Menopause Awareness Month: What Women Should Know in 2026

For generations, menopause was treated as something women were simply expected to get through. Hot flashes became punchlines. Vaginal dryness and painful sex were rarely discussed outside a doctor’s office, if they were discussed there at all. Sleep problems were blamed on stress, weight changes on lack of discipline, brain fog on getting older, and joint pain on having spent too much time sitting at a desk or too many years pounding the pavement.

October is widely recognized as Menopause Awareness Month and an opportunity to change that conversation (also World Menopause Day takes place every year on October 18). The International Menopause Society established World Menopause Day in 2009 to improve awareness, education, and care for women around the world. In 2026, the organization is putting a particular spotlight on chronic pain at midlife, an area that has historically received far less attention than symptoms such as hot flashes. 

At plusOne, we believe menopause awareness should mean more than knowing that menopause happens. It should mean understanding what is happening in your body, recognizing symptoms that may be connected to hormonal change, knowing which concerns deserve medical attention, and being aware that treatment options exist. In recognition of these challenges, we are also working hard to further increase the comfort of women with our menopause treatment products, including our Libido Patches for Women, our Hybrid Lube and our Blissful Sleep Patches.

That matters because menopause is not a niche health issue. Approximately 1.3 million women in the United States enter the menopause transition each year, and the average age of menopause in the US is about 52. Globally, an estimated 1.1 billion women are now postmenopausal. 

For something that affects so many of us, there is still an extraordinary amount of confusion around what menopause is, when it begins, how long symptoms can last, and what can actually be done about them.

Menopause Awareness Month takes place in October and is used by health organizations, employers, clinicians, universities, advocacy groups, and women themselves to increase understanding of menopause and its impact on physical, emotional, sexual, and social wellbeing. Organizations including Yale have used the month to provide education around nutrition, mental health, pelvic health, sleep, and medical care rather than treating menopause as a single-symptom issue.

World Menopause Day on October 18 provides an international focal point. Each year, the International Menopause Society selects an area of women’s midlife health that deserves greater attention. Previous themes have examined issues including cognition, bone health, cardiovascular disease, and menopause hormone therapy. For 2026, the theme is Chronic Pain at Midlife: From Recognition to Evidence-Based Care.

The theme is timely. A 2026 systematic review and meta-analysis encompassing 37 studies and more than 93,000 women found that approximately 40% of premenopausal women reported muscle or joint pain, compared with 57% of perimenopausal women and 59% of postmenopausal women (Source). Because these were observational studies, the researchers could not conclude that menopause itself caused every case of pain, but the findings reinforce how common musculoskeletal symptoms are during this stage of life.

That is a good example of why menopause awareness needs to keep expanding. If the public conversation begins and ends with hot flashes, many women may never connect changes in their sleep, joints, vaginal comfort, bladder function, mood, skin, or sexual wellbeing with the menopause transition.

One of the most common misconceptions is that menopause is a several-year period during which hormones slowly decline. Technically, menopause itself is a specific milestone. You have reached menopause when you have gone 12 consecutive months without menstrual bleeding or spotting, assuming there is no other cause for the absence of periods.

The years leading up to that point are called perimenopause, or the menopausal transition. During perimenopause, estrogen and progesterone production can fluctuate unpredictably. Periods may become shorter, longer, heavier, lighter, more frequent, or further apart. Some cycles may occur without ovulation. Symptoms can appear even while periods remain relatively regular.

Perimenopause typically lasts around four years, although the Office on Women’s Health notes that the transition can last approximately two to eight years. Natural menopause most often happens between the ages of 45 and 58 in the United States, with an average age around 52.

Those averages are useful, but they are not deadlines. Menopause before age 45 is considered early menopause, while menopause before age 40 is premature menopause. Surgery that removes both ovaries, chemotherapy, radiation, and certain medical treatments can also cause menopause earlier or more abruptly.

This is one reason a woman in her early or mid-40s should not be told she is “too young” for menopause-related symptoms simply because she is still having periods.

Hot flashes deserve attention because they are extremely common. Up to 80% of women experience hot flashes or night sweats at some point during the menopause transition, according to The Menopause Society. An individual hot flash often lasts between one and five minutes, but hot flashes can continue for years, with studies estimating an average duration of about seven years and some women experiencing them much longer.

But focusing almost exclusively on hot flashes has distorted the way menopause is understood.

Sleep may deteriorate, sometimes because night sweats repeatedly wake you and sometimes independently of them. Concentration may become more difficult. Women may describe searching for everyday words, losing track of why they walked into a room, or needing more effort to switch between tasks that previously felt effortless.

