Psychiatrist: What most women don’t know about their hormones

A top psychiatrist has revealed the reason most women turn to unhealthy habits like drinking alcohol and smoking in their 40s.

Dr. Daniel Amen, a brain scientist from California, explained the biological reasons why women make lifestyle changes in the decade leading up to menopause.

The psychiatrist often shares information that explains a common phenomenon that confuses the general public.

In a recent video, he revealed that the drop in progesterone levels ten years before menopause causes insomnia, anxiety, severe cramps, frequent migraines and irritability.

“Your hormones can make your life better,” the doctor said. “They are extremely important.”

Doctor Daniel Amen [pictured]a brain scientist from California, explained the biological reasons why women make lifestyle changes in the decade before they approach menopause

“An interesting thing about hormone absorption that most women don’t know is that progesterone – which calms you down – starts to drop ten years before women go into menopause.”

The main function of progesterone occurs during a woman’s reproductive years where the hormone prepares the lining of the uterus for a fertilized egg to implant and develop.

Progesterone thickens the uterine lining and is essential for supporting a healthy pregnancy.

But levels drop later in life because the hormone is extremely difficult to make – and isn’t made until after ovulation.

When women stop ovulating in their 40s and begin their anovulatory cycles, the body stops producing progesterone naturally.

“So around the age of forty I noticed that a lot of women start to feel anxious or they have trouble sleeping and they’re more irritable but they don’t understand why.”

He continued: “And then they start drinking more alcohol or smoking more pot – or they end up taking antidepressants and anti-anxiety drugs and sleeping pills.”

“But the best thing for them would be to measure their progesterone levels on day 19 or 20 of their menstrual cycle and talk to their doctor about the best ways to get natural progesterone to regulate their mood.”

Many women in the reviews were unaware of the importance of progesterone.

“I’m thirty-nine and my anxiety has skyrocketed lately and I never sleep,” one woman wrote. “Most doctors don’t trust women and tell us it’s normal when it’s not.”

“Thank you for sharing this information – I am in my 50s and take progesterone every night. I sleep like a baby and have no hot flashes. No alcohol!’