Menopause symptoms & lifestyle factors you might be overlooking

Is your environment secretly sabbotaging your health?

If menopause feels like your tolerance for life has dropped off a cliff, you’re not imagining it.

Midlife is when everything seems to pile up at once. Hormones are shifting, sleep is lighter, stress hits harder, energy is patchy. Your brain feels busier but less effective. Small things tip you over the edge.

This is where menopause symptoms and lifestyle factors start to collide. What often gets missed is that your body can feel genuinely overwhelmed in midlife. (Obviously) broken - you're not a toster. Not 'failing', as such, either. Just carrying more than it used to.

Most women never get told to take care of their liver (even when they're not a heavy drinker). Here's why that's a mistake

In menopause, your liver has a lot more on its plate. It’s responsible for processing and clearing used hormones, including oestrogen. It helps manage inflammation. It deals with alcohol, medications, supplements, blood sugar swings, stress hormones, poor sleep, and the by-products of modern living.

Now add in environmental exposure: cleaning products, fragrances, plastics, air pollution, pesticides, new furniture smells (I kinda like that, not gonna lie - even though I know it's bad), laundry products, skincare, and even dust.

Individually, none of these seem dramatic. Collectively, they add to your overall load. In midlife, that load matters more.

When your system is already stretched by hormonal change, these inputs can tip things into fatigue, brain fog, headaches, poor sleep, bloating, weight resistance and that wired-but-tired feeling so many women describe.

Why we look in the wrong places first

Most women I meet think about their health in a very familiar order.

First, pharmaceuticals. Is there a pill, patch, supplement or potion that might help?

Then food. Maybe I need to eat better, cut something out, be more disciplined.

Then lifestyle.I should probably exercise more, stress less, sleep better.

Almost nobody starts with their environment.

Yet environment is one of the quietest but most powerful lifestyle factors affecting menopause symptoms. It influences how hard your liver has to work.It affects inflammation levels.It shapes cravings, energy and stress tolerance.It either supports your body or adds to the background noise it’s already trying to manage. This is why two women can eat similarly, exercise similarly and take similar supplements, yet feel very different in menopause. One has a lower overall load. The other is running on empty while juggling too many inputs.

Reducing your toxic load in menopause

This is not about perfection or living in a bubble This isn’t about fear-mongering or throwing everything out. You don’t need to live off-grid or turn into the person who brings their own cutlery everywhere. No one has the bandwidth for that. Especially in menopause.

This is about awareness.

When you understand how menopause symptoms and lifestyle factors interact, you can make small changes that reduce pressure on your system. Less load, less overwhelm and more capacity for the things that actually move the needle. And this is where environment becomes part of the menopause conversation, not an afterthought.

How your kitchen environment shapes menopause symptoms -completely under the radar

Your kitchen is not neutral. In midlife, it decides how easy or exhausting food feels, how steady your energy is, and whether you feel calm and in control… or permanently one snack away from losing the plot.

When menopause symptoms and lifestyle factors collide, the kitchen is often where things unravel. Not because you lack willpower, but because decision-making bandwidth is lower than it used to be. Hormones affect appetite signals, blood sugar tolerance, stress hormones and reward chemistry. Add tiredness and a busy brain and suddenly food choices feel weirdly emotional.

This is why environment matters more than motivation.

When your kitchen works with you, eating well feels fairly straightforward. When it works against you, every decision feels like effort and everything takes longer than it should.

Why menopause makes food decisions harder

In menopause, blood sugar becomes less forgiving. Miss meals, under-eat protein, or live off beige snacks and your energy dips faster, cravings shout louder, and mood wobbles more dramatically.

At the same time, stress hormones are already elevated, which makes your brain more likely to reach for quick comfort and less likely to pause and think things through.

So if your kitchen is set up for grazing, grabbing and guessing, it will amplify menopause symptoms. Not because you’re doing anything wrong, but because the environment is cueing behaviours your body is already more sensitive to.

This is where small tweaks make a disproportionate difference.

Put supportive foods where your eyes land first

We are very visual creatures, especially when tired.

What you see first is what your brain assumes is the easiest option. If the first thing you spot is biscuits, cereal bars or half a chocolate bar staring at you like it’s got something to say, that’s where your hand will go.

If fruit, yoghurt, leftovers, chopped veg, dips or protein pots are front and centre, those suddenly become the default.