Mood can also change. This does not mean menopause automatically causes depression, but the perimenopausal period appears to be a time of increased vulnerability. A 2024 systematic review and meta-analysis found that perimenopausal women had roughly 40% higher odds of depressive symptoms or diagnoses compared with premenopausal women.

Skin and hair can change. Headaches or migraines may behave differently. Some women notice palpitations, breast tenderness, changes in body composition, or increased sensitivity to alcohol. Muscle and joint discomfort can become more noticeable. Sexual desire may change, or remain completely intact, while vaginal dryness makes sex less comfortable.

The point of Menopause Awareness Month is not to attribute every symptom after age 40 to hormones. It is to make menopause part of the diagnostic conversation so that women and their healthcare professionals can consider it alongside other possible causes.

Pain is particularly easy to dismiss at midlife because there are so many plausible explanations for it. You slept badly. You worked out too hard. You did not work out enough. Your desk chair is terrible. You are stressed. You are getting older.

Any of those things may be relevant, but the growing research around menopause and musculoskeletal symptoms suggests that the hormonal transition deserves attention too.

The International Menopause Society chose chronic pain at midlife as the theme of World Menopause Day 2026 specifically to encourage better recognition, research, and evidence-based care. The organization also emphasizes that women’s pain has historically been at risk of being dismissed or framed as primarily emotional rather than thoroughly investigated.

Recent data illustrate the scale of the issue. The 2026 meta-analysis of more than 93,000 women found muscle or joint pain in 57% of women in perimenopause and 59% after menopause. A separate systematic review published in 2026 noted that musculoskeletal pain is reported by a substantial proportion of menopausal women, although evidence remains insufficient to conclude that hormone therapy should routinely be prescribed specifically for generalized musculoskeletal pain.

Greater menopause awareness should not mean attributing every aching hip to estrogen. Arthritis, autoimmune diseases, osteoporosis, injuries, nerve conditions, vitamin deficiencies, and many other medical problems can also produce pain. Persistent, severe, swollen, or function-limiting joint and muscle symptoms deserve evaluation.

Awareness means adding menopause to the conversation, not ending the investigation with it.

Some menopause symptoms are difficult to hide. A hot flash during a meeting announces itself whether you want it to or not (More on this: What Helps with Hot Flashes During Menopause). Vaginal dryness usually does not.

That difference in visibility has helped make genitourinary symptoms among the least openly discussed parts of menopause, even though they can have an enormous effect on comfort, intimacy, urinary health, and quality of life.

As estrogen declines, vaginal and vulvar tissue can become thinner, drier, and less elastic. Natural lubrication may decrease, and the vaginal opening can become more sensitive. Women may experience dryness, itching, burning, discomfort during penetration, spotting after sex, urinary urgency, painful urination, or recurring urinary tract infections. Collectively, these changes are known as genitourinary syndrome of menopause, or GSM.

Unlike hot flashes, GSM often does not simply disappear with time. The Menopause Society notes that genitourinary symptoms may become progressively more troublesome without treatment.

Yet many women do not bring the subject up. They may assume vaginal dryness is an inevitable part of aging, feel embarrassed talking about sex, or believe discomfort is not medically significant enough to mention. Others stop having penetrative sex and therefore assume there is no reason to address the underlying dryness, even though vulvar irritation can affect everyday activities such as walking, exercising, sitting, or wearing certain clothing.

There are multiple ways to manage these symptoms depending on their severity and your individual health history. Nonhormonal vaginal and vulvar moisturizers can help with ongoing dryness, while lubricants reduce friction during sexual activity. Prescription options can include low-dose vaginal estrogen and other treatments for GSM.

For women looking for nonhormonal support for external dryness, our Vaginal Moisturizing Gel is formulated specifically for external vulvar dryness. It is hormone-free, pH-balanced, fragrance-free, and formulated with hyaluronic acid and soothing botanicals for regular hydration during perimenopause, menopause, and beyond. We see products like this as one part of a much larger menopause-care conversation rather than a substitute for medical treatment. Persistent itching, pain, bleeding, unusual discharge, recurrent UTIs, or other new symptoms should be discussed with a healthcare professional.

Another idea we would like Menopause Awareness Month to achieve is to retire the assumption that menopause marks the end of a woman’s sexual life.

