A garden nap station may prove particularly effective for women, as Dr Louise Newson points out that time spent outdoors is 'good for both body and mind and can be of real benefit during the perimenopause and menopause'.
'I recently surveyed 1,100 perimenopausal and menopausal women about gardening, and almost one in five (17%) said gardening and spending time in nature led to an improvement in their menopause symptoms,' she says. 'Four out of five (81%) said gardening made them calmer and three quarters (76%) felt happier as a result.'
'In addition to the mental health benefits, gardening is also a form of activity: half an hour of gardening burns about 160 calories for an 11-stone person,' continues Dr Newson. 'Plus heavy gardening, like digging, helps build strength, which is important for bone health, as the risk of developing osteoporosis increases after the menopause.'
'Exercise can also improve sleep quality and duration too. If it’s been a while since you did any exercise, why not try some gardening or outdoor exercise for a couple of weeks and track how it impacts your sleep (my free balance menopause app has a sleep tracker) and you should see the benefits.'