step

1. 1

   Step 1: Understand what oestrogen was doing

   It was not only about periods. Oestrogen helped keep bone being rebuilt, blood vessels flexible, and a good deal else steady. When it falls, bone is lost faster, arteries stiffen, fat shifts to the middle, the body handles sugar less well and salt matters more.

   Learn more: Bone health after menopause
2. 2

   Step 2: Protect bone from the start, not after a fracture

   The years around and after menopause are when bone is lost fastest, and that is exactly when most women are not thinking about it. Weight-bearing movement, strength work, enough protein and calcium-rich food. This is the most time-sensitive thing on the list.

   Learn more: Bones to protect after 60, and why these five
3. 3

   Step 3: Take the heart seriously now

   Cardiovascular risk in women rises after menopause and is consistently underestimated, by women and sometimes by their doctors. Blood pressure, cholesterol and blood sugar all deserve checking from here on, and knowing how a heart attack presents in women is worth an afternoon.

   Learn more: Blood pressure in women, and why it changes after 55
4. 4

   Step 4: Treat sleep and mood as real, not as weakness

   Broken sleep, low mood, anxiety and a mind that will not settle are common through this and afterwards, and they are not something to simply endure. Sleep that does not improve, or low mood lasting weeks, is worth taking to a doctor.

   Learn more: Sleep: which kind of poor sleeper are you?
5. 5

   Step 5: Build muscle, because it changes everything else

   Muscle is lost faster from here, and it is the lever on bone, blood sugar, balance and independence at once. Strength work two or three times a week, protein at every meal. Ask your doctor about hormone therapy and anything else if symptoms are affecting your life; that conversation is worth having rather than assuming you must cope.

   Learn more: Muscle as your body's engine, not just for moving

All topics in this guide

• Bone health after menopause
• Bones to protect after 60, and why these five
• Blood pressure in women, and why it changes after 55
• Sleep: which kind of poor sleeper are you?
• Muscle as your body's engine, not just for moving

Other guides you may like

• Bone and muscle strength after menopause

  Bone, muscle and balance work as one system, and all three respond to what you do each week. A practical plan for women 60+ to stay strong enough to live independently.

• Blood pressure: everyday habits that help

  Move, muscle, meals, mind and measure: the five everyday things that keep blood pressure steady. Lifestyle guidance, not a substitute for your doctor.