Hot flashes and night sweats are the most uncomfortable menopause symptoms women experience and they are somehow connected.
You don’t have to be in your 40s to go through these, lots of women in their mid 20s complain about these two symptoms too.
Hot flashes.
They start with excessive sweating and an accelerated heartbeat and last from a couple of minutes to half an hour. They are usually located in your upper part of the body but they can spread throughout the whole body and make you feel like you are experiencing the worst flu ever. Hormonal changes are to blame for this, as the hypothalamus receives messages saying that your body needs more heat and thus he does his job and increases your body’s temperature.
Nighttime hot flashes are called night sweats and mess up your sleep. if they occur each night or worse, several times a night, they can cause insomnia. Hot flashes and night sweats are hard to cope with, especially if they are very frequent and last for more than just several seconds or a couple of minutes.
Night sweats.
Also known as sleep hyperhidrosis, night sweats are the result of the detoxifying process and are usually harmless. They consist of excessive sweating while sleeping and will result in a sleepless night.
Spicy foods, caffeine, alcohol, hot drinks, hot showers or a warmer bedroom temperature will trigger night sweats.
If you notice a dramatic increase in your nigh sweats, especially if you wake up soaking wet, think of the changes your body went through. These can be diet, a stressful week or working out close to bedtime. Reverse them and see if night sweats still occur.
If so, check with your physician as there can be a medical reason for this. Night sweats are a very common symptom in diseases like flu, cancer, hypoglycemia, infections, HIV, epilepsy, pneumonia or tuberculosis. An early medical consult will
Identify your condition and you will be able to fight it. If you get used to night sweats and think that they will eventually go away than you are only worsening your condition.
Perimenopause.
Hot flashes and night sweats are also found in perimenopausal women. You can get into this phase in your mid 30s and thus start experiencing these menopause symptoms.
However, not all women go through night sweats or hot flushes. Some of them have experience them once or twice a week while others once a month, while the luckiest of all don’t even know what these symptoms are.
I recommend staying away from hormone replacing therapies as they can cause long term issues which are hard to deal with. Use natural or homeopathic remedies, use bed sheets and pajamas made from natural fiber, avoid meds that have night sweats listed as side effects, such as antidepressants, have a healthy diet and have the right mind set. All these are way better that stuffing your body with harmful meds and in most cases these measures are way more effective.
Natural remedies for hot flashes and night sweats
Black cohosh. This is a highly popular natural remedy used for painful menstruations and studies shown that not only it can stop night sweats, but it can also reduce depression.
Supplement your body with vitamin E, B, C, magnesium and potassium found in fruits and veggies or use supplements.
Evening primrose oil. Ask your doctor what dosage is best for you and start the treatment. This is also used by women who want to improve their PMS.
As I said, don’t rush into buying meds that claim to cure everything, try some of the remedies for hot flashes and night sweats that you know, ask your mother and friends, search on the web. The healthy way is always better and safer.
Hot flashes and night sweats usually appear due to a hormonal imbalance, bad diet or as you get close to menopause but they can also be the symptom of a health condition. Don’t get used to them, regardless of the cause behind them. Fight them back and start enjoying your sleep again.