Menopause, Night Sweats and Hot Flashes

When you think of menopause, you may immediately think of hot flashes, also called "hot flushes" and "night sweats" when they occur at night. This is almost a universal menopause symptom. An estimated 75 percent of American menopausal women will experience hot flashes.

Almost all women who go into premature menopause (their last menstrual period before age 40) and women who have induced menopause (as a result of surgery, chemotherapy, pelvic radiation therapy, and other medical treatments) will experience hot flashes.

Most often, hot flashes start during your perimenopausal period - the years before menopause, when you start to experience menopausal symptoms. Perimenopause is what some women may call "going through menopause."

Menopause" is defined as 12 consecutive months after your last menstrual period. During menopause, your ovaries stop producing eggs and the levels of estrogen and other hormones in your body decrease. These hormonal changes, more specifically the loss of estrogen, may disrupt your hypothalamic function (the area of the brain that regulates body temperature and other processes), and this leads you to experience hot flashes.

Hot flashes typically don't occur in premenopausal women because their levels of estrogen never drop too low, even when they are having their menstrual periods. However, it is believed that around 20 percent of premenopausal women do experience hot flashes.

In some cases, a hot flash may have non-menopausal reasons. Sometimes certain medical conditions - such as hyperthyroidism (an overactive thyroid), diabetes, tuberculosis, certain tumors, and serious infections - can cause hot flashes.

If you are concerned that your hot flash is not related to your menopause, you should make an appointment with your healthcare provider.

Around 80 percent of menopausal women with hot flashes will experience them for over a year. For most women, hot flashes stop on their own within a few years without any treatment. Unfortunately, some women may experience hot flashes for many years after menopause. Around 12 to 15 percent of women in their 60s, and 9 percent of women in their 70s still experience hot flashes.

Hot flashes often start as a sudden rush of heat on your face and upper chest. Your face often looks red and flushed during a hot flash. Some women sweat heavily and have heart palpitations with a flash episode. It's often followed by chills and shivering. In some cases, hot flashes are accompanied with fatigue, feeling faint, and a sense of anxiety, panic, or fear. Some menopausal women also experience an aura beforehand, letting them know that a hot flash will soon occur. Hot flashes don't last long - typically between two to four minutes. However, they may last as long as ten minutes in some women.

Many menopausal women experience several hot flashes in a day. The frequency of hot flashes varies from woman to woman, depending on the level of estrogen in her body. Some women may experience as few as one or two each day; others may have as many as one every hour during the day and night.

When hot flashes occur when you're sleeping, these are called "night sweats." They may wake you up from sleep and lead to sleep disturbances. If you are suffering from insomnia (another common symptom of menopause), night sweats can make it hard for you to fall back asleep.

Hot flashes and insomnia can make your other perimenopausal symptoms worse. You may feel more irritable and more moody due to your lack of sleep.

Although over two-thirds of American women experience hot flashes, not all women will develop them. Certain women are at higher risk of experiencing hot flashes during perimenopause. These include:

• Smokers.You are more likely to have hot flashes if you smoke.


• Obese women.If you have a higher BMI (body mass index), you are more likely to have hot flashes.


• Lack of physical activity.If you don't exercise, you are at risk for developing hot flashes during your menopausal years.

Unfortunately, there is no way to prevent hot flashes from occurring, but you may be able to pinpoint triggers. Common hot flash triggers include:

• Stress


• Caffeine and alcohol


• Hot and spicy foods


• Hot tubs, showers, and saunas


• Warm weather


• Smoking


• Tight clothing

If you avoid these triggers, you may be able to prevent hot flashes from occurring at inappropriate times. However, just remember that hot flashes can occur even if you avoid triggers.

There are treatment options available if your hot flashes are moderate to severe. Women with mild hot flashes often don't require medical treatment. If your symptoms are bothersome, you may want to talk to your doctor or healthcare provider about taking short-term (less than five years) hormone replacement therapy (HRT). Short-term HRT may help, but it also carries some risks, including gallbladder disease, uterine cancer, and blood clots.

Hormone replacement therapy is not right for everyone. It is not recommended for women with a history of:

• Heart disease


• Breast cancer


• Previous heart attacks, strokes, and blood clots

Women at risk for these medical complications should also not have hormone replacement therapy. Fortunately, there are other alternatives, such as mild anti-depressants.

To alleviate your hot flashes, you may be able to change certain lifestyle habits. Exercising regularly, or increasing your level of physical activity, can reduce your symptoms and help you feel better. Exercise is also linked to increasing your endorphin levels (the "feel good" chemicals in your brain).

You may also want to change your diet to include more soy products. Soy is a rich source of isoflavones (an estrogen-similar substance found in plants), and it may help with your hot flashes and other menopausal symptoms. It is speculated that Asian women have lower rates of hot flashes due to their rich soy diets. You can find soy in soy milk, tofu, tempeh, and miso.

Keep in mind that that soy as an alternative treatment remains controversial. You should speak to your doctor before making any radical nutritional changes in your diet.

As you are struggling through menopause and hot flashes, don't forget to take some time to yourself to relax. Yoga, relaxation, meditation, and other stress-reducing techniques may help you find relief from your menopausal symptoms.

Read more about menopause health