The change may be inevitable — but how you feel when you get there isn’t.
The average American woman enters menopause at 52, but the transition can begin a decade or more before that.
And according to Dr. Robin Berzin, founder and CEO of Parsley Health, some of the habits women pick up in their 20s, 30s and 40s can set them up for trouble later.
Berzin, a Columbia-trained physician and functional medicine expert, said she frequently sees patients make seemingly innocent choices that can sabotage their long-term health.
The problem? You can get away with them for years — until menopause, when the consequences suddenly become much harder to ignore.
The good news is that you can start changing course long before then. Berzin broke down four common mistakes women make that quietly undermine their longevity, so you’re not blindsided in your second act.
1. Exercising to be smaller instead of training to be stronger
“For decades, women were told cardio was the answer and lifting heavy would make them bulky,” Berzin told The Post. “That advice has not aged well.”
Muscle isn’t just about looking toned. It’s one of the body’s most important assets for longevity, helping regulate blood sugar, support metabolism, strengthen bones and preserve balance, mobility and independence as we age.
In one study, researchers followed nearly 29,000 older women for 12 years and found that those who did 20 to 59 minutes of strength training a week had a 29% lower risk of death than those who did none.
“During your 30s and 40s, the focus should be on building muscle, which you’ll thank yourself for having when you’re 70 and older,” Berzin said.
The federal government recommends adults do muscle-strengthening activities at least two days a week, with sessions often lasting around 20 to 30 minutes. But new research suggests that 90 to 120 minutes of strength training a week may be a sweet spot for healthy aging.
2. Assuming “normal” blood sugar means you’re metabolically healthy
“Fasting glucose and HbA1c are useful markers to track, but metabolic dysfunction develops on a continuum,” Berzin said.
The body can compensate for insulin resistance by producing more insulin, allowing blood glucose to remain in the normal range for years.
“That’s why I want to understand the metabolic picture before someone crosses a diagnostic threshold,” Berzin said.
After all, diabetes doesn’t appear overnight. “There can be years of metabolic dysfunction before your glucose finally crosses the line into disease,” Berzin said.
And women shouldn’t assume they’re protected simply because men are generally more likely to develop Type 2 diabetes.
Research suggests women with diabetes may face a higher risk of complications, including heart and kidney disease, stroke, depression and anxiety, compared to men with the condition.
3. Ignoring heart health because you’re young, thin or premenopausal
“Heart disease is still the leading cause of death for women, and menopause changes the cardiovascular landscape,” Berzin said.
Some of the biggest warning signs can be hiding in routine bloodwork. Research shows that certain cardiovascular risk factors, including LDL cholesterol and ApoB, can rise during the menopause transition, in part due to changing hormone levels.
“I see women who look incredibly healthy on the outside, but their data suggests growing cardiovascular risk,” Berzin said.
To make matters worse, many don’t realize just how big a threat heart disease is. It’s responsible for 1 in 3 deaths among US women each year, yet only 44% recognize it as their greatest health threat.
4. Treating poor sleep and chronic stress like minor inconveniences
You do a lot more than dream while you doze.
Sleep is when the body carries out critical metabolic, hormonal, cardiovascular and neurological maintenance. Consistently shortchanging it can have consequences that go well beyond feeling tired the next morning.
“The mistake we’ve made is normalizing years of five- or six-hour nights because of building a career, raising children or caring for everyone else before yourself,” Berzin said.
“By midlife, the cumulative effects start showing up in metabolic health, mood, cognition and cardiovascular risk.”
Chronic stress can pile on another layer of wear and tear. As estrogen and progesterone decline during menopause, the body may lose some of its natural buffering against the effects of the stress hormone cortisol.
As a result, years of running on empty can suddenly feel much harder to sustain, with fatigue, metabolic changes and more intense hot flashes and other symptoms potentially entering the picture.
“Women spend decades putting themselves last and then arrive at menopause wondering why their bodies suddenly stopped cooperating,” Berzin said. “Often, the body has been sending signals for years.”