Same woman. Same hormones. Different outcome.

Create a ready-to-eat zone

Menopause brains do not want admin.

A shelf or box containing easy, supportive options removes friction. Things like cooked grains, roasted veg, boiled eggs, hummus, nuts, cheese, yoghurt or leftovers that are already portioned.

This is not about being virtuous. It’s about making the better option the easier option, especially at that point in the afternoon where everything feels slightly annoying.

Hide the foods you’re trying not to eat on autopilot

You don’t need to ban anything. You just don’t need to see everything.

Putting biscuits, crisps or chocolate in opaque containers or higher cupboards reduces impulsive snacking without you having to “be good”. Out of sight doesn’t mean forbidden. It just means your brain gets a break.

Make hydration ridiculously obvious

Dehydration can masquerade as hunger, fatigue and irritability, all of which already show up enthusiastically in menopause.

A filled water bottle left on the counter or desk massively increases how much you drink, without you needing to remember or make decisions. This one change alone can improve energy and headaches more than people expect.

Revisit food storage with menopause in mind

Glass or stainless steel containers are a quiet win here.

They reduce exposure to hormone-disrupting chemicals and make leftovers more visible, which means they’re more likely to be eaten rather than forgotten and replaced with toast.

They also have a strange psychological effect of making food feel more intentional and finished, rather than like something you’ll “sort out later”.

Clear a little visual noise

Busy counters create busy brains.

If every surface is covered in appliances, paperwork, supplements, half-used jars and random objects with no fixed home, your brain has more to process before you even start cooking.

You don’t need a minimalist kitchen. Just fewer things shouting at you at once.

A quick reset of the main prep area can make cooking feel calmer and more manageable, which matters when menopause already makes everything feel louder.

Why this helps menopause symptoms

When your kitchen environment supports steady blood sugar, easier decisions and calmer cues, menopause symptoms often feel less intense. Energy is steadier.Cravings are quieter.Food feels less charged.You feel more capable and less reactive. Not because you tried harder, but because the environment stopped asking so much of you.

Ready to go a bit deeper into this? Here's where we're headed: how your wider home setup affects routines like movement, sleep and self-care, and why menopause brains need cues more than motivation.

Designing your home to support movement, sleep and self-care in menopause

In midlife, motivation becomes unreliable. Not because you suddenly don’t care, but because menopause brains are already doing a lot. Processing hormones. Managing stress. Remembering everyone else’s needs. Holding the mental load of work, family and life admin. So if your home relies on you having energy, enthusiasm and spare cognitive bandwidth to do the “right” thing, it’s asking too much.

This is where environment becomes quietly powerful.

Habits don’t happen because you’re a good person. They happen because something nudges you in the right direction at the right moment. In menopause, those nudges matter more than ever.

Your home is full of cues, whether you realise it or not. Some support you. Some trip you up.

Menopause brains need cues, not pep talks

In menopause, follow-through often drops before intention does. You still want to move more, sleep better, look after yourself. It just feels harder to make it happen consistently.

This is where designing your environment to reduce friction makes a real difference. When the cue is obvious and the effort is low, the habit is more likely to happen, even on tired, hormonal, slightly grumpy days.

Keep movement cues visible and easy

If walking shoes live by the door, you are far more likely to go for a short walk without overthinking it. If they are buried in a cupboard upstairs, the moment passes.

The same goes for exercise equipment. Resistance bands, dumbbells or a yoga mat placed where you actually spend time act as gentle reminders. When they’re out of sight, they may as well not exist.

This is not about turning your living room into a gym. It’s about lowering the barrier between intention and action.

Create a morning routine station

Menopause mornings can feel oddly fragile. Sleep hasn’t been great. Energy is unpredictable. Decision-making is slower.

Having everything you use in the morning in one place removes unnecessary effort. Supplements, teas, breakfast ingredients, a journal, whatever supports you starting the day well.

The fewer steps involved, the more likely the routine sticks. Especially on weekdays when life starts before your brain has fully woken up.

Set the scene for better sleep

Sleep in menopause is easily disrupted. Light, noise, screens, stress and late-night scrolling all play a role.

Creating a calmer evening environment helps your brain wind down more effectively. Softer lighting. Fewer devices. A book that doesn’t involve murders, plot twists or adrenaline.

