Lifestyle Changes for Menopause Electric Shock, Numbness & Tingling
What can you change to help with menopause electric shock and nerve pain?
Exercise those extremities
Improve your blood flow and circulation by staying active and exercising regularly. Swimming, Pilates, cycling or a brisk twenty-minute walk are perfect to increase your heart rate and improve circulation. Diet and exercise together can help fight off menopause pins and needles, nerve pain and numbness in your extremities.
Check out our video series of Simple Menopause Exercises.
If you have constant tingling, consult your doctor before increasing activity levels.
Fight fatigue
Your menopause fatigue may lead to muscle tension, affecting nerves and causing tingling, and pins and needles. Top up your energy tank; eat well, get on top of your sleep, drink plenty of water, and exercise. Being tired increases feelings of anxiety and stress, which in turn increases fatigue. Yes, it’s regularly recommended, but there’s tons of research confirming that Pilates and yoga help with relaxation and relieve stress. Check out our video – Menopause Relaxation & Breathing Exercises.
Good posture
Maintaining good posture will lessen pressure on your nerves reducing the chance of numbness or nerve pain. Pilates and yoga are both great forms of exercise to benefit your posture and for helping to release pinched nerves. Alexander Technique helps you to change your ways so that you can improve your posture, look online to find a local instructor.
Massage your menopause symptoms
Massage can help with circulation to ease or prevent tingling and menopause nerve pain. You can massage your feet and hands using marjoram, or wild orange essential oil. Or try oils containing capsaicin, the chemical that gives chilli its heat, for a more intense effect, best when diluted with a carrier oil.
Menopause cold feet and a warm bottle
You wouldn’t normally associate menopause with feeling cold, but hormone levels can affect circulation causing a drop in body temperature, so feet and hands get cold, triggering tingling. Keep a hot water bottle handy to warm up your feet and hands.
Can diet help with menopause electric shock and nerve pain?
Supporting your body with appropriate nutrients and eating a balanced diet can potentially help your menopausal nerve pain and electric shock sensations. Maybe you don’t always have time to cook from scratch but where possible try to incorporate some of these foods into your diet.
Omega-3 fatty acids Research from Queen Mary, University of London suggests it may have the potential to protect nerves from injury and help them to regenerate. Found in oily fish such as salmon, mackerel, sardines, and kippers and in walnuts, milled linseed, and pumpkin seeds.
Vitamin B deficiency may contribute to tingling. To up your intake of B1,5 and 12, eat more, oily fish, chia and sunflower seeds, mushrooms, and avocados.
Vitamin C – as our bodies don’t store this vitamin very well, we need some every day, including more fresh fruits such as strawberries, blackcurrants, oranges and orange juice, red and green peppers, broccoli, and Brussels sprouts.
Vitamin E is a fat-soluble antioxidant found in avocados, tomatoes, sweet potatoes, squash, broccoli, spinach, watercress, Brussels sprouts, blackberries, and mangoes
Phytoestrogens raise natural oestrogen levels in our bodies to help balance hormones. Found in soybeans, tofu, tempeh, miso soup, rye, milled golden linseed (flaxseed), sesame seeds, berries, oats, lentils, yams, alfalfa, pomegranates, apples, and carrots
Magnesium helps maintain muscle and nerve function and regulates our blood sugar levels and blood pressure. Eat soybeans, oatmeal, lentils, cashews, peanut butter, spinach, and halibut.
Potassium helps regulate water retention. Avocados, spinach, sweet potatoes, and watermelon are some of the best sources.
What foods can make menopause tingles worse?
That old adage ‘you are what you eat’ is never truer than when it comes to your perimenopause electric shock sensations, tingling, nerve pain, and pins and needles. Start taking control of your menopause paraesthesia by cutting out or avoiding certain food groups and looking at habits that may trigger your menopause symptoms.
Saturated fats: a build-up of fats in your blood vessels can affect blood circulation in your hands and feet, causing tingling or pins and needles. UK guidelines say that the average woman should eat no more than 20g a day. Foods high in saturated fats include your go-to biscuits, cakes, pastries, and savoury snacks. Check labels, using the traffic light system to ensure you’re not in the red zone. Eat lean meats, legumes, fruit, and vegetables. Better to grill, steam or bake foods rather than frying.
Caffeine: Excessive consumption may cause muscle spasms and nerve pain. If you are sensitive to caffeine, try cutting it out to see if there’s any improvement.
Alcohol: has a negative effect on your nervous system, it can cause nerve damage and may increase stress levels, another reason to cut it out or reduce in quantity.
Keep hydrated
Dehydration can cause a sensation of pins and needles as sodium levels drop. As prevention is better than cure, drink water. It’s recommended that you consume between 6-8 glasses a day, you can include herbal teas in the mix.
Stop smoking!
Smoking decreases the levels of oestrogen which can impact nerve receptors and constricts blood vessels which may cause tingles.