Is Resistance Bands Training Good for Mood Swings During Perimenopause?
Mood swings during perimenopause can feel overwhelming. Find out how resistance band training can help stabilise your mood through hormonal and neurological benefits.
Mood Swings in Perimenopause: What Is Actually Happening
The mood swings of perimenopause are not simply stress or personality changes. Fluctuating estrogen levels directly affect serotonin and dopamine production, the neurotransmitters most responsible for emotional stability. One day you feel fine; the next, irritability or tearfulness arrives without an obvious trigger. This is a physiological reality, not a personal failing. The good news is that certain types of exercise, including resistance band training, can meaningfully support your brain chemistry and smooth out the emotional peaks and troughs.
How Strength Training Affects Your Brain Chemistry
When you do resistance training, your body releases endorphins, which are natural mood elevators. It also increases brain-derived neurotrophic factor, a protein that supports the growth and repair of nerve cells and plays a key role in regulating mood and emotional resilience. Regular strength training has been shown in multiple studies to reduce symptoms of depression and anxiety. For perimenopausal women, this is particularly relevant because declining estrogen already puts pressure on the same neurological pathways that strength training helps to support.
Why Resistance Bands Are a Practical Choice
Bands are accessible, inexpensive, and can be used at home or in a gym. On days when your mood is low and motivation is thin, the low barrier to entry matters enormously. You do not need to travel anywhere or set up complicated equipment. A five-minute warm-up and 20 minutes of banded exercises can be enough to shift your emotional state. The repetitive, rhythmic nature of band exercises also has a grounding, meditative quality that many women find calming when anxiety and irritability are high.
A Simple Band Routine for Mood Support
Focus on slow, controlled movements that require concentration. Banded bicep curls, overhead press, seated rows, and lateral raises are all good options. Keeping a consistent tempo, such as two seconds lifting and three seconds lowering, encourages mindful engagement with the movement and prevents your thoughts from spiralling. Aim for three sessions per week of 25 to 35 minutes. Consistency matters more than intensity here. Even moderate effort, maintained regularly, produces meaningful changes in mood regulation over four to eight weeks.
Pairing Exercise with Other Mood Strategies
Resistance bands work best as part of a broader approach to mood management. Prioritising sleep, reducing alcohol intake, and managing stress through breathwork or mindfulness all complement the neurochemical benefits of training. If mood swings are severe or impacting your relationships and work, speak with your GP. HRT and talking therapies are well-evidenced options that can be used alongside exercise rather than instead of it. You do not have to choose between approaches.
Using a Symptom Log to See the Connection
The relationship between exercise and mood is not always obvious in the moment. Logging both your workouts and your emotional state over several weeks gives you data you can actually use. PeriPlan lets you record workouts and track symptoms including mood, so you can look back and see whether training days correlate with better emotional stability. Spotting that pattern can be a powerful motivator to keep going on the days when getting started feels hard.
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