Posts Tagged "physical activity"

Sleep and menopause: four’s a charm

Posted by Liz on Dec 28, 2009 in sleep disturbance | 0 comments

Daytime sleepiness? Researchers say that being in menopause, hot flashes, lack of physical activity and your partner might be the culprits. No surprises, right?

In a study appearing in the advanced online edition of the  journal Maturitas, 149 women  between the ages of 40 and 59 rated the frequency and intensity of their hot flashes and were evaluated for daytime sleepiness.At least half had hot flashes, of which about 43% were rated as very severe.

Not only did hot flashes increase the risk for daytime sleepiness by 2.6 fold, but, being postmenopausal increased it by as much as 6.5-fold. Being sedentary was associated with 3.4 times the risk for daytime sleepiness. What’s more having a partner that was not faithful was associated with an increase in risk by as much as 53%.

The good news is that most of these factors, save for being menopausal, can be modified or at least addressed to improve nighttime sleep and by default, decrease feelings of sleepiness during the daytime. If you feel unusually sleepy most of the time, it’s a great idea to speak to a healthcare practitioner who is helping you to manage your symptoms. There may be some important and effective steps you can take.

Battle of the middle-aged bulge: pick your poison

Posted by Liz on Nov 27, 2009 in memory/learning, menopause, weight | 4 comments

That age old battle of the bulge just got more challenging.. Researchers are saying that middle-aged women who store fat around their mid section are twice as likely as their peers to develop dementia in old age. Yikes! More reason than ever to lose that belly fat, right?

Starting in 1960, researchers looked healthy and lifestyle risk factors in 1,462 women and then at various intervals for 32 years. They found that women who were broader around the waist than the hips by the time they reached middle-aged more than twice the odds of developing dementia if they lived beyond 70 years. However, a higher body-mass index did not infer a similar risk.

Whether it’s associated with aging, testosterone or declining physical activity, weight gain around the midsection has been linked with the metabolic syndrome, which increases your risk for heart attack and stroke.

So, we’re left with a choice – heart attack, stroke or losing our minds….Or, better yet, move your body. Exercise, start eating healthier and being more mindful of what’s going in and what you are putting out. Granted, we may not be able to fight the inevitable but we can at least try to stave it off or control it as much as possible. The bulge around the middle is the hardest area to attack. But it’s not impossible.

I’d love to get some fitness experts to weigh in on this. Anyone?

Balancing act

Posted by Liz on May 22, 2009 in exercise | 1 comment

We all know that aging is associated with a decline in balance. But can it also foretell a decline in muscle strength? Apparently so. At least in so far as hormones go.

Reporting in the Publish Ahead of Print issue of Menopause, researchers say that the stage of menopause can predict your physical prowess. 979 women between the ages of 43 and 57 underwent evaluations for flexibility (stand and reach, sit and reach), muscle strength (grip and pinch) and balance (one legged standing with eyes open or closed) to determine their physical performance. Among the study participants, 44.4% were premenopausal, 25.8% in perimenopause and 29.7% in postmenopause.

While the results did not reveal any differences in flexibility among the women, they did show that women in perimenopause or postmenopause had significantly weaker grip strengths than their premenopausal peers. What’s more, their ability to stand and balance was significantly shorter by approximately 20 seconds. These differences remained even after the researchers adjusted for factors that might skew the results.

Life is undoubtedly a balancing act and trying to squeeze an exercise regimen into an otherwise overcrowded life can be difficult. However, this study suggests that the earlier we engage in physical activity, the more likely it is that we can overcome some of the inevabilities of menopause.

The BOSU® trainer is a relatively affordable and low-impact way to build core strength and improve overall balance. Personally, I’ve been using it for years now and have experienced a noticeable difference. My dad, who is 82, also uses the BOSU and likes it immensely.  Tai Chi may also help to promote balance while also reducing stress. Grip strength can be tackled through exercises that strengthen the forearms, e.g., squeezing a tennis ball or forearm curls. An intensive listing of forearm exercises can be found here, although like any physical activity, it’s best to speak to a trainer or a healthcare professional before embarking on any new activity.

I am a firm believer in an ounce of prevention. The earlier we start using, the later we start losing. In this case, more is less for sure!

Wednesday Bubble: Restraint is the new black

Posted by Liz on Jan 7, 2009 in exercise, weight | 5 comments

Taking a restrained approach to eating may help to keep extra pounds and body fat away in middle age.

Sounds pretty dicey right? Especially since conscious restriction of calories has long been thought to lead to loss of control and binge eating.

Yet, results of a novel study published in the January 3 issue of the American Journal of Health Promotion suggest that women in midlife who do not restrict their eating have more than twice the risk of gaining substantial amount of weight than their peers who do.

In this study, researchers from Brigham Young University followed 192 women (mean age 40+3 years) over a three-year period, tracking their body weight, body fat, energy intake and physical activity at regular intervals.

Over the entire study period, and compared to their peers, women who did not restrain their eating had:

• a 69% greater risk of gaining more than 2.2 pounds
• a 138% greater risk of gaining more than 6.6 pounds
• a 49% greater risk of gaining more than 1% point in overall body fat

What’s more, the risk remained despite adjustments for age, weight, restrained eating, caloric intake and physical activity at the start of the study, and changes in caloric intake and physical activity during the study.

The researchers concluded that women who do not become more restrained in their eating habits or become more prone to emotional eating, are likely to gain both weight and body fat over a relatively short period of time.

While these data seem counterintuitive to a healthy relationship with food, the message is clear:  because our metabolism slows in midlife, we either have to cut calories or increase physical activity (or both).

Keep in mind, however, that any major change in your diet or exercise requires a conversation with a healthcare practitioner and certified trainer to insure that you are on the right track, and not heading into the injury jungle.

Makes sense, right?

Last year, I wrote a post about the need to move your body AND restrict caloric intake.  In fact, if you click on the word “exercise” in the tag cloud, you can access quite a bit of information about exercise during the menopause.