Sexual wellbeing can certainly change. Lower estrogen can reduce natural lubrication and make vaginal tissue more fragile. Penetration that was once comfortable may begin to burn or hurt. Sleep deprivation, medication, stress, relationship changes, body-image concerns, mood symptoms, and hormonal fluctuations may affect desire. The Menopause Society identifies vaginal dryness and reduced stretchability as important causes of painful sex during midlife and beyond.

But lower desire is not universal, and sexual pleasure does not have an expiration date.

For some women, no longer worrying about pregnancy is liberating. Others have more privacy, know their bodies better, communicate more confidently with partners, or feel more comfortable using lubricants, moisturizers, vibrators, and other tools that support pleasure. Some couples simply need to adjust what intimacy looks like.

What should not happen is continuing penetrative sex through significant pain because discomfort has been normalized as a natural consequence of aging. Pain can lead to anticipatory tension, involuntary pelvic-floor tightening, reduced arousal, and avoidance, creating a cycle in which sex becomes increasingly difficult.

A moisturizer can address ongoing dryness. Lubricants can reduce friction during sexual activity. Pelvic-floor physical therapy may help when muscular tightness or pelvic pain is involved. Prescription treatments can improve GSM when over-the-counter measures are not enough.

Sexual health is health. That belief also reflects our broader focus on women’s wellness and healthcare. Pleasure, vaginal comfort, sleep, confidence, and physical wellbeing are not separate compartments of a woman’s life.

Poor sleep is one of those menopause symptoms with consequences far beyond nighttime.

Night sweats may repeatedly wake you. You may struggle to fall back asleep at 3 a.m. A restless night can then make brain fog more noticeable, lower patience, increase appetite, reduce motivation to exercise, and make an ordinary workday feel disproportionately difficult.

The relationship is not always as simple as “hot flash equals wake-up.” Sleep problems can occur independently during the menopause transition, and mood disorders, sleep apnea, restless legs syndrome, medication, alcohol, pain, caregiving responsibilities, and chronic stress may all contribute.

That is why persistent insomnia should not automatically be written off as menopause. If you snore heavily, wake gasping, struggle with overwhelming daytime sleepiness, or have chronic insomnia that is affecting your ability to function, talk with a healthcare professional. Treating vasomotor symptoms can improve sleep when hot flashes are a major driver, but some women also need targeted sleep evaluation or treatment. If you are looking for a natural product to unwind and relax take a look at our Restful Magnesium Sleep Spray.

The emotional experience of menopause varies just as much as the physical one. Some women feel relatively stable. Others notice irritability, anxiety, low mood, emotional sensitivity, or a sense that their usual coping mechanisms are no longer working as reliably.

Sleep deprivation and disruptive physical symptoms can obviously affect mood, but hormonal fluctuations may also contribute to vulnerability during perimenopause.

That does not mean depression should be explained away as hormones.

Persistent hopelessness, loss of interest in activities you once enjoyed, severe anxiety, inability to function normally, or thoughts of self-harm require appropriate mental healthcare. Previous depression, postpartum depression, severe PMS or PMDD, major life stress, and inadequate social support can also be important parts of the picture.

Menopause awareness should make women more likely to receive mental-health support, not less likely because someone assumes their symptoms will disappear when hormones settle down.

For many women, cognitive changes are among the most unsettling symptoms of perimenopause. Forgetting a familiar name, struggling to retrieve a word during a presentation, or losing your train of thought in the middle of a sentence can feel alarming, particularly if you have always relied on being mentally quick.

Sleep disruption, stress, mood symptoms, and the hormonal transition can all contribute to changes in concentration and memory. World Menopause Day focused specifically on cognition and brain fog in 2022, reflecting growing recognition that these symptoms are important to women’s quality of life.

Occasional forgetfulness during perimenopause is not the same thing as dementia. However, significant or progressive cognitive change should still be assessed, particularly when it interferes with everyday tasks, navigation, managing finances, work performance, or communication.

A healthcare professional can consider other contributors such as thyroid disease, depression, medication effects, sleep apnea, vitamin deficiencies, neurological conditions, or other health problems rather than automatically attributing everything to menopause.

Menopause Awareness Month should not focus only on symptoms you can feel. Some important changes are silent.

Estrogen plays a role in bone health. After menopause, lower estrogen contributes to accelerated bone loss, increasing the risk of osteoporosis and fractures. Current US Preventive Services Task Force guidance recommends osteoporosis screening for women aged 65 and older and for postmenopausal women younger than 65 who have risk factors that put them at increased fracture risk.

