Hot flashes. They come with the territory as women age. As if our bodies don’t go through enough during our child-bearing years, our system gives us one last kick in the gut on the way out. This phenomenon is known as menopause. One of the most telling symptoms that this chapter in life is upon you comes in the form of hot flashes. Here is everything you need to know about this common symptom of menopause, including why hot flashes happen and how best to manage this inevitable symptom.
What Are Hot Flashes?
Quick pings of warmth rush the body. Your face starts to heat up. The chest becomes a bit tighter. Your hairline becomes beaded with little molecules of sweat. These are some of the many sensations you may feel when you experience a hot flash.
Some of the most common symptoms of a hot flash include:
- Rapid heartbeat
- Waves of heat
- Sweating
- Red, blotchy skin
- Dizziness
- Light chest pain
- Nausea
- Chill at the end
Everyone’s experience with hot flashes will differ. In general, these episodes can last anywhere from 30 seconds to five minutes.
Hot flashes are often associated with women entering menopause. However, some other conditions and situations may cause these unfavorable experiences.
What Can Cause Hot Flashes Other Than Menopause?
Hot flashes are very common and can present themselves at inopportune times. Some causes of hot flashes other than menopause include:
- Fear and adrenaline (ex. Entering a haunted house, going skydiving, etc.)
- Flu
- Thyroid issues
- Stress
- Adrenal fatigue
- Spicy foods
- Anxiety
- Side effect to medications
- Too much caffeine
- Dehydration
As you can see, there is a wide range of conditions associated with hot flashes. It’s safe to assume that everyone has experienced a hot flash episode at one point in their life. That includes men.
However, hot flashes are more likely to happen to women as they age. Research shows that up to 80% of women will experience hot flashes during menopause. Let’s take a look at why and what you can do to ease this uncomfortable symptom.
Why Do Women Experience Hot Flashes?
The average age that a woman enters the perimenopausal cycle of her life is 51. Women entering this transitional period will experience several uncomfortable symptoms. Of them, the most common is hot flashes.
Groundwork for menopause can start as early as 40. Once a woman hits this stage of her life, her hormone levels naturally decrease. In your body’s point of view, there is no need for excessive estrogen and progesterone in the system. That’s because your window for carrying a baby is beginning to close.
Essentially, the body sort of weans you off relying on this hormone so much. As a natural side effect, the body goes into a bit of a shock. These moments tend to manifest in the form of hot flashes.
Why Does Menopause Trigger Hot Flashes?
What is it about perimenopause that causes our body to experience this rush of heat? The exact causes of hot flashes for menopausal women hasn’t been scientifically confirmed. However, there is a strong theory.
Estrogen and progesterone do more than just regulate our menstrual cycle. They are pivotal in many functions, including sleep regulation, mood, and regulating body temperature. Research shows that these critical hormones interact with an area of the brain known as the thermoregulatory center.
You don’t need to be a meteorologist to realize that the thermoregulatory center has something to do with heat. Therefore, with fewer hormones regulating the thermostat in the body, it’s easier for the temperatures to fluctuate. That’s why many women also experience hot flashes at night.
What are Night Sweats?
Menopausal women who experience hot flashes at night deal with a condition known as night sweats. When we experience a hot flash in the middle of the night, this episode will most likely interrupt our sleep pattern.
Night sweats from menopause are a large reason why menopausal women experience irritability. Night sweats cause the body to miss out on much-needed rest. Getting rest while you have menopause is critical because that’s the time of the day where the body makes the most hormones.
Therefore, missing out on sleep thanks to night sweats is actually causing even fewer hormones to be produced. This lack of hormones will only increase how long you will experience hot flashes and night sweats. That’s why most women experience hot flashes for years during this transitional phase in their lives.
If you are having trouble sleeping, you might want to try an all-natural remedy. Use Sleep-Fast Plus, enhanced with full-spectrum hemp extract and melatonin. Your irritated system will find peace with the CBD in this sleep formula, since cannabinoids create a sedative-effect on the system.