A tidy bedside table, a charger outside the bedroom and a clear signal that the day is closing down all support better sleep cues. This is not about perfection, just about consistency.

Use habit stacking to make self-care happen without thinking

Habit stacking means attaching a new behaviour to something you already do.

For example, stretching for two minutes while the kettle boils. Stepping outside for daylight after closing your laptop. Taking supplements while making breakfast instead of trying to remember them later.

These small pairings reduce mental effort and increase follow-through, which is exactly what menopause brains need.

Make the things you want less of slightly harder

If there are habits you are trying to reduce, adding gentle friction helps without relying on willpower.

Charging your phone in another room makes late-night scrolling less automatic. Keeping snack foods out of immediate reach reduces grazing without banning anything.

You’re not removing choice. You’re just giving your brain a pause.

Why this matters for menopause symptoms

When your home environment supports movement, rest and self-care without constant decision-making, your nervous system gets a break.

Stress hormones settle more easily, sleep improves, and energy feels more predictable. More than that, healthy behaviours stop feeling like another item on you already giant to-do list. This is not about discipline but about designing life so you don't have to fight quite so hard at this stage of life.

Hold onto your trousers, because next we'll look at visual clutter, mental overload and why too much “stuff” can quietly amplify menopause symptoms more than you’d expect.

Visual clutter, mental overload & menopause overwhelm

If menopause has made you feel more easily overwhelmed, distracted or snappy, your hormones are part of the story. Your surroundings are the other part that rarely gets the blame. Hear me out because I know this will land.

Midlife brains are already working harder than they used to. Processing hormonal shifts. Managing stress. Juggling responsibilities. Holding all your sh1t together (and being the major stakeholder in all that relentelss mummy admin) is exhausting.

When your environment is visually noisy on top of that, it adds to the sense that your head is full before the day has even started. This is not about being tidy or organised in a Pinterest-perfect way. It’s about how much your brain is being asked to process in the background. Amirite?

Why clutter hits harder in menopause

Your brain is constantly scanning your environment, even when you’re not consciously aware of it. Every object, pile, unfinished task or out-of-place item is a tiny demand on your attention.

In menopause, your capacity to filter that out is lower. Research in cognitive psychology shows that cluttered environments increase mental load, reduce focus and make decision-making harder. Stress hormones rise more easily in chaotic spaces, while self-regulation drops. That matters when you’re already more sensitive to stress, fatigue and blood sugar swings.

This is why clutter can make menopause symptoms feel louder. And why your teens need to tidy the hell up after themselves.

(Just me?)

Not because clutter is bad. But because your brain is already doing a lot of invisible work.

Here's what this looks like in real life

A kitchen counter covered in paperwork, appliances, half-used jars and “I’ll deal with that later” items makes preparing food feel more of a drag than it needs to.

A bedside table piled with books, chargers, supplements and random objects can subtly interfere with winding down, even if you don’t consciously notice it.

A desk cluttered with notes, cables and unfinished tasks increases the likelihood of procrastination, fatigue and that vague sense of being behind.

None of this is in and of itself a dealbreaker. But menopause is rarely about one dramatic thing. It’s about accumulation.

How small resets lower menopause overwhelm

You do not need to declutter your entire house. That would be wildly unrealistic and deeply irritating. What helps is reducing visual noise in the places that matter most. Like the kitchen counter where you prepare food, the bedside table where you start and end your day, and the space where you work or sit most often. Clearing just those surfaces removes a surprising amount of mental background chatter. Two minutes is enough.

Putting things back where they belong.

Moving unfinished tasks out of sight. Giving your eyes fewer things to land on. This creates a calmer backdrop for your routines and makes everyday decisions feel simpler. Cooking feels less effortful. Rest feels more accessible. Focus improves without you trying harder.

Why this matters for menopause symptoms

When visual clutter is reduced, your nervous system gets more breathing room. Stress hormones are not constantly nudged upwards. Mental fatigue eases. Decision-making feels less draining.

For women in menopause, this can translate into steadier energy, better sleep and fewer moments of feeling inexplicably overwhelmed.

Not because life suddenly becomes calm and serene, but because your environment stops adding unnecessary pressure.

We can't talk brain space without going somewhere you may be fearful of treading (and believe me, I'm so sorry)... Yep, your social and digital environment, and why who and what you’re exposed to every day can quietly influence menopause symptoms more than most people realise.

