Life After Menopause: Live longer. Live stronger.

The average life expectancy for a woman today is 80 years. The 30-40 years after menopause can be an exciting time of growth and exploration. But in order to live longer and live stronger, you must continue to take care of your physical health, mental health and sexual health.

Keep on Moving

Whether it's due to menopause or just a natural part of aging, you begin to notice some physical changes happening in your late 40's, 50's and beyond. In addition to needing reading glasses to see restaurant menus, your metabolism starts to slow down and gravity takes its toll. Now, more than ever, it's important for both your overall physical health and mental well being to stay as active as possible. Explore new, fun ways to exercise you've never tried—Tai Chi, interval training, Pilates, Zumba, ballroom dancing, yoga, water aerobics, spin classes and the thousands of workout videos available. Or grab some girlfriends and plan a half-hour walk three times a week. It doesn't matter how you move—just keep moving.

Changes and Challenges

In addition to the physical changes of menopause, it is also a time in your life that can bring many emotional challenges. Your children may be grown and you're now living in an "Empty Nest." Or your children may return home due to the tough economy, unable to find work. You and your partner might be discussing continuing to work or planning for retirement—where to go and how to live. Your parents might become ill and you're suddenly in the role of caregiver. Or your parents die, and you become more aware of your own mortality. This is a time in your life that can open up new horizons—a time to evaluate what changes you want to make and what's important to you.

Discover a New You

Menopause and your 50's are the time to explore life questions. Who am I now? Who do I want to become? What do I want to do for the next 30-40 years? Who do I want in my life? What do I want to learn? Where do I want to visit? How can I balance my life?

Now is the time to think about starting a different career path, returning to hobbies you've given up, taking lessons in a sport you've always wanted to try, or enjoying the thrill of being a new grandmother. If you're recently divorced or widowed, now is the time to start dating again and enjoy the sexual freedom that menopause brings. Fifty is no longer the "end" of anything, but the beginning of a new chapter in your life filled with optimism and hope.