Are you tired of constant hot flashes and night sweats? If so, you are not alone. Many women suffer from hot flashes and night sweats oftentimes for years before, during, and after menopause.
Imagine what could happen if you never had to face these. You would wake each day feeling more energized and normal because your sleep wouldn’t be disrupted several times in the night. You would be able to handle stress better, be more patient, be able to think more clearly, and be more productive. You would also be more in the moment and present with your loved ones. Think about what all of this would mean to you.
What Are The Common Symptoms?
The most common symptoms associated with hot flashes are intense feelings of heat, rapid or irregular heartbeat, flushing or reddened face and neck, perspiration, and sleep disturbance along with shifting from being hot to being cold.
What Are The Common Causes?
To get relief from these hot flashes, you first have to figure out what triggers them in the first place. The most common hot flash triggers include hormone changes, stress, diet, caffeine, and alcohol. So it makes sense to just avoid these triggers, and it may help reduce your hot flashes.
How To Reduce Hot Flashes
But how do you improve the hormonal changes? Hormonal changes are a natural part of your life, but you can optimize them through healthy lifestyle habits. Such healthy habits can also help to provide relief from your hot flashes. I give you four tips here to help balance your life and reduce the hot flashes and night sweats.
1. Avoid The Triggers
Avoid the triggers by reducing or eliminating them from your diet. This mostly involves not consuming processed foods, sugar, and the other triggers mentioned earlier. Consuming carbohydrates and alcohol, particularly in the evening, tends to trigger a hot flash as soon as they touch your lips.
2. Reduce Stress
Breathe and find a balance in life as this will help reduce stress. Stress is a common cause of hot flashes. Start by having a daily practice of mindfulness and relaxation as this will help to shut off the adrenaline—the cortisol surge that is triggering your hot flashes.
There are different ways to practice relaxation. On the fly, just pausing occasionally and doing a slow deep breathing can help. You can also try to find a quiet spot for quick meditation. Listen to guided meditation or relaxing music. Daily practice of relaxation can also support better hormone balance and reduce your hot flash episodes.
3. Be Comfortable
Keep your cool and be comfortable by wearing loose-fitting cotton clothing, being in an airy place, or wearing a breathable cooling camisole. Restrictive clothing and atmosphere tend to trigger hot flashes and even prolong them.
4. Take Herbal Supplements
Herbal supplements such as rhubarb extract, black cohosh, passion flower, and evening primrose have been show to help reduce hot flashes and help modulate hormone balance.1 2 Hormone replacement and anti-depressants have also been shown to help alleviate hot flashes, and this is something you would need to discuss with your health care provider.
However, without addressing the triggers, using any method would only be like putting a band-aid on the symptoms. Observe your lifestyle closely to avoid the triggers and use these tips to relieve yourself of hot flashes.
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