Alcohol, perimenopause and the festive season
You may have noticed your hangovers get worse as you progress through perimenopause.
Not fair right?
There are a number of reasons for this, partly to do with ageing and your liver’s ability to metabolize alcohol. Women naturally have a lower tolerance for alcohol metabolisation than men anyway, and this appears to increase as we age.
Our alcohol consumption can also impact our experience of perimenopause in a few different ways.
Moderate regular alcohol consumption (1 drink/day) has been shown to have some health benefits in various studies (red wine particularly). But it can also have an impact on our hormone levels - lowering both oestrogen and progesterone production.
Alcohol consumption also impacts the quality of our sleep/rest, and our blood sugar levels. Both of which are so important to managing our wellbeing in this stage of life.
And it is highly individual. As I progress through my 40s I notice I am less able to tolerate alcohol - I am much more sensitive and tend to have an almost instant hangover. No fun. It also affects my symptoms (insomnia, night sweats and anxiety). So it’s easier to avoid it.
But I’ve also found real benefits to cutting down on alcohol. I sleep better, my cycle is more regular, and I always wake up refreshed from sleep.
In the past I would often have a month off alcohol (usually March and September as it was SO much easier in those months) and would notice the positive impact on my menstrual cycle, sleep and symptoms.
In the dark days of winter and the festive season it’s easy to enjoy one too many drinks and regret it the next day so
Here are some of my favourite non-alcoholic or low alcohol alternatives.
Fever Tree flavoured tonics and sodas - I’m a particular fan of their Mexican Lime Soda!
Marks and Spencers Lemon and Yuzu soda water
Non-alcholic ‘gin’ and tonic (Seedlip were one of the first brands I remember doing this, but there are lots available - it’s good to try before you buy though).
Kombucha - a fermented tea based drink you can get in supermarkets and health food stores.
Sparkling water can be made more interesting with addition of fresh mint (mine is still growing in the garden!), frozen berries, or a slice of citrus.
I’ve also found more and more bars and restaurants offer alcohol free cocktails, beers and other alternatives. You don’t have to stick with the standard lemonade/cola/juice options.
See if you can give yourself a little time off alcohol this winter and keep track of how it affects your sleep, mood and more. I always found it interesting to see the impact (always beneficial) on my PMS and menstrual cycle. You can download a menstrual cycle tracker below to help you monitor it’s effects.