How old are you?
1My periods have changed: closer together, further apart, heavier, lighter, or skipped.
2I get hot flashes, night sweats, or sudden waves of heat.
3I wake in the night or struggle to sleep, even when I am exhausted.
4I feel more irritable, anxious, or low than usual, in a way that is not like me.
5My focus and memory have slipped: losing words, brain fog, walking into rooms.
6My body is changing, especially around the middle, with no real change in habits.
7My energy, motivation, or libido has dropped.
8I have new aches: stiff or sore joints, or niggles that were not there before.
Select your age, then answer all 8.
What is perimenopause?
Perimenopause is the transition leading up to menopause, when your ovaries gradually wind down and estrogen and progesterone swing and then fall. It typically starts in your 40s (sometimes the mid-30s), lasts an average of four to eight years, and ends twelve months after your final period, which is menopause itself. The hormonal turbulence of this stretch is what drives the symptoms below.
Is there a test for perimenopause?
Not a single reliable one. According to The Menopause Society, perimenopause is generally identified from your age, your symptoms, and changes in your cycle rather than from a blood test, because hormone levels fluctuate so much day to day that a one-off result often misleads. That is exactly why a structured symptom check is useful: it organizes what you are experiencing into a pattern you and your clinician can act on.
What are the common signs of perimenopause?
They reach well beyond hot flashes. The changes women most often report, documented by bodies like the NHS, cluster into a few groups, and most women get some but not all of them:
- Cycle changes: periods closer together, further apart, heavier, lighter, or skipped.
- Vasomotor: hot flashes, night sweats, and sudden waves of heat.
- Sleep: waking at night, or struggling to fall asleep despite exhaustion.
- Mood and mind: new irritability, anxiety, low mood, and brain fog.
- Body: changing body composition (especially around the middle), lower energy and libido, and new joint aches.
What age does perimenopause start?
Most often in the 40s, though it can begin in the mid-30s. Because the onset is gradual and the symptoms overlap with stress, thyroid issues, and ordinary midlife, perimenopause is widely missed and often dismissed. If a clinician once told you that you were "too young," it is worth knowing that early perimenopause is real. For more on that, see when your symptoms get dismissed.
How Phaes helps after the quiz
Phaes does not just track your cycle and symptoms, it turns them into a running and strength plan that adapts to the body you have today. A short daily check-in makes the pattern visible, so the rough weeks stop feeling random, and the plan eases or pushes based on how you actually feel. It is built for every hormonal season, so it keeps working as your cycle wanders through perimenopause and after it stops. Learn how to exercise during perimenopause, or explore the perimenopause app.