This is what happens to your body during menopause

Perimenopause, which typically occurs in a woman's mid-40s, precedes menopause

Sometimes referred to as the menopausal transition, perimenopause often lasts around four years as the ovaries' production of the reproductive hormones progesterone and estrogen decline. It may be accompanied by mental and physical symptoms, including irregular periods, hot flashes, sleep issues, mood swings, and alterations to a woman's sex drive.

Menopause and perimenopause symptoms may affect both the mind and the body

Women going through these aging transitions may experience some common physical and mental symptoms to varying degrees, including hot flashes, bladder control issues, brain fog, and vaginal dryness. This article dives into some of the most common symptoms women might expect during perimenopause, plus what they can do to relieve them.

How menopause affects mental health

Menopause, a natural biological process, occurs in three stages: perimenopause (hormone fluctuations), menopause (end of menstrual cycles), and postmenopause (12 months without menstruation). Hormonal shifts during this time can affect neurotransmitters, increasing the risk of mood disorders.

Women experience heightened bone loss after menopause

Both women and men begin to lose some bone density after age 35, on average. But, for the first decade after menopause, women lose bone more rapidly due to the significantly decreased levels of estrogen, putting women at heightened risk of osteoporosis and related bone fractures.

Late-onset menopause lowers osteoporosis risks, but heightens the risks for certain cancers

Defined as when a woman starts to experience perimenopause after age 55, late-onset menopause is linked to an elevated risk of developing breast, ovarian, and uterine cancers.

Menopause can exacerbate anxiety

Some research shows that menopause can fuel anxiety and also that preexisting anxiety can boost the chances of experiencing other menopause symptoms, including hot flashes, insomnia, and brain fog. But treatments—including hormone replacement therapy, breathing exercises, and other forms of exercise—can alleviate some of these symptoms.

Perimenopause can last as long as 8 years

Perimenopause typically lasts about four years, beginning at around age 45; however, some women experience it as early as their 30s. Smoking and thyroid disease are factors that can trigger early perimenopause. Early menopause, which can increase health risks, occurs in about 5% of women. Researchers are still investigating why it occurs.

Menopause hormone therapy infuses the body with estrogen after the body's natural levels drop

The treatments can treat symptoms like hot flashes and vaginal dryness at varying doses. Progestogen, another hormone, is also typically prescribed with estrogen because estrogen alone can thicken the uterus lining, which elevates the risk of developing endometrial cancer.

A 40-something science journalist was getting more winded during workouts, and experiencing night sweats, forgetfulness and tiredness—she thought it was perimenopause, but these common symptoms turned out to be signs of her blood cancer.

By 2030, roughly 6% of the world's population will be in menopause

An estimated 25 million women pass through menopause annually, with a projected increase in the number of women in menopause in both lower-resource and higher-income populations in the years ahead, highlighting the social and economic value of focusing on menopause care.

Menopause is a hormonal transition point, like puberty

Yet menopause isn't talked about as much. In this podcast episode by Houston Methodist, a Texas-based hospital, the host speaks with a gynecologist with a specialization in menopausal medicine about what menopause really is, and how women and the people in their lives can navigate this next life stage.

Early menopause, occurring before age 45, can be triggered by certain risk factors

Some potential causes of early menopause include autoimmune disorders, chemotherapy, smoking, and certain surgeries that cause the body to produce lower levels of estrogen and progesterone.

Postmenopause is a stage lasting roughly a third of a woman's life

Postmenopause is the final stage of menopause, occurring once a woman hasn't had any vaginal bleeding for a full year. She is then considered postmenopausal for the rest of her life. While some of the intense symptoms she might experience during postmenopause will decline, her risk for certain conditions and diseases will increase.

Health problems are being misdiagnosed as perimenopause symptoms

Symptoms of menopause and perimenopause (the premenopause period) can be varied enough that clinicians dismiss them in patients in their mid-30s and onward as just a symptom of hormone level change. In this story, a woman's itching was dismissed as a hormonal change, but after two years and 11 separate doctor consultations, was diagnosed as cancer. (Some users may experience a paywall.)

What to know about early and premature menopause

Although it's rare, some women may experience menopause early. Early menopause describes women that are menopausal between the ages of 40 and 45. Women that go through menopause before age 40 experience premature menopause. Early experiences of menopause impact under 6% of women, and doctors can’t point to a specific reason why it happens. Learn about what we do know about the conditions here.

It's never too late to start hormone replacement therapy for menopause symptoms because the products may help alleviate symptoms of menopause or fight bone loss.

What is medical menopause?

Medical menopause is when menopause is induced from either surgery or medicine. Chemotherapy and radiation, as well as oophorectomy (a surgical procedure that removes the ovaries) and a radical hysterectomy can cause a woman to become menopausal. Women that go through medical menopause experience the same symptoms as women that experience natural menopause. Learn more about the medical condition here.

