75% of mid-life women are experiencing night sweats and hot flashes, so I want to share tips to help you with night sweats in today’s blog. These tips will also help with hot flashes too….
Night sweats, or hot flashes or flushes, also known as vasomotor symptoms, can feel VERY overwhelming and disconcerting. One minute you’re fine and the next you’re taking off your clothes to cool! It’s really no fun-at-all. Hot flashes can be mild (hot but not sweating), moderate (hot and sweating but not overwhelming) or severe (so hot and sweaty that you stop what you’re doing).
What’s Going On?
So, what’s going on? Science and research change daily, and more studies need to be done to determine exactly what’s causing these flushes of heat, and the following ideas all contribute to the changing status of our magical bodies as we age.
Your body’s temperature is regulated by the hypothalamus in your brain, and it’s a well-oiled machine, knowing when to heat up and to cool down based on certain hormones being sent to certain areas of the body.
The hypothalamus also affects the functions of the pituitary gland, thyroid gland, adrenal glands, kidneys, musculoskeletal system, and reproductive organs.
A Rapid and Exaggerated Sensation of Heat
A night sweat or hot flush is a rapid and exaggerated sensation of heat, with an increase in core and peripheral temperature, then sweating, chills and a decrease in core body temperature (Freedman, 2015).
Uh… Yah… and it’s quite disruptive and concerning.
The transition through menopause can cause imbalances of hormones that regulate your body’s temperature, so pituitary, thyroid and adrenal hormones can become irregular, causing disturbances in the way your body regulates heat and cold. Also, estrogen’s decline has an effect, but it’s not just the lower estrogen causing night sweats.
Normal aging and menopause stages cause a change in your blood vessels with a reduction in vessel elasticity, potential inflammation and high blood pressure. This may also contribute to hot flashes. Before menopause, if we were hot, our blood vessels would dilate with ease to help cool us down, after menopause the vessels may have a reduced ability to dilate due to vascular stiffness.
In addition, our skin (our biggest organ) changes causing a reduction in the size and function of sweat glands.
Many systems are shifting in menopause, so as the body tries to adjust and adapt, 75% of us have to live through night sweats and hot flashes, so I’ll share a few lifestyle tips you can do to help yourself.
Tips to Help Yourself with Night Sweats & Hot Flashes
1. Reduce alcohol consumption.
Some women have lower levels of the enzymes to break down alcohol, which means alcohol converts to heat energy, which is then radiated through the skin, causing us to feel hotter. Ever get facial flushing after drinking a glass of red wine? Interestingly, our livers become smaller as we age (Kim et. al., 2015), so it’s also harder for the liver to detoxify the alcohol in your system.
2. Stop eating 2-3 hours before bed.
Try to stop eating at least 3 hours before you go to bed, and reduce protein intake as the evening progresses, as the body generates more heat to digest protein. Food also causes insulin to rise, and when insulin is higher (after you eat food) hot flashes become more pronounced. And when insulin is high, so is cortisol.
3. Try to reduce your cortisol levels at night.
Cortisol naturally declines as the day progresses, however if your circadian rhythm is not aligned, you may need some help restoring your natural clock. Get out in the natural light in the mornings to help yourself reset, for about 15-20 minutes. This will also help your melatonin production, which helps you sleep.
4. Keep your head cool.
Keeping your head cool is a simple tip. You head is the home of your brain, where your hypothalamus is located, so it makes sense to keep it cool. Try a fan, or iced water bottles on the back of your neck.
5. Keep your feet and hands cool.
The bottoms of your feet and palms of your hands help dissipate heat. Try rolling a frozen water bottle under your feet and between your hands before you get into bed and have it handy at your bedside to use if you wake up with a night sweat.
6. Drink at least 2L of water each day.
Drinking water is imperative, especially if you are sweating (who doesn’t with a hot flash?), it’ll help keep all your systems functioning well.
7. Move your body every day in some way
Recall that in menopause our blood vessels lose some of their elasticity, so aerobic exercise helps to improve the pumping power of your heart, and improving the function of blood vessels. I love this quote from the American Heart Association’s blog about exercise and menopause, "It is the magic bullet for good health because it reduces the risk for heart disease, stroke, high blood pressure, Type 2 diabetes and cancer and improves bone health, weight control, sleep and mental health. If there were a pill you could take that had all of those benefits, everyone would be clamoring for it." Dr Joanne Manson.
We can show up for ourselves and take action to help our bodies, minds, and spirits as we transition through the stages of menopause.
Which tip will you try? Let me know in the comments.
You are loved, Nicole xo
References
Freedman R. R. (2014). Menopausal hot flashes: mechanisms, endocrinology, treatment. The Journal of steroid biochemistry and molecular biology, 142, 115–120. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsbmb.2013.08.010
Kim, I. H., Kisseleva, T., & Brenner, D. A. (2015). Aging and liver disease. Current opinion in gastroenterology, 31(3), 184–191. https://doi.org/10.1097/MOG.0000000000000176
Nicole A. Vienneau MSN, RN, NC-BC
Nicole is learning to thrive in mid-life too! She strives to honor her body, mind and spirit through these magnificent stages of aging, and wants to honor YOU too!
Nicole combines 20+ years of nursing experience with 30+ years of fitness + health coaching to uncover your most authentic expression of wellbeing.
She is a board-certified integrative nurse coach, menopause fitness specialist, brain health trainer, and a group fitness, yoga, and tai chi instructor. She specializes in protecting your health through habits and behaviors that support your brain and body health at Blue Monarch Health, PLLC.
Nicole is passionate about everything she does, and especially loves creating safe, restorative communities. She loves exploring nature, finding solace with her cat-babies and traveling with her awesome husband.
Email Nicole at nicole@bluemonarchhealth.com