Forget life beginning at 40 – in reality, women in this age group are feeling anxious, unattractive and unaroused, a new survey claims.

However, many fail to realise their symptoms are actually the first sign of the menopause, experts say.

This time of life is known as the perimenopause – and is the transition stage to the point when a woman has her final period and becomes infertile. 

The research, commissioned by online vitamin company Healthspan, discovered that over a third of women are now going into perimenopause as early as 40.