The thought of menopause usually calls to mind an array of unwelcome symptoms—hot flashes, vaginal dryness, mood swings, thinning hair, sleep disturbances. The list is long and disheartening. But menopause can have a positive impact on your life as well; for one thing, not all physical changes caused by reduced female hormone levels are negative. For another, many of the emotional and social changes can actually be energizing.
Sex without pregnancy worries
Women in menopause can enjoy sex without having to think about a possible pregnancy. This makes a big difference, according to the Study of Women’s Health Across the Nation, a multisite, longitudinal study of the physical and psychosocial changes women experience in midlife, including menopause.
“Among American women of different ethnic groups, sex without thinking about pregnancy was frequently cited as one of the benefits of menopause,” says Nanette Santoro, MD, professor and director of Reproductive Endocrinology at Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York.
Some women even find that, because they no longer have to worry about the unanticipated outcome of sex, they can actually enjoy it more once they reach menopause.