Normally, women experience the first symptoms of menopause during their late thirties and early forties. Menopause is a natural occurrence and a gradual transition occurring in every woman. Menopause is not any disease or illness but a total cessation of menstrual cycles for twelve months or more. Some women experience first symptoms of menopause earlier than other women do.

Early development of first symptoms of menopause could be due to higher stress levels, unhealthy lifestyle, lack of regular exercise, irregular eating patterns, insufficient consumption of healthy foods, etc. The most prominent first symptoms of menopause are irregular menstrual cycles. Menstrual flow during such period could be very high or extremely low.

While you experience the first symptoms of menopause, your menstrual cycles could occur frequently within a fortnight or sometimes, you miss your periods for over a full month too. There could be widening gap between menstrual periods overtime.

There is also no set limit over the menstrual flow, sometimes it could be for three to five days while sometimes it could continue for more than a week. The first symptoms of menopause could lead to total disruption in your regular and systematic menstrual cycles.

Other common first symptoms of menopause include tenderness in breasts, inability to handle stress, lapse of memory and other nervous problems like depression, anxiety, confusing thoughts, mood swings, etc. It is common to note the setting in of the first symptoms of menopause with a gain in your body weight. Your body tends to retain more water and you seem to bloat.

Changes in hormone levels in your body indicate the first symptoms of menopause. Such hormonal changes are often the cause for your low energy levels and a lower drive to face the challenges in life. In other words, you seem to lack sufficient interest in life. These hormonal changes are also the cause behind your sudden hot flashes, which are the most common first symptoms of menopause.

You experience such sudden hot flashes at any time, more often at night. There is no method to predict occurrence of these first symptoms of menopause. More than forty percent of women having regular menstrual cycles also experience such hot flashes in their forties. These are therefore a prelude to the first symptoms of menopause.

There is no particular time limit for occurrence of such hot flashes. Around eighty percent of women experience hot flashes for around five years while around ten percent of women experience it for ten years too. Although there is nothing to predict their occurrence or lapse, these first symptoms of menopause definitely decrease overtime.