If that nightly glass of wine or happy hour social is hitting a lot harder as you approach your 40s, it's not all in your head. Hormonal changes during menopause and andropause can cause uncomfortable symptoms like sleep disruption and low energy levels as well as metabolic changes. Consuming alcohol during these stages of life can make these symptoms even worse.
Fortunately, there are lifestyle changes you can make to help minimize and manage the symptoms of changing hormones. Read below to learn more about normal health changes that occur with andropause, perimenopause, and menopause, the impact that alcohol can have on such changes, and how you can reduce and manage symptoms with simple healthy lifestyle changes.
Normal Aging Changes
As we approach our 40s and 50s, both men and women experience changes in energy levels, sleep quality, and metabolic changes. For men in andropause, when testosterone levels decline they can experience low energy levels, disruptions in sleep, lower muscle mass, as well as increases in fat deposition in the body.
In perimenopause, women experience hormonal shifts in estrogen with estradiol levels starting to decrease. These hormonal shifts can lead to low energy levels, mood swings, sleep disruptions, and difficulty in managing weight. When a woman reaches menopause, these changes seen in perimenopause are enhanced. Not to mention that hot flashes and night sweats make it even harder to sleep soundly. These hormonal shifts in aging men and women can be further enhanced by alcohol.
Alcohol Intake and Aging
Effects of Alcohol on Those With Perimenopause and Menopause
Experts at the Mayo Clinic suggest that as we age, it’s important to manage alcohol intake to help reduce the risk of worsening age-related symptoms. For example, women in menopause already experience sleep disruptions from night sweats and hot flashes, and alcohol can further interfere with sleep quality.
In addition, the liver becomes less efficient at breaking down alcohol as we age. As a result, alcohol may be eliminated more slowly from the body. Since the liver is also responsible for metabolizing hormones such as estrogen, alcohol can disrupt this process, potentially increasing hormone-related symptoms of perimenopause and menopause.
Studies also show that women in menopause are significantly more likely to develop nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) than premenopausal women, even when consuming moderate amounts of alcohol. This is partly because the body becomes less efficient at metabolizing fat in the liver when estrogen levels decline.
Effects of Alcohol on Those With Andropause
Alcohol intake can also significantly affect men. Research indicates that acute alcohol consumption can reduce testosterone levels. When combined with the natural decline in testosterone that occurs during andropause, alcohol may intensify hormone-related symptoms and make these changes more noticeable.
Other Effects of Alcohol on the Aging Body
Age-related decreases in lean body mass and total body water can cause alcohol to remain in the system longer. Additionally, alcohol interacts with hormones such as GLP-1 in ways that may make weight loss more difficult, particularly during midlife.
Taking all of these factors into account—along with alcohol’s ability to increase systemic inflammation, which is already more common with aging—health experts recommend that both women and men in midlife consume as little alcohol as possible. In fact, current research suggests that, for both males and females, there is no established health benefit to drinking alcohol.
Managing Aging Symptoms
The best way to increase one's quality of life as we get into our 40s and 50s is to manage those symptoms that impact quality of life such as sleep disruptions, fatigue, and inflammation. In order to manage such symptoms, if not improve them, it is important to make lifestyle changes that you can maintain for life.
Examples of such healthy aging lifestyle changes include:
🥦 Adopting a healthy diet full of antioxidants from fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and legumes as well as fatty fish like salmon.
🛏 Establishing a bedtime routine each night to ensure you sleep at least 7 hours a night. You can try hanging blackout curtains in your room, diffusing essential oils like lavender to support relaxation, or reduce screen time at least an hour before bed. Also, be sure not to consume a heavy meal three hours before bedtime or consume too much liquid a few hours before bed to reduce risk of sleep disruption. If these things don't work, then it's time to visit the doctor to see if there may be an underlying health condition that is impacting your sleep.
👟 Moving more each day since exercising can actually help increase your energy levels over time. Even just walking, yoga, or cleaning the house can help support your heart and overall health.
☀️ Managing stress to help improve the symptoms of aging. If you are feeling stressed often, it is important to find an outlet for your stress such as a hobby, talk therapy, socializing, or volunteering.
Finding purpose by volunteering in the community or caring for a pet, family member, or friend can help improve your quality of life and reduce stress and inflammation over time.
As you get older, hormones can change and make it harder to do the things that we once did easily, including exercising and sleeping through the night. Alcohol, which is used by some people to take the edge off, can actually make symptoms of aging and quality of life worse.
Therefore, it's important that instead of using alcohol as a coping mechanism for stress, to instead focus your energy on improving your diet, moving more, and getting out in the community to help lower inflammation. These simple changes can in turn improve the symptoms of aging, and over time can make your life more golden as the years go by.
