Is Dance Good for Mood Swings During Perimenopause?
Perimenopause mood swings can feel unpredictable and exhausting. Dance is a surprisingly powerful way to stabilise your emotions and build resilience. Here is what you need to know.
Why Mood Swings Hit Hard in Perimenopause
Perimenopause mood swings are not a matter of being overly emotional or unable to cope. They are a direct physiological response to erratic estrogen fluctuations. Estrogen affects the production and breakdown of serotonin, dopamine, and norepinephrine, the key neurotransmitters that regulate mood. When estrogen spikes and drops unpredictably, it pulls these systems out of balance, leaving you vulnerable to sudden irritability, tearfulness, or emotional intensity that feels disproportionate to the situation. Understanding this hormonal mechanism helps, but what many women also want is something practical they can do about it.
How Dance Stabilises Mood
Dance is one of the most emotionally regulating activities available. It combines aerobic exercise, which increases serotonin and endorphins, with music, which activates dopamine release, with rhythmic movement, which soothes the nervous system. This triple effect makes dance uniquely good at shifting emotional states. Research on dance movement therapy consistently shows improvements in emotional regulation and reductions in mood disorder symptoms. The effect is not just while you are dancing. Regular practice builds a more resilient emotional baseline over time.
Using Dance as a Mood Intervention
One of the most practical applications of dance for mood swings is using it reactively: when you feel a mood shift coming on, or when you are already in the grip of irritability or emotional overwhelm, putting on music and moving for even five to ten minutes can interrupt the spiral. This is not about suppressing emotions. It is about giving your nervous system a physical outlet that allows the emotional charge to discharge safely. Many women report that a short dance break works faster than any other strategy.
The Role of Music in Emotional Regulation
Music alone has a powerful effect on mood, and dance amplifies this by adding a physical dimension. When you choose music that matches how you want to feel, rather than how you currently feel, and then move your body to it, you are actively directing your emotional state. This is a form of bottom-up regulation, working through the body rather than through cognition. It bypasses the part of the brain that gets stuck in rumination and engages the sensory and motor systems instead. It works even when talking yourself into a better mood does not.
Making Dance Part of Your Routine
Consistency matters more than intensity for mood regulation. Even two or three 20-minute dance sessions per week will have a cumulative effect on emotional stability. Morning dance sessions can set a positive emotional tone for the day. Evening sessions can help discharge the accumulated stress and irritability that build up over the course of a day. You do not need a class or any equipment. Your own space and a playlist are enough to get started.
When Dance Is Not Enough on Its Own
Dance is a valuable tool in managing perimenopause mood swings, but severe or debilitating mood instability deserves professional attention. If your mood swings are significantly affecting your relationships, work, or quality of life, speak to your GP. Hormone therapy is effective for many women in managing perimenopausal mood symptoms. Talking therapies like CBT can also help you build skills for managing emotional reactivity. Dance works best as part of a broader toolkit, and tracking your symptoms can help you understand which approaches are making the most difference.
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