This formula also includes all-natural melatonin, the hormone responsible for regulating our sleep cycle. By getting this hormone level back on track, it will help your body replenish the other hormones it’s lacking.
How to Manage Hot Flashes
While hot flashes may seem inevitable, they’re also manageable. Many women report that the intensity of hot flashes lessen as they get deeper into this phase of their lives. However, there are several ways to make this transition more tolerable.
Deep-Breathing Techniques
We all know when a hot flash is coming. As we sense this wave of heat, many of us begin to panic. Typically, we stress that the hot flash will ruin our time or make us feel icky. That sort of pressure will only add to the unpleasantness.
The minute you feel a hot flash emerging, become mindful. Breathe through it. Focus on an object in eye view and start deep breathing.
Long term, try to make these inhales and exhales as long as possible. Aim to breathe down into your diaphragm, hold, and release. An excellent way to foster this practice is to take on yoga and meditation.
Hormonal Therapy
A popular way to handle the onset of hot flashes is to get hormonal therapy treatments. Also known as systemic estrogen, hormonal therapy comes in many forms.
Types of hormonal therapy include:
- Pill
- Spray
- Gel
- Patch
- Cream
Getting hormonal therapy is easy and not invasive. By applying the hormones topically or ingesting them orally, you can help bring balance to a thrown-off system. These lower doses of hormones help bolster the shock your body feels as hormone levels naturally deplete. Consider hormonal therapy as a support system when your body starts to wean off these pivotal hormones.
Keep Cool
Sometimes it’s best not to fight fire with fire. Instead, fight it with something colder. If you are prone to hot flashes, it’s best to prepare for them.
Find ways to keep cool, such as:
- Wearing loose clothing
- Keeping the thermostat low
- Staying hydrated
- Using fans, windows, and air conditioners
Staying cool is essential to keep night sweats from ruining your sleep. Research shows that we get a better night’s rest when we are in colder temperatures. So, be sure to turn the thermostat down to the lower end of the recommended 60°and 67° for the best sleep quality.
Adopt All-Natural Diet and Supplements
Another way to help estrogen levels is by introducing botanicals that can help bring balance. Like us, plants are living beings. Therefore, they also have their own set of hormones. This notion includes estrogen.
Estrogen-rich foods include:
- Soy
- Flax seeds
- Green beans
- Mung sprouts
- Garlic
- Red wine
- Multigrain bread
- Peaches
- Strawberries
In addition to eating phytoestrogen foods, some all-natural supplements can help you transition hot flash-free. For instance, try Estrolene for hot flash relief.
This supplement is formulated with perimenopause in mind. In fact, two of the main active ingredients are phytoestrogens, such as Magnolia bark extract and red clover. However, there’s more to Estrolene than estrogen-inducing botanicals. Let’s take a closer look at how Estrolene can help with hot flashes.
Estrolene for Hot Flashes
Estrolene is an all-natural supplement enhanced with botanicals scientifically proven to assist with relief from perimenopause symptoms. That means Estrolene is a wellness goals for those going through this monumental change.
What gives Estrolene its hot flash-fighting benefits is its elevated levels of vitamin E. Research on this essential mineral shows that vitamin E helps fight the severity of hot flashes.
Our formula is one of the few to include a unique Thai herb known as Pueraria mirifica root. Research on Pueraria mirifica root finds this botanical helps with a trifecta of menopausal issues including hot flashes, night sweats, and vaginal dryness.
Further bringing balance to the system is chaste tree berry. Chaste tree berry has shown in studies to bring women relief from hot flashes within eight weeks. These benefits are further enhanced by the presence of black cohosh in Estrolene. Analyses on this English herb has found that black cohosh helps minimize hot flash episodes. In fact, this herb has also been a very popular remedy for Native American women. If it’s good for your ancestors, it’s great for you. Go back to basics and kick hot flashes to the curb with Estrolene.
Have you experienced hot flashes with menopause? How did you handle the symptoms? Share your story in the comments below!
