What Supplements Are Best For Perimenopause? Here’s The Protocol Your Need

Perimenopause is about much more than hot flashes and irregular periods. The hormonal changes that happen during this transition can have a ripple effect throughout the body, influencing muscle mass, sleep quality, cardiovascular health, and even cognitive function.

It's also a time when some of your wellness priorities may need to evolve. Supporting muscle maintenance, getting restorative sleep, and prioritizing heart health become increasingly important as you move through your 40s and beyond.

While strength training (ideally at least two times a week, if not more) is crucial, taking a creatine supplement can help your muscles get even more out of those workouts.

A comprehensive review of creatine supplementation and women's health1 states that supplementation is beneficial at every life stage—particularly for enhancing strength, building muscle, and even losing fat.* Overall, these positive changes in body composition support long-term metabolic health (like blood sugar balance and weight management). 

Estrogen plays several important roles in cardiovascular function, including helping maintain healthy blood vessel function and influencing cholesterol metabolism. As estrogen levels fluctuate during perimenopause and decline after menopause, women may experience changes in cholesterol levels, triglycerides, and blood pressure. These shifts make it especially important to prioritize heart-healthy habits, including omega-3 fats like EPA and DHA.

These fats support normal cardiovascular function and healthy inflammatory responses. DHA is also an important structural component of brain cells, making omega-3s valuable for cognitive health.*

Fatty fish like salmon, sardines, mackerel, and herring are some of the richest dietary sources of EPA and DHA. The American Heart Association recommends eating two servings of fish per week2, which is a great starting point for overall health. However, consistently reaching higher daily intakes of these specific fatty acids can be challenging through diet alone.

Sleep disturbances are incredibly common during this phase of life. Research estimates that anywhere from 16% to 47% of women experience sleep struggles during perimenopause, with prevalence increasing to 35% to 60% during menopause.

Hormonal fluctuations can contribute to night sweats, frequent awakenings, and difficulty falling or staying asleep. And when you're consistently missing out on quality rest, it can affect everything from your mood to your energy levels.

And that’s where magnesium can help. It plays a role in nervous system regulation and interacts with gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA), a neurotransmitter involved in relaxation and sleep regulation. Some research also suggests magnesium supplementation may help improve subjective sleep quality.*

As many people don’t get enough magnesium through diet alone, adding a supplement to your routine can be quite helpful.

Multivitamins are the most commonly taken supplement3 for a reason. They provide an array of vitamins, minerals, and even some plant antioxidants that support your daily nutritional needs. For example, multis that provide a complete B complex support cellular energy.* Some multis provide 100% or more of the daily value for vitamin D (if your vitamin D is low, that can impact mood, sleep, and even blood sugar).

mindbodygreen's peri/menopause support bundle brings together four targeted formulas to support muscle health, restorative sleep, cardiovascular function, and foundational nutrition.*

And the support goes beyond supplementation. The bundle also includes access to the peri/menopause+ course, featuring seven on-demand modules (approximately five hours of content) led by OB-GYNs Jaime Seeman, M.D., and Jila Senemar, M.D., FACOG, orthopedic surgeon Vonda Wright, M.D., and other women's health experts.