If there were an MVP of hormones within a woman’s body, estrogen would be that player.
This vital hormone can be thought of as the female body’s behind-the-scenes director of operations.
Apart from its involvement in reproductive functions, estrogen ensures that a woman’s bones, brain, heart, and even her skin remain at their healthiest.
But…as women age—specifically as they transition toward menopause—estrogen production declines.
This decline in estrogen production can trigger a cascade of changes within a woman’s body. Changes that can impact her overall health, as well as how she feels.
Let’s take a look at what those specific changes are, as well as what can be done to prevent or reverse them.
Estrogen’s Role Within the Female Body
Let’s start with a quick estrogen overview.
A woman’s body actually produces three different types of estrogen: estrone, estradiol, and estriol.
Estradiol is the strongest of the three estrogens, and for the most part is produced by a woman’s ovaries. This estrogen multi-tasker is involved in many essential bodily functions, including:
- Regulating the menstrual cycle
- Supporting healthy pregnancies
- Keeping bones strong
- Maintaining healthy cholesterol levels
- Supporting brain health
- Keeping skin hydrated and elastic
When Estrogen Declines
For most women, age-related estrogen decline is a gradual process. While it can occur abruptly for some women (particularly in the event of a reproductive surgery like hysterectomy), the vast majority of women will not see a dramatic drop in estrogen production overnight.
Rather, most women will begin to see changes in how they feel during the transitional time we know as perimenopause. Perimenopause often begins during a woman’s late 30s to late 40s, and it generally lasts for several years. In other words, a high percentage of women will spend a significant portion of their 40s in perimenopause.
During perimenopause, the ovaries begin to slow down. Initially, the ovaries stop producing progesterone; but eventually, they also produce increasingly less estradiol, often to varying degrees. These variations in production cause estradiol levels to fluctuate, sometimes wildly.
Fluctuating estradiol levels result in monthly menstrual cycles that become irregular. This irregularity can mean different things for different women. Some women will have periods that are heavier or lighter, while others will have periods that are shorter or longer or further apart or closer together…until eventually, they stop completely.
Once a woman reaches menopause (which is medically defined as not having had a period for a full year), the ovaries have completely stopped producing estradiol.
This overall decline in estradiol has the potential for causing numerous symptoms for women during perimenopause and menopause, ranging from annoying to debilitating. The most common of these include:
- Hot Flashes and Night Sweats
- Vaginal, Urinary Tract, and Pelvic Floor Issues
- Mood Instability
- Insomnia
- Bone Loss
- Skin Changes
- Sexual Dysfunction
Estrogen helps the female body to regulate temperature. A decline in estrogen and/or an imbalance between estrogen and progesterone can cause hot flashes that occur during the day, and night sweats that plague women when they are trying to sleep.
Estrogen ensures that the tissues within the vagina, the urinary tract, and the entire pelvic floor remain healthy. As estrogen drops, women will often experience vaginal dryness and atrophy, an increased risk for developing urinary tract infections (UTIs), urinary leakage, vaginal prolapse, and other genitourinary challenges.
Declining estrogen can interfere with the brain’s production of serotonin, a hormone essential for regulating mood. The result can be mood swings, depression, and irritability.
Lower serotonin levels (as noted above) can also negatively impact sleep. Apart from helping a woman’s brain to settle down at night, serotonin also helps to regulate sleep cycles. With low serotonin occurring as a consequence of low estrogen, insomnia becomes more likely when estrogen is deficient.
As women age, diminished estrogen production can result in lower bone density, which means an increased risk for developing osteopenia or osteoporosis.
Estrogen is involved in the production of collagen, which is relevant to skin health because collagen keeps skin firm and flexible. It follows that diminished estrogen production will mean diminished skin elasticity.
As noted above, estrogen deficiency can cause vaginal dryness and atrophy, which can cause sex to be uncomfortable, or even painful. Low estrogen levels can also negatively impact sex drive, as well as a woman’s ability to orgasm.