Your social and digital environment in menopause (this one really matters)

When women think about menopause symptoms and lifestyle factors, they rarely put people and screens on the list. Food, yes. Exercise, maybe. Stress, vaguely. But who and what you’re exposed to every day often gets overlooked. Which is interesting, because this is where a lot of menopause overwhelm quietly comes from.

In midlife, your tolerance for noise, nonsense and emotional labour is lower. Again, not because you’ve become difficult, but because your nervous system is already doing more work than it used to. Hormonal shifts affect how you process stress, emotion and stimulation, which means your social and digital environments can either support you or drain you without asking permission. Far fewer f**ks are given and this is both as it should be and completely necessary in your menopaue era.

The people around you matter more than you think

Supportive relationships make menopause easier to navigate. Hardly a newsflash - rather, a reminder if you need to have a bit of a tidy up in this area. People who respect your boundaries, understand that you’re tired, and don’t question every change you’re trying to make create a sense of safety. That safety helps regulate stress hormones, sleep and energy.

On the flip side, relationships that are dismissive, demanding or emotionally heavy can amplify menopause symptoms. Constant pressure to explain yourself, justify your choices or keep up appearances takes energy your body does not have to spare. This doesn’t mean cutting people out of your life or having dramatic confrontations (although it might account for the uptick in divorce in midlife. Just saying). It means noticing where your energy feels supported and where it quietly leaks away.

Workplace culture counts too

Many women find menopause symptoms feel worse in environments where breaks are skipped, meals are rushed, stress is constant and productivity is prioritised over basic needs. Unpredictable schedules, long screen hours and a culture of pushing through can all make it harder to maintain steady blood sugar, good sleep and emotional balance.

Even small changes, like protecting lunch breaks, stepping outside for daylight or creating clearer boundaries around availability, can reduce pressure on your system.

Your digital environment is not neutral either

Phones, apps and constant notifications place a constant demand on your attention. Add in comparison culture, alarming headlines and well-meaning but contradictory health advice, and it’s no wonder menopause brains feel overstimulated. Scrolling late at night disrupts sleep cues. Doom-scrolling raises stress hormones. Consuming endless “you should be doing this” content increases that familiar midlife sense of never quite getting it right.

Curating your digital environment is a form of menopause self-care.

That might mean muting accounts that leave you feeling worse, turning off non-essential notifications, or being more intentional about when and how you consume information.

Community and accountability help menopause symptoms settle

Humans regulate better in connection. Supportive communities, coaching relationships or simply feeling understood can reduce stress and increase consistency with healthy routines.

This is something I see time and again when I'm working with clients. We might start by talking about food or energy, but meaningful change usually happens once we look at the wider picture. The relationships, the expectations, the pressures and the unspoken rules shaping someone’s daily life. Menopause does not happen in isolation. It happens in the context of everything else.

Bringing it all together

Although at points in our little convo here, I have been a little flippant, the experience is very real for many women and if some of the points I've made struck home, now would be a good time to think of ONE thing you could do (not more; I recognise the irony in adding to the overload).

When we talk about environment in menopause, it helps to think in layers.

Your home environment.Your internal environment.Your social environment.Your digital environment. Each layer influences how you feel, what feels easy, and what feels exhausting. A healthier environment does not have to be perfect. It just needs to support you a little more than it drains you. Even small adjustments can lower stress, steady energy and reduce that constant sense of being overwhelmed. And in menopause, that can make all the difference.

So, here's my question (and I find myself saying this a lot to myself): what is the minimal viable proposition? What's the smallest thing I can do here that might make a difference? Before you disappear off to pop the kettle on, just take a second to work out what that one thing is.

Another thing you could do today is to grab my free guide to thriving in menopause. You can get it using the link I'll post for you in a second. I'm also going to be straight with you and say the biggest change will come through coaching, working with someone (like me, just saying) who is properly and appropriately trained in nutrition and lifestyle as well as behaviour change and coaching. Want to explore what that might look like with me (no obligation)? Look at how we can work together here and choose what's right for you. And that book? You can get it here. And - finally - if you've not already got your copy of my #1 Amazon bestseller Everything They Told You About Menopause Weight Loss Is Wrong, what are you waiting for???