5 Hot Tips to Manage or Reduce Hot Flashes
Can you naturally manage your hot flashes and night sweats?
With my work in perimenopause, and my own experience with it (and still experiencing), I have come to find that many of the symptoms we experience during perimenopause, those mental, physical, and emotional symptoms, are happening not only because of hormonal changes. Our health, how we take care of our health, this is an important piece when it comes to our symptoms.
Two big parts—our diet. The foods we eat or don’t eat. And the lifestyle choices and behaviors we engage in. These will make a big difference in how we will experience our perimenopause journey. I consider these as the foundations for managing perimenopause. And they will also be important foundational pieces in post-menopause.
Choosing a natural approach to managing your hot flashes and /or night sweats may involve trial and correction, try something and make corrections when needed to find what works for you. These can be simple modifications to what you are already doing now! I created what I think are the top 5 Hot tips to naturally manage hot flashes.
5 Hot Tips!
1. Reduce Common Triggers
There are diet and lifestyle elements that can trigger hot flashes and/or night sweats. These are the most common triggers for hot flashes and night sweats
Common triggers include:
alcohol
caffeine
spicy foods
Sugary/highly processed/high carbohydrate foods
Stress
Poor Sleep
Poor diet
Alcohol- A client had asked me to share why alcohol was bad for our health. I created a five (5) page document (which I could have written more), providing information on how alcohol negatively impacts every organ in our body. Alcohol can impact our gut health, brain functions, hormones, and nervous system (to name a few). All of the systems, organs, and cells that are managing the changes that are happening during perimenopause will be impacted even more by alcohol.
Caffeine (including that in chocolate- is a stimulant to the nervous system and brain. It may be good for those days where the sleep was not so great, but it may have a backhanded slap with bringing on a hot flash.
Spicy foods, including herbs and spices- are stimulants. They bring on heat in the body, which triggers the thermoregulatory system. Due to the touchiness of the thermoregulatory system during perimenopause, it’s a good idea to not poke the bear.
Sugary, high processed carbohydrates, high carbohydrate foods- These are foods that contribute to blood sugar imbalance. The imbalance of blood sugar that can lead to insulin resistance may trigger hot flashes or night sweats. There is research that notes women with insulin resistance (which is diet related), tend to have more hot flashes (this may be the link between cardiovascular risk and high hot flash occurrences).
Stress – This can have many faces. Many of us have become accustomed to moderate or high levels of stress without even knowing it. Financial, family, work/career, health, and social. There are many areas in our day-to-day lives that can bring on some form of stress. I want to note, it isn’t necessarily the stressors that are the problem, but more about our ability to get into a calm and relaxed state. I have chatted with clients about getting into a calm and relaxed state, and everyone thinks it is a simple just chill-out mode. But it isn’t always that easy or simple. Even if we think we are relaxed, the surface of the water may look calm, but underneath there could be a strong current that can easily pull us down.
Poor sleep – this one is a catch-22. Sleep will have its own changes and challenges during perimenopause and with aging in general. And sleep can be impacted by the things that can trigger hot flashes. It can be a vicious cycle here if we let it get away from us.
Poor diet- this includes a diet that doesn’t fit your body and your needs. A poor diet is a diet that is ineffective at optimizing your overall health.
2. Don’t smoke
Where there is smoke there is fire. Smokers tend to have more hot flashes, as well as more intensified perimenopause symptoms. Smoking is also linked with poor sleep, which is a trigger for hot flashes as well. Stopping smoking will increase health benefits, and decrease the risks associated with smoking in addition to the increased health challenges that come with perimenopause in general.
3. Stay hydrated
Hot flashes and night sweats can dehydrate the body. When you become dehydrated, this can be hard on the nervous system, which can then lead to hot flashes and/or night sweats. Hydration with water (spring water is great if you can get it) is best, second to that is from vegetables and fruit. How much water to drink? Take your weight (it is okay if you don’t have an exact number) and divide that in half. This is the general amount to drink in ounces per day. For example, a weight of 150 lbs (150/2) equates to 75 ounces a day. This would be 4-5 pints of water (for those who have pint-size glasses).
4. Cool Clothes
Dressing, or undressing with layers can help when those personal tropical holidays hit. Hot flashes can bring on the need to strip off a layer or two of clothing. And since hot flashes tend to have a follow-up of being cold, the ability to put those layers back on will be necessary.
Wearing breathable fabrics such as cotton, hemp, linen, flax, bamboo, and even wool are natural fabrics that can help with giving your hot body breathing room during a hot flash. Blends of natural fabrics with other materials such as lycra are good for workout wear and undergarments.
Tip for layering- undergarments that are a blend of cotton, hemp, or bamboo with lycra or polyester can hold their shape and some are specifically designed to wick moisture away. I personally like my organic cotton and bamboo underthings.
Next layer- lightweight materials that are roomy, breezy, and comfortable, such as a blouse, loose top, skirt, or my favorite wide-leg pants (I am not a fan of hot flashes in tight-fitting pants–felt like a sausage on a grill).
Top layer- again, natural fabrics or blends are great, this could be a zip-up hoody, cardigan, shawl, or lightweight blazer.
When choosing colors, dark colors are better at hiding wetness. Avoid grey and other light colors that will show off when you are having a personal tropical holiday.
5. Be gentle with yourself
I think of many symptoms of perimenopause as a way for our body and brain to tell us it's time to be kinder and gentle with ourselves. It is also saying–hey, we need time to get into a new flow and balance. Overdoing many things in our lives, such as sitting around, exercising, eating, thinking, and many other things can contribute to the symptoms that occur during perimenopause.
Being gentle with yourself includes; listening to your body, exercising or moving with gentle intention (I personally love yoga, gentle weights, and walking), mindful eating, supportive sleep, and taking time to hydrate and breathe.