There are multiple HRT options to treat menopause and perimenopause symptoms including hot flashes, vaginal dryness, and mood swings.

Menopause affects the brain in complex ways

Lisa Mosconi, a neuroscientist studying the impact of menopause on the brain, explains in this video how menopause directly impacts a woman's brain health and explores why this is an important and often overlooked area in menopause and women's aging healthcare discussions.

'Menobelly' is real, with more fat stored around the abdomen as estrogen levels drop.

Menopause is defined as 12 months without a period

Menopause is officially when a woman stops getting her period, meaning she has stopped ovulating and can no longer get pregnant. A woman has to go a full year without bleeding or spotting to know she has hit menopause.

The gaps in menopause research and their effects

Nearly all studies (99%) researching the biology of aging don’t consider menopause in their setup. A Harvard professor noted that about 75% of aging-related diseases are likely influenced by menopause. In this article, she discusses how gaps in research are negatively impacting how the medical system can effectively treat aging women. Read her analysis of the issue here.

Common hormone therapies to treat menopausal symptoms

While there is no cure for menopause, there are ways to treat some of the intense symptoms women experience during perimenopause. There are two main hormone therapies used, one in the form of a pill, gel, or patch to treat symptoms like hot flashes, and another in the form of a cream or ring to treat symptoms like vaginal dryness. Read this article to learn more about the different hormone therapies available for menopausal women.

Treatment-induced menopause is menopause induced by surgery or medicine

Chemotherapy and radiation, as well as oophorectomy (a surgical procedure to remove one or both ovaries) and a radical hysterectomy, can cause a woman to become menopausal. Women who go through medical menopause experience the same symptoms as women who go through menopause caused by natural hormonal cycles.

27% of US menopausal women used estrogen in 1999, but by 2020 that number was under 5%

The fallout of studies in the early 2000s linking hormone therapy for menopause and elevated cancer, stroke, and other health risks meant that even decades later—yet before the FDA removed its black box warning in 2025—use of HRT remained extremely uncommon. (Some users may experience a paywall.)

Menopause, once not discussed in polite company, is now a plot point in some television shows

Menopause has long been a topic left out of film and TV. But some shows, like "The Change," and celebrities, like Jennie Garth, are now openly talking about it. This article breaks down how Hollywood is starting to come around to the menopause conversation and how celebrities are talking about their own personal experiences, as well as advocating on Capitol Hill.

Menopause may become a $600B industry

Companies marketing products and supplements to alleviate menopause symptoms and make life easier during this life stage have become a gold mine. This 2022 article explores how and why companies have swooped into this space, and whether you should trust them or not.

Scientists have not yet answered what the evolutionary benefit may be of menopause

Few animals are known to experience menopause, raising questions about why it would be evolutionarily advantageous to have women survive past their reproductive years. One leading hypothesis is the grandmother hypothesis—older women and other species known to experience menopause, like whales, can aid families and pass down knowledge to future generations.

Less than 1% of aging studies consider menopause and its effects

Nearly all studies researching the biology of aging don't consider menopause in their setup. In part, that's because menopause is difficult to emulate in animal models. Menopause is uncommon in the animal world beyond humans and whales. This presents a problem for medicine and science because about 75% of aging-related diseases are likely influenced by menopause.

Within months of a landmark 2002 study that indicated HRT harms, sales dropped by about half

In the early 2000s, Women's Health Initiative studies indicated HRT increased risk of breast cancer, heart disease, and stroke in some women—so many physicians stopped prescribing it to help with menopause symptoms. But further research has concluded that much of the elevated risk was overblown and that it was also disproportionately seen in women in their 70s who had been taking an older HRT formulation.

Resistance training can help fight osteoporosis, especially in menopausal women.

HRT for menopause may not help with mental health or sleep says a large 2026 analysis

A recent analysis investigating the effects of menopause and HRT use on mental health, cognition, and brain health suggested HRT did little or nothing to aid with mental health and sleep. But the researchers caution that, among other data gaps, they didn't have information on which HRT formulations were used among their nearly 125,000 participants, so results may have varied by drug treatment.

America doesn't have enough estradiol patches for menopause and perimenopause demand

Fueled in part by the lifting of the FDA's black box warning about HRT risks, sales of estradiol patches in the US have shot upward. More than 142 million units of the patches were sold in 2025 versus 46.5 million in 2020. Suppliers are failing to keep up with demand—11 patch products were in short supply in early 2026. (Some users may experience a paywall.)

Humans aren't the only mammals who go through menopause, but it's rare in the animal world

While scientists are unsure how many mammals actually experience menopause, they do know for sure that humans aren't the only ones. Orcas and some toothed whales (like belugas and narwhals) go through menopause. And a recent study found chimpanzees also experience the condition, though it's late in life.