Cardiovascular risk also becomes increasingly important with age and after menopause. The Office on Women’s Health notes that changes around menopause, together with aging and other risk factors, can increase the likelihood of heart disease and stroke. Cholesterol, blood pressure, blood sugar, smoking status, physical activity, body composition, sleep, and family history all deserve attention.

This is not a reason to fear menopause. It is a reason to use midlife as a health checkpoint.

An appointment devoted to menopause can therefore be broader than asking whether you want treatment for hot flashes. It can include blood pressure, cardiovascular risk, bone health, vaccinations, cancer screening, sleep, mental health, pelvic-floor symptoms, vaginal health, sexual wellbeing, medication review, alcohol use, nutrition, strength training, and what has changed since your previous annual visit.

One of the most damaging menopause myths is that symptoms are natural and therefore do not need treatment.

Pregnancy is natural. Migraines are common. Aging is inevitable. None of those facts means uncomfortable or disabling symptoms should simply be tolerated.

Treatment should depend on what is bothering you, your medical history, your preferences, and your individual risk profile.

Hormone therapy remains the most effective treatment for bothersome vasomotor symptoms such as hot flashes and night sweats. For most healthy women with bothersome symptoms who start hormone therapy before age 60 or within 10 years of menopause onset, the benefits generally outweigh the risks when treatment is individualized. Systemic therapy is used when whole-body treatment is needed, while low-dose vaginal estrogen can be used specifically for genitourinary symptoms with minimal systemic absorption.

The important message is not that everyone needs medication. It is that women deserve to know there are choices.

The menopause market has expanded rapidly, which can be both empowering and confusing. Women who felt ignored for decades suddenly have hundreds of supplements, powders, patches, creams, hormone programs, teas, and “balance” products competing for their attention.

“Natural” does not automatically mean ineffective, but it also does not automatically mean safe, evidence-based, or appropriate for you.

The same caution applies to the term bioidentical hormones. Some FDA-approved hormone therapies contain hormones that are chemically identical to those produced by the human body. Customized compounded “bioidentical” hormones are different. ACOG states that evidence does not support claims that compounded bioidentical hormone therapy is safer or more effective than FDA-approved formulations and recommends FDA-approved menopausal hormone therapies when appropriate options are available.

Always remember: Good menopause care is based on evidence, individual risk, symptom severity, and informed choice.

Menopause has received far more public attention in recent years, but greater visibility does not automatically translate into better healthcare.

A 2026 US study examining almost 298,000 insured women newly diagnosed with menopause-related symptoms found that only 31% initiated prescription pharmacologic treatment, although not every woman in the study would necessarily have needed or wanted medication. The same research highlights how large the population of symptomatic women is and how varied menopause care remains in routine medical practice (Source).

A separate review highlighted by The Menopause Society in September 2026 found that menopause status and symptoms remain inconsistently documented in electronic health records, creating barriers to clinical care and research.

That is why awareness cannot stop at social media posts in October.

We need women to recognize symptoms sooner. We need healthcare professionals who are comfortable discussing sexual and vaginal health. We need more research on areas such as chronic pain. We need employers who understand the economic and human impact of untreated symptoms. And we need women to receive clear information about both hormonal and nonhormonal options without shame, misinformation, or unnecessary fear.

There is no correct way to experience menopause.

You do not have to describe it as empowering if you are exhausted and miserable. You also do not have to treat it as a medical catastrophe if your symptoms are mild. Some women need significant medical support. Some need small practical adjustments. Some barely notice the transition. Many move between those experiences over several years.

What matters is knowing that symptoms that interfere with your life deserve attention.

If hot flashes are waking you every night, ask about treatment. If vaginal dryness is making everyday life or intimacy uncomfortable, address it. If sex hurts, do not force yourself through it. If your joints suddenly feel different, mention it. If you are struggling emotionally, say so. If your concentration is affecting work, include that in the conversation. If something feels wrong and does not fit the pattern you expected from menopause, have it evaluated rather than assuming hormones are responsible.

At plusOne, our view of women’s wellness is becoming broader because women’s lives are broader. Intimate health belongs in the same conversation as sleep, mood, comfort, movement, pleasure, and long-term health. Menopause Awareness Month gives all of us a reason to have that conversation more openly. Still, women deserve good information and effective care during the other 11 months of the year too.

Menopause is a life stage that most women will experience. Suffering through treatable symptoms should never be considered universal.

This content is for informational purposes only and is not intended as medical advice. Please consult a qualified healthcare provider regarding any medical concerns or conditions.