Regular physical activity provides health benefits, including the reduction in risks of coronary heart disease, hypertension, type 2 diabetes mellitus, obesity, colon cancer, and premature mortality. Despite this information, most women are physically inactive. Research findings shed light on the gender differences in physiological responses to physical activity. Patterns and predictors of physical activity vary significantly by gender. Further study is needed of the benefits, barriers, and personally meaningful outcomes of physical activity for women, specifically including the frequently unspoken correlates of urinary incontinence, depression and mood disorders, and obesity.
Exercise helps counteract hormonally-driven mood swings.
From the first menstrual cycle until menopause, women live with a shifting level of estrogen and progesterone that impacts their fertility patterns as well as also their brain chemistry and moods. When estrogen levels drop, such as before and during a woman’s period or leading up to menopause, women lose a natural source of the “feel good” brain chemical called serotonin. This makes them more susceptible to moodiness, depression and anxiety attacks, such as the symptoms found in severe premenstrual syndrome or post-partum depression.
Exercise counters these hormonally-triggered mood swings by releasing endorphins, another mood regulator. Sometimes called the “runner’s high,” endorphins leave you feeling happy and relaxed after a workout.
“It’s our body’s way of substituting one natural chemical for one that is waning,” Dr. Horowitz says. “For some women, this may reduce or eliminate the need for serotonin raising medications known as anti-depressants.”
Even after menopause, when estrogen levels have permanently diminished, exercise can improve mood. One study of 60 women experiencing postmenopausal anxiety and depression found that the group of participants who exercised showed an 18 to 22 percent improvement in symptoms, while those who did not exercise showed no improvement.
Exercise keeps weight in check.
Although men and women both tend to gain weight as they age, women have special challenges. Younger women may find that the weight gain of pregnancy can linger long past delivery. Then, as middle-aged women lose estrogen in menopause, the body redistributes fat cells to the belly, which can frustrate weight loss. And because muscle burns more calories than fat, women can struggle with maintaining or losing weight as their muscle mass declines with age.
Exercise can counter these factors by helping women maintain and build lean muscle mass that makes them look and feel slimmer. Exercise also burns excess calories that would otherwise accumulate as fat. In one 20-year study of 3,500 men and women conducted by researchers at Northwestern University, all participants gained weight as they aged, but those who exercised gained substantially less weight. Women, especially, benefitted, gaining 13 pounds less, on average, than inactive women.
Exercise improves sleep.
A national poll of 1,506 adults nationwide, conducted in 2005, discovered that women have more difficulty falling and staying asleep compared to men and experience more daytime sleepiness. This tendency can grow even more disruptive due to new motherhood, monthly hormonal changes and perimenopausal symptoms like night sweats.
Thankfully, exercise has an excellent track record of improving sleep. In one study of 2,600 participants, published in the Journal of Mental Health and Physical Activity, participants who incorporated 150 minutes of moderate to vigorous activity into their week reported a 65 percent improvement in sleep quality. They said they also felt less sleepy during the day.
Even with all these benefits in mind, women may find it difficult to find time or energy to exercise regularly. Dr. Horowitz says the motivation must start with looking in the mirror and telling yourself, “Now is the time to do something.”
“It takes personal commitment and readiness. Yet you don’t need to start exercising in a self-punishing way. Just get out there and do something active. Find a friend or a trainer who motivates you to get up and get moving,” he says. “And remember, it’s not about instant results but long-term change that will bring you better health and self-esteem for a lifetime.”
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