40% of women will have noticeable hair loss by age 50.

Menstruation, which occurs monthly, is the release of an unfertilized egg

This routine vaginal bleeding is part of a woman's hormonal cycle and occurs after an egg is released by an ovary during ovulation and isn't fertilized. Also known as periods, this monthly occurrence can cause a number of symptoms, including cramping, fatigue, and mood changes.

Estrogen is a really important hormone for men, too.

FDA has removed black box warnings from hormone replacement therapy for menopause.

Why we should care about renaming the hormonal disorder PCOS to PMOS

The new name, polyendocrine metabolic ovarian syndrome, nods to the hormonal disruptions that cause this condition, which affects roughly one in eight women. People with PMOS may have symptoms including irregular periods, trouble conceiving, weight gain, acne, undesired hair growth, and more. The earlier name, polycystic ovary syndrome, was a misnomer because women with the condition don't have cysts in their ovaries. Rather, they have masses that are actually immature follicles. World health experts think the condition often goes undiagnosed.

Anxiety can arise at any stage of life and make someone feel unsafe in their mind and body.

HRT patches are popular partly because they have lower blood clotting risks than oral estradiol

Women taking estradiol for menopause or perimenopause are sometimes told oral HRT is not an option for them because it increases blood clot risks. But a large analysis in 2019 concluded that other forms of the HRT, such as the patch, creams, and gel, do not.

Changes in vision or eye pain can be early MS symptoms

This occurs due to myelin degradation around the optic nerve, impairing its ability to transmit visual information to the brain. Individuals may especially experience eye symptoms after exercising or taking a hot shower because boosted body temperatures slow down nerve function in nerves already damaged by MS.

Premarin was the bestselling drug in the US in 1992

The drug, derived from the urine or pregnant mares, raised ethical and animal welfare concerns, but also became wildly popular until the Women's Health Initiative study findings in 2002 (which have since been largely disproved). In the 1990s, Premarin was used to treat menopause symptoms and also to protect against osteoporosis and heart disease among older women.

Gender-affirming hormone therapy cues changes similar to puberty

When HRT is part of gender affirmation care, people receive regular doses of estrogen or testosterone to alter hormone levels to more closely align with those of cis individuals of that biological sex. HRT may affect voice pitch, body hair, bone density, and more. Many of those changes are not reversible with the cessation of therapy, though the effects may diminish.

Girls are hitting puberty earlier than ever before

Around the world, there has been a spike in children—especially girls—experiencing early puberty and doctors are seeking to understand why. The rise has been particularly strong post-2020. Early-maturing girls are at a higher risk for developing...

MS Drugs reduce inflammation, helping reduce relapses and slow disease progression

Disease-Modifying Drugs calm the body's inflammatory response to help stave off relapses—when new or existing MS symptoms show up for a day or longer. Avoiding smoking, exercising, reducing stress via mindfulness, checking for vitamin D deficiencies, drinking more water and eating well, all can slow disease progression. [The jury's still out on if HRT around the time of menopause may reduce dementia risk](https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanhl/article/PIIS2666-7568(25)00122-9/fulltext) Estrogen can reduce inflammation and support neural growth in the brain, and some research has suggested that beginning hormone replacement therapy around menopause—versus later in life—reduces Alzheimer's disease risk. Still, a recent systematic review concluded that taking HRT didn't affect dementia risk, regardless of when women started taking it, so the science remains unsettled.

The science of spring fever

Researchers have confirmed what people have sensed for ages: Our emotions during the springtime can go a little wild. This piece breaks down the impact of the seasonal transition on our bodies and prescribes a few ways to mitigate the effects.

1 in 15 adults over age 40 experience phantom odors

This phenomenon was measured in a 2018 study that examined the prevalence and risk factors for phantom odor perception. Older adults were less likely to experience these phantom odors as they age, just as their overall sense of smell declines. Women are more likely than men to perceive phantom odors.

Love and heartbreak trigger powerful, neurochemical-driven changes in the body

The feeling of falling in love floods the brain with dopamine, oxytocin and serotonin, which collectively dull pain and boost immunity. However, the loss of these chemicals during a break-up produces withdrawal-like symptoms and heart issues, such as high blood pressure.

The word allergy is partly derived from the Greek word 'allos' for 'other'

For people with allergies, their immune systems recognize substances as a harmful "other"—cuing an inflammatory response. This podcast explores allergy details and related topics, including how scientists are interested in if the same allergic response mechanisms could underpin other health issues, including severe, painful symptoms around the time of menstrual cycles. Since estrogen acts on white blood cells called mast cells, which leads to the release of histamines—similar to what happens during allergic responses—an understudied question is whether the same process is fueling some of the uncomfortable symptoms around menstruation. An allergist guest notes this raises questions about if antihistamine medications like Pepsid might alleviate them, something that hasn't yet been explored in clinical trials.