During perimenopause, menopause, and as you wean off Hormone Replacement Therapy — which I’ll refer to as HRT — your body perseveres a major hormonal transition.
The symptoms associated with hot flashes and night sweats vary among different women.
Whether you’re suffering from hot flashes or night sweats from natural fluctuation of your hormones during perimenopause and menopause or because you’re quickly weaning off HRT, the physiology is quite similar. A menopausal hot flash is fundamentally caused by a confused assembly of signals traveling between your brain and your body.
To dissipate the heat accumulating during this process, the body reacts within seconds by increasing its heart rate and dilating vessels to circulate more blood and open sweat glands (or your perspiration floodgates).
The sudden impulse to dispel heat from the body is a fundamental biological mechanism we have to protect us from overheating in intensely hot circumstances, such as exercise, hot weather or infection. I know that doesn’t make you feel any better about your menopause night sweats, but understanding that it is part of a natural body function can help calm you.
This rush of flushing events and veritable hormonal storms normally subside within a couple of years of menopause. Yet some women continue to suffer them well into their menopausal years.
Just as the triggers of hot flashes can vary, so do hot flashes overall. In fact, some of our mothers and grandmothers never experienced hot flashes and night sweats at all (really!).
While some women may be luckier than others, today it sure seems menopausal women suffer more from hot flashes than ever before. And at the same time, the consistent quality of our food supply and eating rituals are not what they once were. Coincidence? I think not.
The good news is that no matter what your health foundation or how severe your hot flashes and night sweats, your body wields an amazing capacity to heal as you learn to listen to its messages and take proactive steps to provide it the support it desires.
The very first step in stifling your hot flashes is to understand and identify your night sweat triggers. I strongly suggest you attempt to track your hot flashes in a journal or diary. You will be surprised how patterns of behavior you never thought about emerge from keeping record of your problems.
Although some women may see a distinct correlation between their hot flashes and their hot flash triggers, others may find it more difficult to ascertain these connections.
Don’t underestimate the value of eating a well-balanced diet of healthy fats, protein, complex carbohydrates, and fruits and vegetables. This provides your brain and body with the building materials it needs to function well and keeps signals between your braind and body from becoming confused.
Add a high quality multivitamin and mineral complex and an essential fatty acid supplement to fill any gaps in your core nutrition. This ensures the supply of micro nutrients your body needs for neurotransmitter and hormone balance.
With the appropriate building materials, you will discover the passage through menopause to be a lot less difficult.
While the connection can be intuitive to many women, conventional medicine is finally recognizing and appreciating how stress is a major cause of hot flashes and night sweats.
If you know that relaxation is what you most require to quell your sweaty hot flashes, you might try a safe, basic behavioral therapy: meditation. This therapy can assist you to step back and put your life into perspective.
And of course you’ll find very little doubt about how exercise persists as one of the very best things you can do to calm your mind and body. When it comes to exercise, however, we recommend you time your exercise so it does you the most good without raising your body temperature towards evening.
Most importantly, however, you must make a commitment to reducing stress in your life, even if you have to wear it down one layer at a time.
For several decades, synthetic and equine forms of estrogen persisted as the hormones of choice for easing hot flashes in perimenopause and menopause.
But given that both phytohormones and bioidentical hormones more accurately replicate the molecular configuration of the hormones produced in our bodies, I think it stands to reason that our bodies are better equipped to utilize them more effectively and safely than synthetic versions.
There is still a small group — even those who take impeccable care of themselves — who continue to experience hot flashes and night sweats despite their best efforts.
Beyond resorting to pharmaceutical products, some additional options for hot flashes include increasing soy isoflavones to higher doses; using black cohosh; and using detoxification to clear the hormonal pathways.
For severe hot flashes and menopausal symptoms that persist despite efforts to adopt the above measures, prescription-strength bioidentical HRT remains an option. The key is understanding how to discuss bioidentical HRT with your doctor and continuing the core nutritional and lifestyle measures I’ve discussed.
You will find your beautiful body is magnificent in its ability to restore balance. It just requires some assistance from you. Patiently learn what triggers your hot flashes and night sweats and then leverage that knowledge to find your ultimate Help For Night Sweats.
Thank you for reading and I really hope this helps motivate you to conquer those dank sheets!