Is Circuit Training Good for Perimenopause Mood?
Learn how circuit training improves mood during perimenopause through endorphins, serotonin, and stress reduction. Practical tips included.
Mood Changes in Perimenopause
Mood changes are among the most disruptive symptoms of perimenopause and among the most likely to go unaddressed. Women describe a spectrum of experiences: irritability that seems disproportionate to circumstances, low mood that is not quite depression but is far from wellbeing, anxiety that arrives without obvious cause, and emotional volatility that feels out of character. These experiences are not simply stress or midlife psychology. They have a clear hormonal basis. Oestrogen modulates the production and activity of serotonin, dopamine, and norepinephrine, the neurotransmitters most closely involved in mood regulation. As oestrogen fluctuates during perimenopause, these systems are disrupted. Progesterone, which has calming, GABA-like effects on the nervous system, also declines and fluctuates, contributing to anxiety and sleep disruption. Understanding that mood changes are physiologically driven is important because it reframes exercise not as a willpower exercise but as a direct neurological intervention.
How Circuit Training Affects Brain Chemistry
Circuit training influences mood through multiple neurochemical pathways. The most immediate is the endorphin release that follows moderate to intense exercise. Endorphins are the body's endogenous opioids, producing a sense of wellbeing and pain relief. The endorphin response to exercise is well established and is one reason people describe feeling genuinely better after a workout even when they started the session reluctantly. Beyond endorphins, exercise increases the release and sensitivity of serotonin and dopamine, the neurotransmitters that are most depleted by perimenopause's hormonal shifts. Regular aerobic and resistance exercise has been shown in multiple studies to reduce symptoms of depression and anxiety to an extent comparable with antidepressant medication in women with mild to moderate symptoms. For perimenopausal mood changes, circuit training provides a neurochemical complement to whatever other management strategies you are using.
The Cortisol and Stress Response
Cortisol dysregulation plays a significant role in perimenopausal mood disturbance. The normal cortisol pattern, high in the morning to support waking and gradually declining through the day, becomes disrupted during perimenopause. Cortisol spikes from poor sleep, hot flashes, and the hormonal chaos of perimenopause contribute directly to irritability, anxiety, and emotional reactivity. Circuit training, performed at appropriate intensity, helps regulate the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis, the system that governs cortisol secretion. After a period of consistent exercise training, the cortisol response to a given stressor is blunted. This translates practically into greater emotional resilience, better tolerance of stress, and less reactivity in situations that would previously have triggered a disproportionate response. The key is appropriate intensity. Moderate circuit training with adequate recovery regulates cortisol. Excessive training without recovery amplifies it.
Strength as a Psychological Resource
There is a psychological dimension to circuit training that is distinct from its neurochemical effects. Building physical strength during a period when many women feel their bodies are working against them is genuinely empowering. Lifting a heavier weight, completing a circuit that felt impossible six weeks ago, and noticing physical capability improving are all concrete evidence of competence and agency at a time when perimenopause can feel destabilising. Research on strength training and self-efficacy consistently finds that women who engage in resistance training report improved self-image and confidence. This effect is particularly pronounced in middle age, when cultural messages about women's bodies becoming less valuable are pervasive. Reframing your body as something that is becoming stronger and more capable, rather than simply ageing, is a meaningful cognitive shift that circuit training supports through lived experience.
Timing for Mood Benefits
When you exercise during the day can influence its mood effects. Morning circuit training aligns with the natural cortisol peak and can set a positive neurochemical tone for the day ahead. The endorphin and serotonin boost from a morning session tends to carry through several hours, improving focus, patience, and emotional stability during the morning and early afternoon. That said, any time of day is beneficial, and the best time is always the one that is sustainable within your actual schedule. If lunchtime sessions are more realistic because of work and family commitments, they are equally valid. Some women find that exercising at lunchtime provides a mood reset that improves afternoon energy and prevents the late-day emotional slump that many perimenopausal women experience. Experiment with timing and notice what works best for your particular pattern of symptoms.
When to Seek Additional Support
Circuit training is a powerful mood-supporting tool during perimenopause, but it is not a substitute for professional support when mood changes are severe or significantly impairing daily life. If you are experiencing persistent low mood, anxiety that interferes with work or relationships, thoughts of self-harm, or symptoms that meet criteria for clinical depression or anxiety disorder, please speak to your GP. Hormone therapy, antidepressants, cognitive behavioural therapy, and other interventions can be combined with exercise to provide more comprehensive support than any single approach. Exercise works best as one component of a broader management strategy that addresses sleep, nutrition, stress, social connection, and medical treatment where appropriate. Many women find that addressing the hormonal dimension of mood through HRT or other means amplifies the benefits of exercise considerably, as the neurochemical systems exercise is trying to support are no longer being actively disrupted by hormonal chaos.
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Social and Structural Benefits of Circuit Classes
Many women find that attending group circuit training classes provides mood benefits beyond the exercise itself. Social connection is one of the most powerful modulators of mood and mental health, and perimenopause can be an isolating experience, particularly when symptoms are not openly discussed. Being in a group of women who are working hard together, laughing at the hard bits, and encouraging each other creates a sense of community that has real psychological value. The structured nature of a class also removes the decision-making burden of planning a solo workout, which can feel overwhelming when brain fog and low motivation are already present. If group classes are not accessible or appealing, online circuit classes or training with a friend provide similar benefits. The format matters less than the regularity and the social element.